Three thousand taxis in the Spanish capital, Madrid, are now hearing accessible thanks to a major installation programme of hearing loops.
Legislation took effect in Spain in 2020 which stated that every new taxi in the city must have a loop system fitted.
The project is being overseen by the industry’s association in the city, Sociedad Cooperativa Madrileña del Autotaxi (SCAT), and the loops have been supplied by Contacta Systems.
The Kent-based firm has extensive experience in looping vehicles having first introduced hearing loops into black cabs in London in the 1990s.
Installation is being carried out by their partners in the region, Aimas Technologies.
“Hearing loops are the ideal assistive listening technology for these vehicles because they are the only system that is universal,” said Contacta’s Head of New Business Development, Ran Meyrav. “That means that no matter where a passenger comes from, if they have a T-coil enabled hearing aid or cochlear implant, they will receive crystal clear sound from the loop.”
A hearing loop works by converting sound from a microphone, positioned above the driver’s head, into a magnetic signal via a ‘loop’ of copper wire concealed with the ceiling of the vehicle. Driven by a small amplifier, the signal is then converted back to sound by the T-coil within a person’s hearing aid.
It means drivers can communicate clearly with passengers. Background noise is cut out and their voice is heard above road or radio noise, without the need for users to have an app or additional equipment.
The project has taken over a year of careful development by Contacta’s team and the engineers from Aimas. A range of amplifiers, microphones and wiring configurations were tested to overcome the electro-magnetic interference and background noise challenges presented in a vehicle, to ensure a result that met the industry standard all hearing loops have to reach.
“We had to make sure conversation could be clearly heard above the noise levels from the engine, the alternator and the surrounding environment,” added Ran.
Drivers in Madrid are now required to buy a pre-packed hearing loop kit for their vehicle and have it installed in a rolling programme of work. So far, around a fifth of the 15,000 taxis in the capital have them in place and Aimas currently supply and fit between 150-200 systems each month.
“Working with Contacta on this project has meant we have a fantastic result that the client is very happy with,” said Guillermo Chicote from Aimas. “Their experience, plus the range of components available for us to use, made the job much simpler than it could have been with so many factors to consider.”
Leo Movilla, President of SCAT said: “Due to the position of the driver and the passenger in a taxi, if either one has a hearing problem, communication is more challenging as they are not sat face to face,” he said.
“They can’t see facial expressions or read the person’s lips. It’s difficult to tell if information has been understood.
"Hearing loops in our taxis mean we can offer communication that’s natural and fluid. We want to offer an inclusive service that enables passengers and drivers to feel comfortable.”
Aimas is currently in discussions with taxi associations in other major cities in Spain, as the legislation of hearing accessibility is being rolled into other municipalities.
“Madrid has very much been a role model,” added Ran. “This project is a great example that we hope we will see replicated elsewhere in Spain – and beyond.”
Sadiq Khan has celebrated TfL’s decision to “pause” enforcement action against the capital's cabbies who failed to meet English language requirements.
GB News reports that the London Mayor was seen entering a crowd of flag-waving and placard-clutching demonstrators outside City Hall.
Placards surrounding Khan carried a number of slogans, including “We Cannot Change Our Careers” and “No Test, Provide Training”.
Other placards argued “No Drivers Should Lose Their Licence If They Fail SERU” and “Drivers Don’t Need The English Test”.
Khan took selfies and shook hands with private hire drivers just hours after announcing plans to pause action for both the safety, equality and regulatory understanding (SERU) requirement and English language requirements (ELR).
The 50-minute SERU assessment came into force in October 2021, costs £36 and is completed through multiple choice and sentence completion questions.
TfL has said about the SERU "it is essential that London PHV drivers have an appropriate understanding of safety, equality and regulatory requirements that apply to them. This helps ensure public safety and will enhance levels of customer service.”
TfL also described the ELR as “essential for public safety”, adding: “Drivers must satisfy the ELR by taking and passing a speaking and listening test and the SERU assessment is used to assess their reading and writing skills.”
The English language assessment, which also costs £36, consists of two main assessments: TfL’s speaking and listening test consists of a 15 to 20-minute conversation, while the reading and writing assessment is based on information contained in the PHV Driver’s Handbook.
A Freedom of Information request revealed there are more than 100,000 private hire drivers in London. However, the proportion of candidates who passed the SERU assessment between October 2021 and October 2022 stood at just 69 per cent.
Khan, who serves as chairman of TfL, said: “TfL is pausing enforcement against private hire drivers in London who have not yet met the SERU or the English language requirement.
“A trial is being undertaken to do assessments in a different way. I know this has been a matter of great concern for private hire drivers across our city.
“Drivers who have been struggling to meet the requirements now won’t face licensing enforcement action while the trial is underway.
“PHV drivers are a crucial part of London’s economy, and as Mayor, I will always champion their interests and those of their passengers.”
However, Khan’s announcement to pause enforcement was not universally well-received with a number of social media users criticising the London Mayor over his decision.
Khan’s Conservative challenger for City Hall, Susan Hall, suggested the London Mayor could look at other ways to assist the capital’s motorists.
She told GB News: “Of course Sadiq must provide support for drivers, and the best way he can do that is scrap his unfair ULEZ expansion.
“But he won't. Next thing we know, he will bring in London pay-per-mile.
“I won't. I will scrap the ULEZ expansion on day one, and never bring in London pay per mile.”
Source: https://www.gbnews.com/politics/sadiq-khan-english-language-seru-private-hire-drivers
A taxi driver smashed another cabbie’s window in a turf war feud over touting for fares outside a Wetherspoon pub in Maidstone.
According to KentOnline, magistrates heard that Rashpal Channa used an implement to smash the glass in fellow taxi driver Sayed Ahmadi's black cab after an expletive-laden rant.
A war of words had erupted between the pair over Channa working .
A court heard that Channa, who is licensed in Tonbridge and Malling, had pulled up outside the pub at about 4.30am on New Year's Day 2022 in his Vauxhall Insignia, near the rank in the High Street.
Fellow cabbie, Mr Ahmadi, who is licensed by Maidstone council, spotted him working on his patch and decided to confront him.
Christina Rowberry, prosecuting, told the court Mr Ahmadi performed a U-turn in his vehicle to speak with Channa, before trying to leave the area to take his passengers home.
The prosecutor added: “But the defendant blocked his path (with his car) and there was some toing and froing and Mr Ahmadi then pulled away.
“The defendant followed him, pulled up alongside him with something in his hand and used it to smash the nearside passenger window.
“He then drove off away and Mr Ahmadi reported it to two PCs in the town who told him to report it to the force control room.”
Channa, 44, was later arrested and when quizzed by police made no comment.
Channa, from Northfleet, was later charged with criminal damage which he denied when he when he first appeared before the courts in September 2022.
His trial at Margate Magistrates' Court on January 16, was started without him as he didn’t arrive at the court in time. Magistrates ad decided to hear the evidence in his absence and Ms Rowberry showed the bench CCTV footage of the vehicles and Mr Ahmadi gave evidence.
Mr Ahmadi told magistrates he had been working as a taxi driver in the area since 2010 and when he noticed Channa working on his patch – without a licence to do so – he had approached him.
He added: “He started swearing and shouting and called me a mother f***** and I got frustrated as well and shouted back, but I gave up to do my fare to take these gentlemen home safely and I pulled away, but he was at this point he got in front of me and he kept breaking to intimidate me. He did that a few times.
“A friend of mine at the taxi rank got out of his car and shouted at him (to stop) and I pulled away past him.”
However, Mr Ahmadi then said as he drove towards the direction of Gravesend, Channa caught up with him and followed him.
He explained he took a different direction, but stopped at traffic lights and as he waited for the lights to turn green, Channa pulled up alongside him and put his hand out of his window with something in his hand and smashed the window.
Mr Ahmadi also said he’d had to pay £100 excess on his insurance policy to get the window repaired and as a result his insurance premium went up to £1,500 when he next renewed.
Mr Ahmadi also told the court he had emailed Tonbridge and Malling council to report Channa was working off his patch that night and had smashed his window.
Magistrates said Mr Ahmadi had given reliable and credible evidence and alongside the CCTV footage and a statement from a police officer and the fact that Channa was not there to give his input, they found him guilty of the offence.
It was at this point Channa arrived at the court in Cecil Square and was told his sentencing was being adjourned until June 5, when he will hear his fate at the same venue.
He was granted bail until then.
A private hire driver was dragged from his car and beaten in what is described as a spate of attacks against licensed drivers.
The Bolton News reports that Bolton Private Hire Association has called for mandatory stickers to be removed from vehicles which they say makes them vulnerable to attacks as they are identified as taxi drivers.
Abuse levelled at drivers includes items being thrown at cars to physical assaults.
A Bolton councillor has said she met with a taxi driver in Heaton who was dragged from his car and beaten.
Last year a taxi was attacked by mud and stones in Bromley Cross with the driver blaming the fact the signage helped identify him as a driver.
Taxi bosses claim there have been six incidents where drivers have been attacked over the Christmas period including one driver having food thrown at him near Leverhulme Park.
Members of the union have held a meeting with Bolton Council to ask whether stickers identifying taxis can be removed. They claim this move will make them less vulnerable to attacks.
Mahmood Akhtar, the vice chairman of the association, said: “Our vehicles are being attacked because they can see us from miles away because of the stickers, they just target us.
“Cars have had mud and stones thrown at them and most of our drivers have given up on reporting this to the police.
“We have had seven attacks recently. At Leverhulme Park the driver was going to pick up a job.They chucked food at him and they damaged his vehicle, that was in December.
“Other spots where we have had problems include Tonge Moor Road, Deane Church Lane and High Field in Farnworth. It is not just those spots drivers are getting attacked in every area.
“When they see the stickers they attack, we have to have these on 24/7, we want them to be removed.”
Cllr Sue Haworth said: “I am concerned about private hire and hackney carriage driver safety.
"It was very effective when the Police Inspector met with taxi trade representatives last year to discuss intimidation, assaults and fear that many taxi drivers in the borough live with.
"Bolton taxi representatives recently raised concerns about the vulnerability of drivers with me so I will ask the police to meet with me and the taxi trade representatives again.
"There are incidents of stone and egg with flour throwing again here, putting drivers and their passengers at risk, including risk of smashed windscreens and accidents.
"I met a Heaton taxi driver who was dragged from his vehicle and beaten here in Bolton.
“This administration would not support any taxi bonnet stickers last year that were promoted by Greater Manchester. It’s true that in some other parts of England taxi’s don’t have sizeable stickers but have various smaller plates.
"This administration has not yet made any recommendations on taxi stickers.
"We will work with the taxi trade and other parties at the council on recommendations about taxi driver and the taxi using public’s safety across the borough.”
Source: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/24055579.bolton-taxi-drivers-fears-colleague-dragged-beaten/
HAVE YOUR SAY - click the link: http://tinyurl.com/5badp7dw
The council states: "As part of our draft budget for 2024/25, we are proposing to increase taxi and private hire licence fees.
"The new fees and charges reflect the increased work and costs from implementing national changes in government guidance that we must follow.
"This includes new HM Revenue and Customs tax conditionality checks, statutory guidance requirements produced by the DfT, and increased driver DBS checks.
"This is the first proposed increase to taxi and private hire fees since 2017."
The proposed fees can be found below:
Private hire or hackney carriage vehicle licence (new or renewal 1 year licence) (includes vehicle plate) - current fee: £142, new fee: £167
Vehicle inspection fee - current fee: £55, new fee: £60
Executive vehicle exemption (includes vehicle plate) (new or renewal 1 year exemption) - current fee: £0, new fee: £55
Vehicle rear stepped bracket - current fee: £25, new fee: £30
Driver knowledge test - current fee: £37, new fee: £50
Driver licence (new or renewal 3 year licence) - current fee: £142, new fee: £162
Private hire operator licence (new or renewal 5 year licence) - current fee: £509, new fee: £520
Dave Lawrie , Director of NPHTA said: "With the cost of living crisis affecting all our trade, it is good to see most local authorities considering consultations such as this, to address fares, age limits of vehicles and much more
"If you are local member of our trade please do get involved, have a say at discussion stage. Please don't wait until after the decisions have been made, and then moan and groan, as that does not achieve very much."
Responses must be submitted before midnight on 15 March 2024.
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.