Friday, February 28, 2014
Another Victory For The RMT Ranks And Highways Team: by Jim Thomas
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Cardiff Cabbies Threaten Strike Action Over Illegally Plying For Hire By Private Hire Drivers.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Edinburgh Taxi Company City Cabs, Fight Back Against Minicab Apps.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Big Brother Is Watching...But Who's Watching The Watchers?..by Jim Thomas
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Row over cycle hire sponsor's '£10m free advertising' claim
Friday, February 21, 2014
One To Watch: Cabbies launch petition against Newcastle Borough Council’s plans to force older taxis to ‘retire’
Fares Increase, Lowest For 14 Years: Press Release a From TfL.
- Transport for London's Taxi and Private Hire is responsible for licensing and regulating London's taxi and private hire services
- Taxi fares are calculated according to one of three tariffs these are:
- Tariff 1: Monday to Friday, between 06.00 and 20.00
Tariff 2: Monday to Friday, between 20.00 and 22.00, and weekends between 06.00 and 22.00
Tariff 3: Nightly between 22.00 and 06.00 and on public holidays
- Taxi fares are reviewed annually and calculated by TfL based on a cost index that has been used since 1981.
- The 2016 timescale for the Christmas extra to be added to the meter automatically has been set to tie in with other changes to meters required by European legislation to ensure fares are calculated accurately.
- There will continue to be no extra charges for additional passengers or luggage and all taxis will continue to carry assistance dogs at no extra cost. The Board also approved the extension of a special provision linked to diesel prices. Since July 2008 a special provision has been in place to allow taxi fares to be increased if diesel costs increase drastically. The Board approved an extension of this provision for the coming year and a 40 pence increase to all taxi fares will be implemented if diesel reaches 175.48 pence per litre.
- The TfL Board paper that was considered can be found at:www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/boardandchiefofficers/papers/1436.aspx
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Calgary Taxis May Be Forced To Work Friday and Saturday Nights.
CALGARY – Getting a taxi in Calgary at peak times could be a lot easier.
The head of taxi licensing in Calgary wants to force the city’s fleet of over 1,500 taxi drivers to be ready for dispatch between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Right now, license holders have the option to decide when they’re in service.
The new rule would extend to Thursday and Fridays on long weekends, and other peak times – like during the Calgary Stampede or New Year’s Eve.
“We’ve got to get more taxis out and providing a service during that late night,” explains Marc Halat, City of Calgary. “The only way I can do that is to condition the licences. Drivers are not employees, they are contracted to the brokerages. Brokers don’t have the ability to force them to work at those late night hours… and we do.”
The plan will go before a committee on Friday.
How would you feel about been forced to work Weekends and Holiday nights as part of your licensing conditions?
TFL Salaries Outrageous: Taxi Drivers Get 0.7% Increase, While Boris Johnson's Aides Get 8%.
Bumbling Boris gives pay rises to two top advisors taking their salaries to over the prime minister's £142,000
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
300 taxi drivers protest in Dublin city over ads, parking and too many taxis
Monday, February 17, 2014
Britain's largest electric minicab deal collapses.
London's second largest minicab firm pulls plug on deal for 50 Chinese electric cars
London’s second-largest minicab operator has pulled out of a deal that would have put 50 electric taxis on the capital’s streets.
Green Tomato Cars, which also operates in the US, had signed a deal in 2012 with Chinese electric car specialist BYD that would have seen it run the E6 electric car alongside its 500-strong fleet of mainly Toyota Prius hybrids.
Earlier this week, however, Green Tomato Cars announced that the two companies had “mutually decided that we will not pursue this venture further”. No explanation was given, but last year it said the rollout of the cars had been delayed due to the inadequacy of London’s charging structure.
Some of the BYD cars had already been delivered to the UK and now 20 will be put into service as minicabs by a new firm called Thriev.
London mayor Boris Johnson will be hoping the company will make a success of them after announcing back in January that by 2018 all new official Hackney Carriage taxis would be required to have an electric-only capability to cut localised emissions.
Thriev has said it has installed two BYD rapid chargers at its base on London’s Edgware Road that can replenish empty batteries to full in just two hours. A spokesman for BYD said the cars had a range of 186 miles on a single charge, making them a far more viable proposition than the UK’s best-selling EV, the Nissan Leaf, which has a quoted range of 124 miles.Thriev is confident that the BYD E6 cars, which aren’t officially on sale in the UK, will allow the company to expand its fleet to 1,000 electric vehicles within 18-24 months, according to a spokesman. It said it has an agreement with British Gas to build a network of rapid chargers across London.
Back in January an electric taxi that revived the Metrocab name was unveiled in London with a small petrol engine on board to charge the batteries during driving. The six-seater is scheduled for launch later this year and its makers claim the economy is such it could save black cab drivers up to £200 a week.
Also planning to offer an electric cab is Nissan, who said that in 2015 it will offer a zero-emission version of the NV200 London taxi unveiled in January and scheduled to go in service at the end of the year.Green Tomato Cars said it was still persuing its goal to run zero-emission minicabs and planned to test a Hyundai fuel-cell car.
TAXI LEAKS RESPONSE: The Suburban Consultation, TfL Notice 01/14.
Outside the trade, all the public want is a Taxi.
Within the trade there are issues on the meeting point of the central and suburban zones, that's why 'Island ranks' exist.
Some wanted empty cabs to keep thundering through Clapham etc whilst people were desperate for cabs and yet expect anyone else to ignore the demand (that includes touts and sexual predators)' is that realistic?
Some YB's wanted part time access to the centre, that quite rightly has been quashed, Most did not though.
The access to radio and app work is less easy to answer, why should the cab trade effectively disbar itself from competing with PH?
The point of a pre booking is to give the driver time to check the route, that why our comrades in Paris are fighting hard to retain a 15 minute dwell time between booking and pick up, can you imagine how much work we would have if we united and demanded the same?
Please don't look at this in isolation when it seems to have become two bald men fighting over a comb.
Put as I have in the comments section:
If that does not happen we have NO idea how much taxi work there truly is in town or in suburban centres!
Until then all we are effectively debating is how long any of us have left to eke out a diminishing client base between us. How can we have number controls without PH number controlled?
It's like Sainsbury only being allowed 5000 shops whilst Tesco can have as many as they want, without a proper look at PH it's all moonshine.
PH have a slick lobbying organisation and present a united front (excluding the sweat shop driver of course!)?
If this is to mean anything it demonstrates the need for all the trade groups to meet and decide the lines in the sand, can they show some generosity of spirit and leadership and make the move?
If your a member of any, demand it TODAY?
P.S. MAKE YOUR RESPONSE