A cabbie who was threatened with a knife by an angry drunken customer hid from him in a petrol station toilet for an hour.
KentOnline reports that Stephen Gibbs, from Gravesend, was drunk when he ordered a cab to take him to Edenbridge.
Taxi driver Atmsaidul Islam picked him up and put the location in his sat nav. But after a short time, Gibbs started to get angry and accused Mr Islam of “taking a longer route to charge more money” as they drove along country lanes.
He then started abusing the driver and called him an “African b****”, as well as an Asian b****.”
The aggressive 57-year-old then shouted at Mr Islam telling him he had a knife in his bag before making a thrusting motion at the back of Mr Islam’s seat near his lower back.
He demanded he change direction and drive back towards Gravesend.
Mr Islam was so scared of Gibbs, he said he needed fuel and pulled into a petrol station. He hid in the toilets and dialled 999.
Despite police taking an hour to get to the forecourt, Gibbs was so intoxicated, he continued to wait in the cab for the driver to return.
Police spoke to Mr Islam about the incident and then approached Gibbs, who was still sitting in the taxi. He started to abuse them too.
As officers tried to arrest drunken Gibbs he called the officers “stupid f****** c**** and referred to one officer as a “gay boy” and then called him a gay c***.”
Gibbs was later charged with two counts of threatening behaviour on the police and racially aggravated common assault on Mr Islam as well as possession of a bladed article.
He pleaded guilty to the offences when he appeared at court in November. Sentencing was adjourned and a pre-sentencing report ordered. He returned to Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on January 23, to hear his fate.
Prosecutor Rajni Prashar told the bench the incident happened at about 8pm on November 21, 2022, and officers found the Stanley knife on Gibbs in the vehicle.
The prosecutor told magistrates Mr Islam had written a victim impact statement to say he was now scared when anyone got in his cab and had been left depressed by what had happened .
He had lost four hours’ work as a result of the incident as Gibbs had failed to pay him. He said he had been disgusted by his racist behaviour.
Magistrates told Gibbs his actions were particularly nasty and his behaviour was unacceptable.
They said the offences were so serious, only a custodial sentence could be justified, but they were prepared to suspend it on this occasion.
He was jailed for four months for all the offences, but the term was suspended for 12 months. They ordered he complete a six-month alcohol treatment requirement programme and for him to attend 10 rehabilitation sessions with probation.
Magistrates also ordered the Stanley knife be destroyed and that he pay Mr Islam £200 compensation. Each officer was also awarded £100 compensation.
Gibbs was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154 as well as £85 court costs.
Taxi drivers across Bolton are calling for the right to go to private doctors to avoid long waits and “paying an arm and a leg" for a medical certificate declaring them fit to work.
According to Bolton News, under the current system taxi drivers in the borough must go through medicals with their registered doctors, who they have been with for 12 months or more, to stay on the roads.
But drivers have said this has forced them to endure long waits and in some cases pay charges of up to £170 rather than go to more convenient and cheaper alternatives.
Bolton Private Hire Association secretary Yasif Khan said: “Getting an appointment with a doctor these days is like trying to get an appointment with King Charles, it's easier to do that! And they are charging an arm and a leg for it.”
He added: “Bolton licencing doesn’t let drivers go to a private doctor. Instead they have to go to a registered doctor who they’ve been with for up to 12 months and since after Covid its absolute murder to get in to see a doctor.”
Mr Khan said that drivers have been holding long-running talks with Bolton Council, both the previous Conservative administration and now the Labour one, to let them go to private doctors to help get their medicals quicker and for as little as £50.
Now Bolton Council’s leadership says they hope to work with taxi drivers and their representatives to come to a common agreement.
Executive cabinet member for licensing, Cllr Sue Haworth, said: “Drivers are asking licensing to change its policy on medical statements and taxi driver licensing.
“Bolton taxi trade representatives are aware that in some other council licensing authorities a wider range of medical professionals can provide statements about a drivers medical fitness and this choice means drivers can pay less for these medical practitioner services.”
She added: “A policy options paper is being put together.
“Some staff absence has impacted licensing policy work this year and reducing the impact of absence is being addressed going forward.
“Working with taxi drivers’ representatives is very valued at the council as they bring the regular experiences of many of the over 1,500 Bolton licenced drivers to our attention and it is important that we meet them regularly.”
Source: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/24074711.bolton-taxi-drivers-call-medicals-private-doctors/
Private hire drivers working in Milton Keynes have been taken to court and fined for serious offences.
The MK Citizen reports that on Wednesday 24 January, Mohammed Badrul Alam, who lives in Luton, pleaded guilty at the city’s magistrates court to illegally plying for hire and having no insurance.
He was fined £200; endorsed with 6 DVLA penalty points on his licence and ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge and £100 costs.
His licence will now be reviewed by West Northamptonshire Council.
On Monday 22 January, Milton Keynes City Council revealed details of another private hire driver, Mohammed Ibrahim Ali, from Bletchley, who had been prosecuted for identical charges.
He was fined £200, given eight points on his licence and ordered to pay £200 in court costs.
On Monday, 8 January, following a council investigation, private hire driver Ahmed Mahmed, from Shenley Lodge, pleaded guilty to refusing to take an assistance dog in his vehicle last January.
He was was fined £135 and must also pay £492 costs and a £54 victim surcharge. Milton Keynes City Council will now review his licence.
Cllr Paul Trendall, Milton Keynes City Council Cabinet Member responsible for Taxi Licensing, said: “These licensed drivers were in a position of trust and have therefore had to face the full weight of the law.
"Milton Keynes City Council will continue to investigate complaints and work with Buckinghamshire Council to enforce licensing and road traffic laws and put drivers before the Court(s) when appropriate to do so.”
Taxi drivers in Southampton are threatening to revolt over the 'thoughtless' redesign of a rank outside the city's biggest railway station.
According to the Daily Echo, a £5.5m redesign of Southampton Central interchange has been blasted by angry cabbies, who say the revamped rank on the southern forecourt is not wheelchair accessible.
They say the narrow design also means taxis sometimes have to drive across the pavement to leave - but the council claims it consulted drivers ahead of the changes.
In an email to the chairman of the city council's licensing committee, the Southampton Hackney Organisation called for an urgent meeting with key decision makers - and said it was 'putting in place plans for multiple strikes against the council regarding this matter'.
These would start from February and run straight up to May's local election.
"It is a mess that has been created by Southampton City Council, which the council needs to fix," the email said.
Because the kerb for the new rank does not drop, wheelchair-bound passengers often struggle to get into the back of disabled-friendly taxis.
Chairman of the association, Ajmal Sudhan, said he has had disabled passengers rant about how they struggle to get into the back of taxis without a dropped kerb.
The 55-year-old said: “The passengers were very frustrated. I had one lady who couldn’t even get out of her wheelchair, and she couldn’t get into the car.”
Because of the narrow design of the rank, the only taxis which can easily leave are at the front of the queue, or at the end - because they can reverse out.
So if someone needs a wheelchair-friendly taxi and it is not in these positions, they often have to drive on the pavement to get out of the queue.
The council claims this issue is being managed by taxi drivers - but Ajmal disagrees.
He said: “What the council have said to us is that cars behind it can just reverse to let the van out. But tell me how when it’s so busy here in the station, how are you going to get three taxis out of the rank while cars and passengers are at the station?
The driver of 30 years added: “The old rank was preferred because we had a lot more space. The new one they have come up with just makes things worse for us.”
The former chairman of the association, Sam Shahiedi, 69, met with the local authority to discuss the plans in 2021 - but claimed they 'changed the plans but didn’t check that it was okay with us'.
In response, Southampton City Council said: "Two dedicated areas for taxis have been provided, including a rank on the forecourt and a waiting area on Western Esplanade.
"The taxi rank was designed within the space available and the width is comparable to taxi ranks at other similar stations.
"The forecourt has only recently been re-opened and we are continuing to monitor its usage at this early stage. When a taxi with wheelchair access is located in the middle of the taxi rank, this is being managed by the taxi drivers.
"Wheelchair users also have the option to book a taxi to collect them from the disabled bay in the southern forecourt or use the northern side of the station where there is more space available for the wheelchair-accessible taxis.”
Source: https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24074365.southampton-central-taxi-rank-change-lead-strike/
Global private hire giant Uber is set to apply for a licence to operate in Dundee.
The firm already operates in 59 towns and cities across the UK – but has yet to make its way into Tayside.
Now Uber has confirmed to The Courier its intention to apply for an operator licence to run vehicles in Dundee, with talks ongoing.
It comes after similar plans for Aberdeen emerged last week.
In 2018, The Courier reported that Uber had ruled out any move into Dundee with its service.
At the time, Graeme Stephen, chairman of Dundee Taxi Association, said: “The ranks are normally full with taxis and you can get one very quickly if you call.
“There’s simply no demand for them (Uber) in Dundee.”
However, it was reported in 2021 that the number of taxis operating in Dundee had plummeted.
Reacting to the latest development, Chris Elder – who represents some Dundee taxi drivers through Unite the Union – said: “I was actually speaking with some drivers in Aberdeen about it.
“The biggest issue I could see for Uber coming into Dundee is the fact that any new private hire vehicle coming on the road now has to be electric."
An unlicensed taxi driver who picked up two vulnerable women in Aberdare has been ordered to pay nearly £1,500 in fines and costs.
Cleethorpes taxi drivers are breathing a sigh of relief after council enforcement officers cracked down on vehicles illegally parked in designated taxi ranks.
A Barry man has avoided jail after launching a drunken attack on a taxi driver who refused him entry to his vehicle.
Jersey’s taxi service is in crisis, with driver numbers plummeting by more than a quarter since 2014, a new report has revealed.
On Wednesday 27 July, more than 300 vulnerable youngsters were taken on an all-expenses paid trip to Southport.
Taxi drivers in the town will be able to charge passengers more following a decision by the borough council on 31 July.
A taxi driver has been sentenced to a community order after admitting causing the death of a pedestrian by driving at excessive speed.
A joint operation by council, police, and DVSA officials has seen three taxis taken off the road in Oldham due to safety concerns.
Taxi drivers licensed by Mid Sussex could soon be forced to accept card payments, following a surge in complaints about cash-only services.
Two men have avoided immediate jail time after a high-speed race left a taxi driver with serious injuries.
BYD, manufacturer of new energy vehicles and power batteries, has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Uber, designed to bring 100,000 new BYD EVs onto the Uber platform across key global markets.
Ways of increasing the amount of wheelchair-accessible taxis across the city are set to be explored to make it easier for those who need one to get one.
Cumbrian taxi drivers are fighting back against proposed licensing changes they fear will cripple their livelihoods.
Bolton taxi drivers are urged to sign up for free safeguarding and disability awareness training before the deadline on October 31st, 2024.
A Conwy Council meeting on Monday revealed a critical failing that allowed a taxi driver whose license had been revoked to continue transporting children to school.
Worcester City Council is seeking public opinion on a proposal to make safeguarding training mandatory for taxi and private hire drivers.
A proposal to increase driver, vehicle and private hire operator licences was discussed on Friday 19 July 19 at Sheffield City Council’s waste and street scene committee.
Through this collaboration, FREENOW willl provide additional benefits giving drivers up to 25% off pay-as-you-go rates across the entire bp pulse electric charging network and discounted fuel at all UK bp branded sites.
Wakefield Licensing, working alongside West Yorks Police Roads Policing unit, NPT, Off-Road Bike Team, Police Intercept Team, DVLA & DVSA, held a Partnership Day of Action at Thornes Park.