Sunday, November 30, 2014
TAXI WARS: Protests planned after out-of-town taxi giant opens city centre office
Milton Keynes Council Apologises To Taxi Drivers Over Claims THEY Were To Blame For Rapist Getting Taxi Licence.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Conclusive Evidence Shows, Retro Fitted Euro 3 Vehicles, Cleaner Than New Euro 5. .... Dave Davies.
The article below confirms what we already know ;
that retro fitting older vehicles is a better strategy for reducing pollution than scrapping them because they are cleaner than new vehicles.
The conclusive evidence shows that a retro fitted Euro 3 bus is cleaner than a new Euro 5 bus; in exactly the same way that a retrofitted Euro 3 taxi is cleaner than a new Euro 5 taxi.
Why has Boris needlessly scrapped thousands of Euro 3 taxis at great expense to drivers ?
Friday, November 28, 2014
Monday's tube strike on as LU management wreck ACAS talks
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
"The ACAS talks, which RMT had been calling for with the objective of reaching a fair and just settlement in this case, have broken down due to a total refusal of the management side to engage in any kind of meaningful discussions. As a result of London Underground's disregard for negotiations and their own procedures Mondays action goes ahead as planned.
“RMT has been pointing out for some time now that a new culture of harassment and misuse of procedures is rife on London Underground at the moment and the union will not stand back while individuals are fitted-up and picked off as has happened in this particular case on the Northern Line.
“The unattributed briefings to the media that our member had been sacked for “drinking on duty” are totally untrue. Those smears have been repeated by the Transport Commissioner and the union has now taken that matter up with him directly.
"Our member has a specific medical condition and the union maintains that it was the failure to follow agreed procedures, and to recognise that condition, that has led to this unwarranted dismissal and the subsequent strike action. "
TfL...Fair, Open, Transparent ? ...by Jim Thomas
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Disabled victimised at Winter Wonderland by Westminster City Council.... By Jim Thomas
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
What's Being Said In The House About Zero Emission Taxis And Buses... By Jim Thomas.
All is not well with Japan's electric taxi drivers. Technology not ready for Taxi market.
Boris's dream is that London's Taxi fleet will turn over to electric power as soon as possible, giving him breathing space in his air quality strategy.
Many would say he is using the trade as a scapegoat to compensate for not having a greener Bus fleet.
But is the Technology ready ?
They may be fine for private use, a few miles daily, but will Taxi driver doing in excess of 100 miles a day, find electric Taxis suitable?
Japan was one of the First Nations to trial an electric Taxi fleet, but all is not well with Japan's electric taxi drivers.
Two years ago, in February 2011, the city of Osaka introduced a fleet of fifty Nissan Leaf taxis. The deal was a cooperative arrangement between Nissan, 30 taxi firms, and the government, each was being subsidized to the tune of 1,780,000 Yen, over $21,000 at the time.
The car's would clean up Japan's clogged streets, an improvement on the ubiquitous, square-jawed Toyota Crown taxis used throughout Japanese cities.
Initially, they went down a storm.
“It’s not fatiguing to drive them. There’s no vibration or knocks from the engine,” said one driver. “They just glide smoothly. The electricity is far cheaper than outlays for gasoline, and there are few mechanical failures.
Eventually we’re certain that EV taxis will become the most common type on the road.”
It's not surprising to see the reaction, either.
Like many countries, incumbent taxis are often chosen for their reliability and simplicity, rather than their comfort or driving characteristics. That's why New York is still full of hardy Crown Vics, London's streets are crowded with rattling diesel black cabs, and Mexico only recently relinquished the ubiquitous VW Bug. A Nissan Leaf really would feel like the future to the average taxi driver. But could it continue do the work over time?
Turning tide?
Large problems have begun to emerge.
The first came in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, following 2011's earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Many people were worried that electric cars would give off the wrong image, conspicuous consumption of electricity at a time when power was in high demand and very short supply. Electricity is no longer seen as the clean, safe option it once was.
There are other issues too with the cars themselves.
While reliable, comfortable and smooth as ever, high-mileage drivers are finding degradation of the battery packs to be a major issue.
Where a 60-mile range was once common in regular use, some are finding that cut to as low as 30 miles and to save energy as much as possible, some drivers are shunning the car's heater in favor of chemical pocket warmers, and even blankets. Drivers have been cautioned for driving at night with no lights and obviously there's no chance of getting the driver to "put some music on!"
Degradation of the battery pack has also had an effect on the battery's ability to take a quick charge. A 15-minute quick charge has effectively turned into a 40-minute one for many drivers.
They can't travel as far and they can't spend as much time on the road, it's ruining business for some. Customers requesting longer trips are even being turned down. Can you imagine this in London, "Guilford Driver ? No chance Guv !".
There's no get-out for the drivers either.
To qualify for the government's subsidy, the electric cars must be run for a minimum of three years. That's a year too long for some. “I’m getting out of this business,” said one driver, “This is no way to earn a living.”
This has got me thinking!
If one of the top Tech countries in the world ain't making it happen and with the name Nissan popping up, then no way, no way are we ready to take up alternative energy vehicles.
I'm a believer in test cases and the Osaka case proves at the moment that the time is definitely not right for embarking on a road that will lead to businesses collapsing.
More power to you all !
Taxi-gate has been a ‘tragedy for Milton Keynes’...by Amanda Devlin
Allowing a convicted rapist to drive a taxi “has been a tragedy for this city”, says Milton Keynes Council leader Pete Marland.
At an audit report discussing the internal investigation into the scandal, Mr Marland said he was “sickened” by what had happened.
He said: “All the great things we are doing as a city have been damaged by this.
“This has been a tragedy for the city.”
Mr Marland added that he thought the audit report was “good” because it makes clear what happened, but said “we should not take for granted that what happened won’t happen again.”
Milton Keynes cannot be known for having “concrete cows, roundabouts and a rapist taxi driver”, says the new licensing committee chairman.
Speaking at the MK council audit committee meeting tonight, Councillor Catriona Morris said: “In this new world we now live in we will do everything we can to restore the reputation of the council and help the taxi service of Milton Keynes.
“It is vital that people don’t talk about concrete cows, roundabouts and a rapist taxi driver. It is vital we move on.”
She added that she looked forward to seeing councillors at the next cabinet meeting on December 10 to discuss changes and “make this a service we can be proud of”.
Councillors debating the internal investigation into the taxi licensing scandal tonight recognised the “reputational damage” caused to taxi drivers.