Cab Trade News Autumn 2017

INSIDE: Uber license renewal • Taxi APPG – LEVC opens TX order book

Autumn 2017 The magazine for taxi drivers

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Time for new legislation Dear Colleagues

Autumn 2017 The magazine for taxi drivers

Contents 3

National Officer’s Introduction.

4

General Secretary’s Introduction

5

Respect: reckless cyclist at Silicon roundabout

8

Losing friends fast

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Unite welcomes APPG report

10 Electric cabs: charging concerns 12 Uber licence renewal 14 Taxi legislation needs updating...

16 Brighton & Hove report

For some time I have been writing about the need for new legislation to tackle the increasing abuses taking place with the taxi and private hire trades.

This is affecting passenger safety so much that Neil Billary, Head of the Metropolitan Police's taxi and private hire unit, has written to Transport for London accusing Uber of failing to report serious crimes committed by their drivers.

This is on top of their surge pricing and their increasingly aggressive stance against their workers. We now have the opportunity for the change that is required. Daniel Zeichner MP has said that he will use a Private Member's Bill to bring in new taxi and private hire legislation and bring the law up to date and fit for an age of smartphones and hailing apps. We welcome this and will work tirelessly with Daniel and all other interested parties to ensure that we get a law fit for purpose and puts passenger safety at the heart of new legislation.

18 Southampton safety concerns We call on the government to get behind Daniel's Bill to ensure that it gets the parliamentary time necessary to ensure its progress through parliament. By working with Daniel the government can stop the flagrant abuses taking place.

21 Order your taxi now 22 Unite Taxi education 23 Nottingham report

Unite is also calling on Mayor Khan to refuse Uber's licence to operate in London. This would send a clear signal that the law needs tackling.

26 Letter from Edinburgh 27 Postcard from Southend

Unite will be working with Daniel Zeichner MP and the Mayor to ensure that passengers and taxi drivers are protected, standards are improved and we have a licensing system fit for purpose.

28 Heathrow flyer 30 Leeds dispatch 31 Glasgow circular 32 Mark’s Missive 34 Online training for taxi drivers

Bobby Morton National Officer, Passenger Services

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Cab Trade News Published quarterly by Unite the union, 128 Theobalds Road, London, WC1X 8TN. Phone 020 7611 2500.

Editor – Peter Rose peterjrose@cabtradenews.org Phone 07903 525 520.

Magazine enquiries and letters to the editor, by post, phone, or email www.cabtradenews.org Distribution enquiries contact your regional office

Autumn 2017

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CAB TRADE NEWS Comment

A new vision of hope has spread across the country as the people found their voice with their votes and told the Tories that they are tired of their lies, of austerity, of cruel cuts, fear and despair.

Credit for this hope must go to Labour, led by JEREMY CORBYN, which has pulled off the biggest political reawakening of the century.

Corbyn connected with people in a way that May and her ‘strong and stable’ message simply couldn’t match. He has shown people that politics can work to make people’s lives better.

His campaign, built on honesty and taken to the public’s front doors by real people, spoke stronger than an empty manifesto and campaign with hundreds of thousands of pounds thrown at it by City donors.

Cab members have felt the brunt of Tory economics for too long. When people don’t have money in their pockets they don’t take cabs, it is simple as that. And with this government determined to turn the streets into cut-throat chaos by unleashing thousands of Uber licences, things will get tougher for taxis under this government.

With Labour we have a government in waiting that will work for the many, not the few.

Times are still uncertain. But with May desperate for a deal with a minority party to form a government, and with the UK looking ill-prepared for imminent Brexit talks, the Tories have shown themselves unfit for office.

May can only cling to power for so long while the rest of her party sharpen their knives.

We must now demand action from the Tories on the ‘gig’ economy and continue our fight against the lowering of our living standards. But we do so renewed, fired up by the hope that another way really is possible.

'Due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others' -Any taxi driver would be aware of the reckless nature of a minority of cyclists near “Silicon roundabout” in Shoreditch.

It was perhaps inevitable that the death of a pedestrian in February would occur in this location. For the last five years some cyclists in this area have developed a wanton disrespect for other road users, the law and basic road safety.

Why this area has evolved this dangerous habit is puzzling.

But every morning between 8am and 9.30am the roads emanating from Old Street roundabout resemble the wild west.

Bus lanes are unusable for either buses or taxis, bus drivers attempting to stop at designated stops need nerves of steel as do taxi drivers stopping to pick up or drop off or simply make a left turn. Red lights are ignored as are one-way streets.

I can think of at least two incidents in the last twelve months when cyclists have been victims, so this is not about taking the moral high ground, but the lack of common sense displayed by some cyclists is frightening. If this behavior scares and appalls me, encased in a ton of steel protection, surely a cyclist must be aware of the dangerous manoeuvres they are employing?

Clearly cyclists are not always in the wrong, but it seems that many often stick with the herd mentality and as soon as they see another cyclist doing something dangerous and getting away with it, they all follow in a sheep like fashion.

Other than the Old Street area, I believe most taxi drivers awareness of cyclists has increased and vice versa.

Certainly, in Zones 1 & 2 I have seen a more accepting, if sometimes grudging, respect that motorists must share road space with cyclists.

Charlie Allison’s actions and his comments on social media immediately after should make cyclists wake up to the fact that they are not morally superior to other road users; that traffic regulations are not created simply to be disrespected.

We all need to make our roads safer, but this should be backed up with just laws as well.

Len McCluskey, general secretary

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BY MIKE HEDGES

@cabtradenews

Charlie Alliston faces eighteen months in prision because he couldn’t care less about other road users, a young woman with a loving family has been needlessly killed. Surely our laws now need updating and just as important, enforcing.

Pedicabs On the theme of Safety and common sense, I saw two separate cases recently where tourists hired a pedicab outside Hamleys, with their children. The children, in both cases, seemed under five years old. The fathers both seemed happy to bounce their young children on their laps; no child restraints; no protection in a crash. Why is this dangerous & unregulated exploitation still being allowed to flourish openly outside all our major tourist attractions? As in the case of Kim Briggs, will it take an avoidable tragedy before anything gets done.

Respect As a taxi trade, we are rightly proud of our high standards of safety offered to the traveling public. The recent -allegation that Uber has been concealing sexual assault cases amongst its drivers would not come as a shock to many London drivers who have campaigned relentlessly for better safety for women traveling in minicabs, minicabs licensed by TfL. Clearly regulations on private hire operators and drivers are not rigorous enough.

Women, especially women traveling alone, need the highest levels of regulation and enforcement when using minicabs.

Therefore, it’s disappointing to hear of the number of comments on social media denigrating the women TfL compliance officers

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who made an admittedly, naive and silly decision to instruct a taxi driver to remove a copy of Taxi newspaper from the front of his cab. Most comments are anonymous.Worse still, some comments are reportedly sexually denigrating the women. This is wrong and if it’s taxi drivers writing these comments they let the London trade down.

A recent example of a hospital refusing monies from a fundraiser where men dressed as highly sexualised nurses shows how times are changing. I am sure many men will argue that this is PC gone mad. But female nurses deserve our respect for the tough, underpaid jobs they do caring for our community 24/7, and shouldn’t be portrayed as sexual objects.

About women doing tough jobs; it’s interesting how many leading positions at Taxi & Private Hire are at present being undertaken by women. This is a long way from the male ex Met police types who formerly got tucked up into these positions, allegedly with the help of certain funny handshakes, or indeed, previous holders of high office within TPH who were reportedly happy to challenge taxi reps to fight outside The Ring in Blackfriars Road.

Whilst disagreeing with many issues being raised by Taxi & Private Hire recently and often feeling like we are walking through treacle on simple issues, the level of consultation and response on many other issues affecting working taxi drivers is far better than in the past.

Autumn 2017

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LOSING FRIENDS FAST Over the last few months there has been an increasing number of negative news stories and revelations about Uber and the way they are operating. From the threat of not having their licence renewed in London to the exposure by Neil Billany, Head of the Metropolitan police's taxi and private hire unit, of Uber failing to report serious crimes committed by their drivers.

This comes on top of the recent All Party Parliamentary Group report into taxis and private hire which had a series of recommendations aimed at stopping crossborder hiring and raising minimum driver standards, ensuring plying for hire is only allowed by taxis and allowing private hire numbers to be capped.

The Uber model, like all gig economy focused businesses, relies on an oversupply of labour, in this case drivers, to push down wages and conditions. Therefore, Uber floods the market with unskilled drivers, working at or below, the minimum wage under increasingly exploitative conditions. Uber have increased the commission for many of its drivers to exploit them even more.

So anything that threatens their exploitative model is a threat to Uber. The Mayor of London refusing to relicense Uber would be the strongest signal yet that Uber is not a fit and proper company to operate minicabs in this country. Their record is abysmal and no other company would operate in this way.

They oppose any increase in safety standards, there accept and disregard sexual and verbal assaults by their drivers towards passengers, aim to destroy local licensing conditions, which are there to protect passenger safety and force driver's to work excessive hours, in many cases drivers are forced to sleep in their cars as they are so exhausted. Is that a company that should be protected by the state at the expense of lawabiding companies and legitimate taxi drivers.

It is clearly time for the government to act and bring in new legislation to tackle the licensing problems that exist. If the Mayor refuses Uber a licence this will send a strong message to government and other authorities that Uber can be tackled and beaten. They refuse to say how their App works and whether it conforms to existing legislation requiring all private hire bookings to go through the operator before the driver. It is clear that Uber send the booking straight to the driver before the booking goes to them. That is dangerous and illegal and must be stopped. If Uber's London licence is refused then all licensing authorities should immediately follow suit and withdraw Uber's licence to operate. In itself, this is not the solution, but it will send the strongest message possible that the law needs changing.

Daniel Zeichner MP for Cambridge, has said that he will use his Private Member's Bill to tackle many of the problems with taxi and private hire legislation. The government needs to use this opportunity to back Daniel Zeichner and ensure the Bill gets the necessary

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BY JIM KELLY

parliamentary time to allow the passage of the Bill through parliament. This is a golden opportunity to put in place robust legislation that is fit for an age of apps and smartphones.

That can ensure progress in a way that continues to protect the public.

Unite Cab Section have a good relationship with Daniel, and we have met and discussed many of these issues with Daniel, and we are convinced that the main issues can be tackled with a focus on keeping licensing local and simple. These include: Unite has always been clear. The way to end cross-border hiring is for all private hire bookings â&#x20AC;&#x153;to begin or end in the licensing authority where the licence was issuedâ&#x20AC;?.

This is simple to check and would stop the blatant abuses taking place at the moment, such as a London licensed vehicle doing all of its work in Brighton with a London licensed Brighton driver.

The Deregulation Act should be scrapped immediately. This gives operators another way to undertake cross-border bookings.

A cap on private hire numbers.

One high minimum standard of driver, vehicle and operator. For drivers this should include a driving test, English language test and a topographical test.

Increased enforcement powers for licensing/enforcement officers to be able to inspect out-of-town vehicles.

A standardised DBS to stop drivers and operators moving around licensing authorities.

A review of 'plying for hire' to stop apps displaying vehicle availability.

Together with all the other pressures facing Uber, such as the Employment Tribunal's decisions, the government reviewing the gig economy and Uber's refusal to pay taxes, means that now is the time to put an end to Uber's disgusting behaviour and bring in laws that protect all concerned; passengers and drivers.

BY MIKE HEDGES

BY JIM KELLY

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Unite Cab Section Welcomes APPG Report Unite Cab Section welcomed the report of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Lessons from London: The future of the UK Taxi Trade. This was a three month investigation which received evidence from many sources, including Unite’s Cab Section.

It comes at a time which is very much a crossroads for the taxi industry in the UK. With so much uncertainty and changes confronting the taxi trade this report is very welcome, particularly if it can kick-start a new attitude from the government towards bringing in legislation that will put an end to the escalating abuse of the licensing legislation that is abundant around the country. Local authorities are becoming increasingly frustrated at their lack of powers to stop the flaunting of licensing conditions that they have imposed in the interests of their local electorates safety. Safety is being compromised and the government must act before it is too late.

The APPG have addressed these issues in a wide ranging report. Unite Cab Section is very pleased to report that many of the solutions that we have advocated as required in legislation have been recommended by the APPG. In keeping with Unite's view the essence of the report has been to keep licensing local and simple.

These include: Grant the Mayor of London and any other Mayors or combined authorities who

request it, the power to cap the number of PHVs Create a statutory definition of cross border hiring whereby a journey must “begin or end in the licensing authority where the licence was issued” Consult on statutory guidance for taxi and PHV licensing and set out a robust set of minimum licensing standards for all licensing authorities.

The simplest way to end cross-border hiring is to place a restriction on private hire drivers whereby a journey must “begin or end in the licensing authority where the licence was issued". This would instantly stop a driver being licensed in one authority and working exclusively or partially in another authority.

This is almost always done to avoid licensing restrictions that have been brought in to address particular safety issues, such as safeguarding education in a number of authorities. Taxis can only ply for hire in their licensing area so the same should be the case for private hire. The case for this is overwhelming.

Creating a set of high national minimum standards is essential to ensuring the best possible safety criteria for passengers. The minimum standards should include a standardised DBS check, a medical group 2 assessment, a local topographical test, a driving test, an English language test and a disability awareness course. This should be the

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minimum requirement for all drivers. In addition local authorities should be free to set local requirements, such as environmental standards, vehicle colour and safeguarding education.

All of these requirements should be dealt with in consultation with the taxi trade to ensure that the requirements are robust and put safety at the heart of licensing.

Mayors should be given increased powers in the ways that the APPG recommends to tackle serious problems. If the Mayor of London had the power to cap numbers then London would have been able to tackle the explosion in private hire numbers that has taken place, to the detriment of the drivers themselves, London's road network and to the environment.

The Deregulation Act should be scrapped as a lot of operators use this as a means of crossborder operation. Increased enforcement powers for licensing/enforcement officers to be able to inspect out of town vehicles would also help stop cross border hiring and improve safety. The use of private hire Apps showing the availability of vehicles should also be stopped as this is clearly 'plying for hire' as these vehicles are exhibiting themselves for hire, which is clearly illegal and dangerous.

Unite fully endorses the APPG report and we look forward to continuing to work with the APPG to bring their recommendations into law.

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BY PETER ROSE

ELECTRIC CABS:

Craig Doogan

Charging is the current main concern If you have looked at buying an electric car, the most common expression you’ll come across is ‘range anxiety’. However, for the taxi trade it isn’t ‘range anxiety’ that’s the biggest worry, its ‘charge anxiety’!

cab will need to be ‘topped up’ mid-shift.

And it’s here, if the Mayor and Transport for London fails to act quickly, that the problems will arise. London simply doesn’t currently have any dedicated charging points for electric cabs.

We all probably know by now that the new TX taxi on offer from the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) formerly the London Taxi Company has a small onboard motor to maintain the batteries. So from a standing start with batteries fully charged and a full tank of fuel, taxi drivers will have an overall range in excess of four hundred miles.

This should more than eliminate the range anxiety issue.

In January, it will four years since former Mayor of London Boris Johnson, marched into a marquee on the lawn of City Hall and announced that he wanted all new taxis to be Zero Emission Capable (ZEC) from January 1st 2018. At that event the trade was looking forward to what looked to be a serious vehicle choice. LTC, New Metrocab, Karsan all on display, with Nissan joining the party a little later.

Four years down the power-line and with no fault of the surviving manufacturer, it looks like only one vehicle remains.

Metrocab and Karsan seemingly disappearing up their own battery terminals. We’ve yet to see if TfL will

However, to run the new cab at optimum efficiency, and to make the most of much vaunted fuel savings, as well as starting your shift with fully charged batteries, the

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pass the Dynamo version of the all electric NV200 taxi.

So, with a four-year lead in time, and with being charged with the task, you would have thought that TfL would have been busy with a plan of implementation.

After all during the same period TfL’s Road Space Management team managed to introduce an extensive Cycle Superhighway network, spending millions in the process. One might be forgiven for thinking that they would do the same for the charging network needed to run London’s taxi fleet from 2018. Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is, TfL have been static on the need for charging points. Often talking about them, but never actually getting in off the ground and installing them. Why is this? Lack of funds? No, the fact is, TfL

Thinkstock

are going to outsource the charging points needed to run London’s fleet of electric taxis. This means taxi drivers will be paying commercial rates for power every time we top up mid shift. Worse still there will be no standardised rate.

Costs will differ from one charging point to the next. Taxi drivers will need a smartphone app to find the lowest price for charging. That is assuming you will be able to find a vacant point. Even more worrying is that TfL don’t know how many we will need in total. There is no cabs to charging points ratio.

Dedicated charging By the end of the year the trade has been promised by TfL that as a start it will have seventy-five dedicated taxi rapid charging points, with another seventyfive coming in 2018. That is, points with enough power to see a cab up and running again within half an hour. With

only three months to go, seventy-five points looks to be no more than a pipedream. So why the delay? it has come to light that the charging companies are reluctant to bid for ‘taxi only’ charging points. Probably because they are being asked to bid and maintain locations without a single electric cab being on the road. To see some guaranteed use and profit, they want the sites to be open to all electric vehicles. An understandable position perhaps, given that until it actually goes on sale, no one really knows how fast the take up of zero emission capable cabs will be? And without a sufficient dedicated infrastructure, potential owners of the new cab could well be put off from buying.

Another reason is, that although London’s boroughs want the all new, all green cabs, even proposing new electric only cab

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ranks, none of them want to have the large fridge sized charging stations needed to run them on their pavements.

Too big and too ugly for most councils, preferring to wait for advances in technology to make them smaller, neater, more powerful or non-visible (Wireless).

Because of this TfL are having to resort to bribery, releasing £4.5 million to twentyfive boroughs, encouraging them to install the rapid charging points, as drivers and the manufacturers need to make these vehicles successful. Whether or not this will do the trick, and this unplugs the stopgap facing the electric cabs, we can only wait and see. If it doesn’t then the likelihood is that zero emission cabs sales will falter, trade confidence will fall and the green cab ideal will fail. TfL and the London boroughs need to get their acts together, and they need get them together – yesterday!

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BY HAJERA BLAGG

UNITE SAYS NO TO UBER LICENCE RENEWAL

“

Police have slammed the ride-sharing app Uber in London for failing to report sexual assaults by its drivers, among other serious crimes, leading Unite to call for an end to Uber’s operating licence in the capital.

Delays Billany noted that the MPS was made aware of six sexual assaults, two public order offences and one assault in 2016 which were first reported to Uber and subsequently reported to TfL but were initially kept from police.

”

From the way it treats its passengers with wanton disregard to the way it sees its workers as expendable robots with virtually no employment rights or protections, Uber has shown itself to be a company that does not deserve to operate on the streets of London, In a damning letter obtained by the Sunday Times from Inspector Neil Billany, head of the Metropolitan police’s (MPS) taxi and private hire unit, Uber was accused of “deciding what crimes to report” – those that would “be less damaging to [its] reputation” – and failing to tell police about more serious crimes. The letter, sent to Helen Chapman, head of taxis and private hire at TfL, highlighted several incidents in which Uber failed to report to police.

TfL said Uber’s failure to communicate with police was “totally unacceptable” and would form “part of the consideration” as it decides Uber’s longterm licence renewal in London in September.

This caused a delay in police being informed from anywhere between a few weeks to seven months. Because of this delay, some cases, like the two public order offences, could not be pursued “despite both having clear evidence of an offence taking place” because a sixmonth prosecution time limit had passed.

Uber has itself admitted that it reports incidents to TfL as per regulations but it is not a matter of its policy to inform the police. Billany claimed that in one alleged road rage incident involving a driver using pepper spray, which is technically classified as a firearm, Uber refused to give information to the police unless they submitted a formal request under the Data Protection Act Passenger safety Unite’s London Cab Section chair Jim Kelly slammed Uber’s refusal to cooperate with police.

“Their behaviour demonstrates what we have known for some time — that Uber sacrifices passenger safety at the altar of

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the profit motive,” he said. “Uber is driving this race to the bottom in the private hire market — where the safety of its passengers does not even register as a priority — and it must stop.”

Kelly explained that the incidents highlighted in Billany’s letter also expose a loophole in private hire legislation: “We at Unite argue that all complaints against private hire drivers should be directed straight to TfL and not to the operator,” Kelly noted.

“This is so that all passengers, no matter what mode of transport they take or which company the operator is, are in a position where their safety comes first and complaints are dealt with in a streamlined way.”

Licence Kelly added that the latest news revealing Uber’s failure to protect passengers adds to the reasons why Uber’s licence in London should not be renewed in September.

“From the way it treats its passengers with wanton disregard to the way it sees its workers as expendable robots with virtually no employment rights or protections, Uber has shown itself to be a company that does not deserve to operate on the streets of London,” he said.

“We at Unite urge the Mayor of London and TfL to not renew Uber’s operating licence when it comes up for review later this month.”

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BY JIM KELLY

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PRESS RELEASE

Taxi legislation needs updating to safeguard passengers says LGA involved taxi and PHV holders abusing the trust that has been placed in them, so there are strong safeguarding reasons for strengthening current legislation.

“The need for reform is now urgent.

Councils are doing what they can to strengthen licensing processes, such as commissioning an LGA national register, but we have always said that the best way to strengthen safeguarding is to update legislation, which only government can do.”

Taxi laws need urgently updating to reflect new technology, help reduce the risk of child sexual exploitation and create a level playing field for drivers, the Local Government Association (LGA) said today.

It is urging government to support new taxi legislation on taxi and private hire vehicles in order to modernise the licensing system for taxis and PHVs, improve passenger safety and create a level playing field for drivers.

The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, says taxi and private hire legislation – some of which dates back to 1847 and horsedrawn hackney carriages – needs strengthening to improve passenger safety in light of the proliferation of appbased taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) companies and increased cross-border hiring.

The LGA has recently commissioned the development of a national register of taxi and PHV licences which have been refused or revoked so councils can check new applicants against the database and update with their own information.

Councils cannot take enforcement action against the rising numbers of taxi drivers licensed by other authorities operating in their area. This is causing huge frustration to councils and local drivers who, depending on what the local rules are, may have had to comply with more rigorous licensing standards.

The Government has set up a working group to look at the issue over the autumn. The LGA wants the group to look at the issue of national minimum licensing standards for drivers of taxis and PHVs, a national database of all licensed taxi and PHV drivers, and cross border hiring.

But the LGA says the best way to strengthen safeguarding measures is for government to update taxi laws.

Cllr Clive Woodbridge, Deputy Chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “Councils have long argued that there is a need for the existing outdated taxi laws to be updated.

“The legislation governing aspects of taxis and private hire vehicles pre-dates the motor car and is simply not fit for purpose in an era when mobile phone technology is significantly changing the way people access private hire vehicles.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a number of child sexual exploitation cases that have

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“The onset of mobile phone booking apps for PHVs is causing concern about whether drivers are able to compete on a level playing field and has led to numerous and costly legal challenges which local licensing authorities are being forced to spend public money on.

“Local licensing authorities are trying to work out how new models fit within a legislative framework drafted before mobile phones were even invented, when what is really needed is clarity on a new legislative framework that allows for a 21st century way of doing things fairly for passengers, councils and drivers.

“The need for reform is now urgent.

Councils are doing what they can to strengthen licensing processes, such as commissioning an LGA national register, but we have always said that the best way to strengthen safeguarding is to update legislation, which only government can do.

“It’s encouraging that the Government has recognised the need to look at this issue as a matter of urgency, following Minister John Hayes’ announcement of a working group to look at this over autumn and report back to him. The LGA looks forward to being part of the working group and is urging government to follow it up by supporting or bringing forward new taxi licensing legislation which benefits passengers, councils and drivers as it is brought before Parliament.”

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Plying for hire On Monday 8th of August 2017 around twenty-five metropolitan London Taxis visited Brighton & Hove, teaming up with the local trade to challenge the inner workings of the Uber app.

The Uber app has been shrouded in mystery, with Uber refusing to fully reveal how it functions, even when directly questioned at the Brighton & Hove Taxi Trade Forum meetings. At the last meeting held in July, questions from the trade were again put to Fred Jones of Uber, about how the app functioned, but he again refused to discuss the matter. However, the reps from Brighton & Hove Streamline Taxis, City Cabs and Brighton & Hove Radio Cabs were willing to discuss their apps and booking systems in detail.

Unite and the local trade merely wonder, If Uber's app is fully compliant with all legislation, then why all the secrecy? It is this compliance (or otherwise) with the legislation that we sought to test. Uber supposedly only uses private hire vehicles and not hackney carriages. This itself is questionable, as they use hackney carriages from outside their respective taxi licensing areas to work as private hire in other areas.

The law states that as such, private hire cars are not allowed to be ‘hailed’ or to 'ply for hire' in the street, including hackney carriages that are not within their own licensing authority area. From reports available, it is widely believed that the Uber app simply connects the customer to the nearest available driver, which is effectively a 'direct street hail'.

As said, the law makes ‘hailing’ unlawful for private hire vehicles.

Apps in use by the local Brighton & Hove taxi and private hire companies do not use a system of direct street hailing, which simply connects the customer to the driver. These apps accept the booking from the customer into the operator's booking system and correctly records and documents the details of the booking to the operator's booking records, before offering or dispatching the job to the nearest or most appropriate vehicle.

The purpose of the visit by the metropolitan London cabs was to demonstrate a specific app that they use in London would also work for them outside of London, including Brighton & Hove. The app used was a direct hailing one, which for London hackney carriages whilst working in London is perfectly legal. However, these metropolitan London taxis are legally only allowed to use this type of app when they are within TfL’s licensing area. They are not allowed to use them to ply for hire outside of London. This is the same rule for any hackney carriages nationally, which are limited to legally plying for hire only within their respective licensing authority areas.

We sought to challenge Brighton & Hove Council on how the Uber system works. If one of these metropolitan London taxis makes themselves available on their app in Brighton & Hove (outside of their Licensed area), and if a member of the public had the customer app on

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their mobile and requested a taxi, or a ‘ride’ as Uber so quaintly puts it. Then if one of those metropolitan London taxis accepted that request, then the respective metropolitan London driver has acted illegally and rendered themselves liable to revocation of their hackney carriage licence.

So they duly made a metropolitan, TfL licensed London cab available for hire on their app in Brighton, just as Uber does with its TfL licensed minicabs on a daily basis). We requested a ‘cab’ and the request was immediately sent to ’our’ London cab. It was then open to the driver to accept that request, just as many TfL Uber drivers do each and every day in Brighton & Hove.

The intention of the demo was to ‘alert’ Brighton & Hove City Council to this ‘plying for hire’ of out-of-town vehicles in the city which is illegal and to see what reaction the council would have to this.

Of course, it was never the intention for any of these visiting London cabbies to ply for hire in the city, as this was merely a test conducted under 'test conditions'.

In effect, a staged event of what may happen in theory with such 'apps' in use by vehicles and drivers not licensed by Brighton & Hove, but operating without hindrance in the city.

Just when we may have been confused (we weren’t, but we may have been), TfL came to the rescue (when did you ever think you’d hear those words) with a couple of tweets, confirming that a TfL taxi MUST be: ‘physically located

Hove Report

BY SEAN RIDLEY

explain in detail just how it works and a correction will certainly be made.

within your licensed area to legally accept a job’ and; 'with pre-booked jobs, you still must be in your licensed area when you accept the job’. That clarification came directly from the regulator - TfL!!!

Of course, this applies to taxis licensed in London and not to private hire vehicles that comply with the three licence requirements of a licensed operator dispatching jobs to vehicles and drivers licensed by the same authority.

Now perhaps TfL Taxi & Private Hire could explain why TfL licensed Uber minicabs are allowed to wait for and accept app work in Brighton & Hove (outside of their licensed area), but also in many other towns and cities across the length and breadth of the Country?

When the driver is directly accepting bookings from the passenger and not having the booking despatched first by Uber London.

At this point we state publicly that if Uber Britannia Limited disagrees with how the consensus of the actual workings of their app is generally perceived by the national taxi trade and others is incorrect... Then kindly

We believe that we have achieved our ultimate aim of clarifying what is a 'booking app' and what is a 'direct hailing app'. It would appear in essence that the Uber app fails to comply with both the ‘London Private Hire Act 1998, and the ‘Local Government Miscellaneous Act 1976, by allowing the driver to directly accept bookings from the passenger.

This is one of the reasons why we believe TfL should refuse to re-license Uber in London.

Safety First There are of course major issues that both London and the City of Brighton & Hove and indeed other licensing authorities face with Uber such as, Uber TfL drivers sleeping in their cars (evidence available). Out of town private hire vehicles from as far as Edinburgh, Leeds, Sefton, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Southampton and Reigate to name just a few 'alien' vehicles working in Brighton & Hove without the need to have expensive CCTV installed as insisted by the Council. Also, enforcement of these out of town vehicles is almost a physical impossibility with them being left to run amok with scant chance of being apprehended.

This together with a catalogue of legal infractions building, such as Uber drivers from TfL and other areas driving the wrong way in one way streets, failing to comply with

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road signs and signals. In one example an Uber vehicle being driven the wrong way along Kings Road Brighton against the flow of traffic. Unlawful unauthorised ranks of Uber cars plying for hire and even parking up on local taxi ranks.

Vehicles without any distinguishing safety markings or even evidence of licence plates.

Interestingly enough, the Brighton Argus newspaper covered a story recently of an Uber (TfL licensed) minicab seized

by Sussex Police for having no insurance - this alone breaches the primary purpose of Licensing - Public Safety!

It was very clear that whilst London and Brighton & Hove face different issues, there is one common factor that affects the whole of the country and that is the question on the legality of the Uber app connecting the customer directly with the driver and until there is a clear definition of this then it remains smoke and mirrors. We have of course called for action by Brighton & Hove City Council but as usual the silence is deafening!

We now require immediate enforcement action from both TfL & Brighton & Hove City Council on vehicles licensed

by TfL, not physically located within their licensed area and illegally accepting jobs’ and/or; ‘accepting pre-booked jobs, whilst not located in their licensed area when they accept the job.

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Southampton saf over our ‘Out of To Council leader echoes Unite call for private hire journesy to start or finish in the area they are licensed for.

Councillor Simon Letts, Labour leader of Southampton Council has written to John Hayes CBE MP, the government minister in charge of taxis and private hire at the Department of Transport, to complain about the number of non Southampton licensed private hire drivers and vehicles working in the city.

In his letter, Councillor Letts raises a number of safety concerns with the large numbers of private hire drivers working cross border. And closes his letter by saying that the government should change “current legislation so that all journeys must start or end in the area that has registered the vehicle for private hire”.

The ’licensed area' policy has already been outlined by Sadiq Khan in his

Mayor of London Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan. It was also amongst Labour's Wes Streeting's proposals for the taxi trade in his All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), Lessons from London report on the future of taxi and private hire services in England and Wales. Unite cab section adopted the private hire journey policy at its annual taxi trade conference in March.

Unite's concerns for unmarked private hire Earlier this month, Southampton's Daily Echo reported an incident in which a woman is alleged to have been sexually assaulted and dumped near the M27 motorway after getting into an unmarked car which she thought was a taxi.

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Unite the union says people are becoming used to getting into unmarked cars because of all the TfL licensed Uber vehicles that are “flooding” into Southampton.

Perry McMillan, chairman of the Southampton cab section of Unite, told Southampton’s Daily Echo: “Uber vehicles licensed by Southampton City Council had to carry clear markings but those from other areas often displayed nothing but a small disc in the back windscreen”.

Councillor Letts's letter is reproduced opposite…

BY PETER ROSE

fety concerns Town Private Hireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Dear Mr Hayes, I am writing to you to raise the issue of public safety with regards the licensing of hackney carriages, private hire vehicles and minicabs.

In Southampton we have adopted a strategy to protect the public, our vehicles are clearly marked differentiating between Hackney Carriages and Private Hire vehicles. Both sets of vehicles have to have a livery that tells them apart from a private motor vehicle as well. We feel this is important in preventing rogue, bogus drivers trying to take advantage of the vulnerable. Additionally in Southampton we require our vehicles to have an on board taxi camera fitted.

Over the last two years we have seen a new phenomenon with a number of private hire vehicles or minicabs licensed by authorities other than Southampton City Council predominantly working in Southampton.

Southampton presently licences 283 hackney carriages and around 650 private hire vehicles. We have seen a rapid growth in these vehicles working in the city. The local trade estimate there to be in excess of 120 such cars, the vast majority of which are licensed by Transport for London, other areas include New Forest District Council, Havant, Fareham and Chichester.

None of these authority areas require cameras to be fitted and the Transport for London (TfL) vehicles are only identifiable by small stickers in the front and rear windscreens. This has caused confusion as these TfL vehicles often look just like a private vehicle. Earlier this month a local man took advantage of this confusion and used his private vehicle to lure a vulnerable victim into his car on the pretence he was a licensed private hire vehicle, he then seriously sexually assaulted her. Officers and the local trade believe this only occurred because of the recent influx of TfL cars in Southampton.

The whole regime of taxi and private hire licensing has been undermined over the last two years and local authorities are no longer able to properly protect the public with appropriate measures to address local problems as the local measures are easily circumvented by getting licensed in an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;easierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; area. Previously the government has suggested it is within the power of the local authorities to address the problem by attaching conditions to vehicles to predominantly work in the area it is licensed. This is reliant on all the authorities agreeing and it being supported in the courts as to date it has not been properly tested. Clearly authorities are not prepared to apply these conditions with a lack of proper support in legislation.

An easy solution is for you as the Minister to amend current legislation so that all journeys must start or end in the area that has registered the vehicle for private hire. Otherwise the next time we have a serious incident in Southampton I will be directing the media interest to your door.

Best Wishes Cllr Simon Letts (Leader of Southampton City Council)

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ORDER YOUR TAXI NOW! LEVC opens order book for all new TX, the most advanced green taxi in the world LEVC – the London EV Company – formerly London Taxi Company, confirms costs and prices for all new TX with eCity technology: Finance package, at £177 weekly equivalent price, inclusive of the battery over 5 years.

Typical fuel saving for average driver of a £100 per week over current model.

Full retail price for the new TX is £55,599 OTR inclusive of battery.

Compelling UK launch offer on warranty and servicing with roadside assistance programme all inclusive: Five years full unlimited mileage battery warranty – industry leading for commercial EVs; Three years/90k miles free servicing; Three years/120k miles full vehicle warranty to include roadside assistance programme.

Ahead of taking deposits for the first time and opening the order book, LEVC confirms final pricing and indicative

running costs for the all-new TX model.

The launch finance package – through which more than 90% of drivers are expected to buy the new TX – is confirmed at £177 per week, including the battery over five years. The outgoing TX4 model was priced at £167 per week over four years.

LEVC’s Commercial Director, Richard Gordon, said: “I am delighted to announce such a competitive package for the new electric TX. Market leading in every way, this is a truly outstanding new vehicle that will revolutionise the taxi trade in London from an emissions perspective, for passenger comfort, experience and enjoyment, and importantly for the drivers.”

The all new electric TX is based on eCity technology comprising a battery electric power train with range extender providing over 400 miles range between charges including well in excess of 70 miles with zero emissions.

The technology is purposefully designed for commercial operators that face demanding and unpredictable duty cycles which require complete range assurance, but also significant zero emissions capability for city centre operations.

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As well as offering complete range assurance and flexibility, the TX with its eCity technology will also significantly reduce costs for taxi drivers. Currently, a taxi driver using the outgoing TX4 Euro 6 model with its 2.7-litre diesel engine, and driving an average of 115 miles per day, will spend around £150 per week on fuel. A taxi driver operating the same cycle in a new TX is estimated to save £100 per week on fuel.

Commenting on the fuel savings drivers will benefit from, LEVC’s Commercial Director, Richard Gordon, commented: “Taking in to consideration the fuel costs of the TX, over the course of a week, it represents a really impressive savings of £100. We look forward to welcoming customers old and new in to our showroom as of this week with our order book now open.”

Servicing of the TX will be easier and more reassured than ever, with LEVC’s UK launch offering of three years free servicing or 90,000 miles on the all new electric TX, as well as a full five-year unlimited mileage battery warranty and a full three year, 120,000 miles vehicle warranty. LEVC’s battery warranty is industry leading for commercial vehicles.

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and don’ts for the Hackney or private hire driver / operator.

The project has evolved from a basic delivery model to an enhanced delivery model that has earned us the accreditation of Pearson EDI’s top centre in this field. By using our purpose built Training Cab for assistance and CCTV cameras for observation as well as many other assessment methods we can get the best out of the candidates and at the same time achieve the highest possible level of Education.

Unite Taxi Education has been delivering both the VRQ in the Introduction to Taxi and Private Hire Industry (QCF) and the Road Passenger Vehicle Driving Taxi and Private Hire (QCF) qualifications for the past nine years. Originally it was a three month trial but we are still going as strong as ever almost ten years later. The delivery of these courses has benefited drivers throughout the country.

In this period we have completed over 9,000 VRQ, NVQ’s (QCF’s) and our

course delivers all the information a driver needs to protect themselves and their passengers. The course structure is set out so it best suits the driver by trying not to impact on his daily routine. The course covers health and safety, road safety, customer services, vehicle maintenance, routes and fares, transporting parcels and luggage, transporting children including safeguarding, transporting passengers who need assistance including wheelchair accessibility and finally regulations which cover all the do’s

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Our Education Centre at Bute Street, Liverpool has three computer suites / classrooms and a classroom for delivery only. We also have the main office and a Library where we can conduct Guided Discussions in private.

All our assessors have A1 awards in Assessing Candidates and PTTLE’s. We have 5 Onsite IQA’s and all our policies and procedures are in place.

As part of the education structure of Unite the union we strive to deliver the best education package as possible so that everyone who learns with us leaves with the ability to competently carry out their duties in whatever field they are employed in.

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By Imran Hussain Branch Committee Unite Nottingham Taxis

A new taxi strategy has been presented to the trade by Nottingham City Council (NCC) after Unite the union presented a fair argument on its offer. We researched and put forward a detailed argument against the former proposal set out by the City, and have now renegotiated, what we believe is a fairer, more realistic compromise regarding taxi strategy.

This now gives a clearer guideline for everyone to follow and help move the trade forward without any uncertainty.

Nottingham City Council has written to Unite and will be writing to all hackney carriage owners.

2020 (1st Jan) All taxis & PHV to be a minimum of Euro 6 (for diesel) All vehicles will have any age limit of 10 years (ULEV 14 years) There will be no exceptional vehicle checks NO VEHICLE other than Euro 6 or ULEV will be allowed from this date.

There will be NO EXCEPTIONS. Allowance has been made for Euro 6 with a number of vehicles due to be approved (see below)

The new taxi age limits and emissions policy will be along the following lines:

2025 (1st Jan) All vehicles licensed for the first time will need to be ZEC ULEV ZEC ULEV age to reduce to max of 12 years

2018 (TBC) Exploring if we can award the first 100 Taxis £3,000 NCC allowance (£5,000 if vehicle handed to NCC for scrappage) towards a new Zero Emission Capable (ZEC) ULEV vehicle. *This is on top of the government's allowance (£7,500 TBC).

A free home charging kit will also be provided for the first 100. This is a proposal to central government and we are awaiting the answer.

2030 (1st Jan) All vehicles will need to be ZEC ULEV Zero Emission Capable ULEVs ONLY ZEC ULEVs will have priority charging points throughout the city Dedicated ZEC ULEV ranks phased in (starting with Melville Street rank) Access to priority lanes (i.e. 9km Daleside Rd) for ZEC ULEV ZEC ULEVs to have increased vehicle licence of 14 years (10 for all other vehicles)

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To be confirmed but hopefully £3k NCC allowance (£5k for vehicles scrapped by NCC), on top of the £7,500 government allowance (TBC) FREE home charging kit for the first 100 vehicles converting to ZEC ULEV New vehicles awaiting committee approval: Nissan NV200 Hackney (ULEV) LTC (ULEV) Metrocab (TBC) (ULEV) Mercedes Vito Hackney (Euro 6) Ford Torneo Hackney (Euro 6) Vauxhall Vivaro VX8 Hackney (Euro 6) LTC TX4 (Euro 6) Hopefully this information (all subject to NCC committee approval) is useful and will allow drivers to think about their new vehicles & timescales. Branch advice would be for any driver thinking of changing their vehicle to speak to a NCC Licensing colleague (John Davis). The City Council will of course share any consultation or policy changes with each and every driver.

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TfLTPH IN Portsmouth Unite Cab Section has written to Transport for London Taxi & Private Hire (TfLTPH) to complain about the state of London licensed private hire vehicles operating in the city. Many of these are being seen as substandard and if tested by Portsmouth City Council would not receive a local licence. Responding to Unite’s complaints, the cab section received the following reply from TfL.

New Forest Branch officers met with legal and licensing enforcement officers at New Forest District Council (NFDC) to discuss the large number of NFDC licensed Private Hire Vehicles working under the Uber banner in Southampton, and in Eastleigh, particularly around the airport area.

We were pleased that they appeared to recognise the problem and were taking steps to minimise it. In particular their topography test has been vastly improved and most applicants now fail. They are allowed three attempts to pass with different questions each time. This has ended the original spike in licensing new private hire drivers. We recognise that this is ‘after the horse has bolted’ but action has been taken.

“As you know, we share Unite the Union’s concerns regarding cross border hiring. In terms of your Portsmouth members concerns, please can you let them know that we are lobbying for improved powers to tackle the issue of cross border hiring and have raised these issues with government ministers and the Department for Transport”.

“We are working with Government to introduce legislation to stop vehicles working permanently in other areas and to provide TfL with appropriate powers to cap numbers”.

It is worth going into some detail on this because other areas are experiencing similar problems with out of area private hire.

They recognised that it cannot be right for private hire drivers to be licensed in one area and work in another.

Further to this reply, on the weekend of 20th August local drivers reported that TfLTPH were in Portsmouth and working with local enforcement.

They will introduce a safeguarding element regarding child and female safety, and disability awareness etc.  They are reviewing policy, appointing a new licensing manager in August and will consult in due course.

 They agreed to look at the possibility of an intended use policy similar to Knowsley.

 They were open to the possibility of joint enforcement action with Southampton City Council

 They recognised the difficulties caused by the subcontracting clause in the Deregulation Act 2015 and listened to

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ROUND-UP

READING COUNCIL PRESS RELEASE

the request for support at the National Association of Licensing Enforcement Officers [NALEO] and the Institute of Licensing [IOL] for the repeal of the clause and support for a policy of jobs starting in or finishing in the controlled licensing area.

 They recognised that enforcement is difficult if the licensed vehicles rarely work in the borough in which they are licensed.

 They agreed to look at improved livery of their licensed vehicles to improve passenger safety, and at other items such as cameras, no booking no ride signage and in vehicle identification, and that this would be included in consultation.

Southampton Clean Air Zone Unite participated with Global Action Plan and Unite taxi drivers from Glasgow, London and Southampton featured in a video about the effect on taxi drivers caused by airborne pollution. [it can be found at www.cabtradenews.org] Taxi Drivers work in the middle of the road where this pollution is at its worst, and we recognise that cleaner air will be beneficial for our health.

At a meeting with Councillor Hammond [Cabinet member for transformation projects] in Southampton we were told that the minimum requirement for taxis and private hire vehicles entering the proposed clean air zone would be Diesel Euro 6 and Petrol Euro 4. He pointed out that Cambridge had announced that they will not be licensing any Diesel taxis within ten years, and he advised the trade not to replace their taxis with diesels.

It is unclear when this will be introduced for taxis but the clean air zone is scheduled to be introduced in 2019.

Unite will be consulting with the council

on this and our Eastleigh representative contributed at this meeting, making clear the need for an agreed phase in period.

Bournemouth After becoming aware of Uber's application for a Private Hire Operator licence in Bournemouth Unite approached the local trade reps and helped them prepare their objections. Uber, as yet, haven’t proceeded with their application.

Instead, they have successfully applied for licences in Christchurch and Poole! We understand these licences were granted by council officers under their devolved powers without the involvement of the local trades.

Eastleigh Borough Council Licensed Transport Forum Uber As we have reported before, we struggle with getting to grips with Uber because the Tories changed the law with regards to cross border hiring, giving free rein to this well financed multi-national company to cause problems across the country. We have continued to press Licensing Officers to look for any legal means to prosecute Uber drivers for any transgression they find. In the same way that we would be very happy to see an Eastleigh driver prosecuted for overcharging etc.

Sainsbury’s Rank For some reason it has become fashionable for a few drivers, when lead car on the Sainsbury’s rank, to park halfway up the rank, particularly at night. This causes problems for cars behind when more than one customer turns up, to find their doors being opened onto the wall. It is also a condition of our driver’s license to pull up to the front of the rank, so please do so.

It will also mean that the few drivers who want to park in the middle of the road, which is also an offence, will no longer need to do so.

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Radio Taxis Southampton – Eastleigh Office?

As reps we were given the courtesy of a meeting to be informed, and comment, on a possible office for Southampton based Radio Taxis in Eastleigh. No formal application has been lodged with EBC yet, but if they abided by the same conditions that applied to every other Eastleigh operator, and manned the office 24 hours a day - and did not divert the phone to Southampton, EBC would have little reason to object. We also asked that any signage included a phone number, not just the domain name, and the Eastleigh logo.

Ageas Bowl Taxi Arrangements It was made clear to the Ageas management that the arrangements which held for the first concert were not acceptable/legal, although in the circumstances that prevailed everybody was left with little choice.

Apart from the fireworks in November our last big payday (unless we progress in the T20 completion) is the One Day International, against the West Indies, on September 29. The latest possible match finish will be 9.30pm. We expect to be in our usual position for the big games, facing up the hill. We also expect the radio taxi operation to have a different line, and for it to be policed by a Licensing Officer.

That said, the problems we have at the Ageas are of our own making. We have warned for years that unless we turn out in numbers the Ageas would have to look for other ways of getting people home.

Sadly, we still have a majority of Eastleigh drivers who seem to be unable to work on these occasions, but we are appreciative of those who do want to earn a living and turn out to these and to the T20 games.

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From Eric Barry, Unite taxi owner-driver Have you ever had that problem of a perfectly valid warranty claim on your taxi but had it rejected? In Edinburgh the usual response from the dealer was “What do you expect with Edinburgh’s roads” when you claimed for a ball joint which expired after a few thousand miles.

I have to admit, I am not a lover of the London Taxi Company products because I have always felt let down by them. I have been in the game for thirty-eight years and the last “London” taxi I bought new was in 1990 although I did buy another Edinburgh plate which came with a 2008 TX4. After 1990 I bought Metrocabs’ then I found the Mercedes Vito and finally I had found a taxi to my liking.

In Edinburgh we double, even treble shift our taxis. The first Vito I bought had done over 172,000 miles before the warranty ran out at three years and the good thing was they didn’t quibble about replacing ball joints no matter how often they packed in. If it needed replacing it usually was done. The odd thing was, one wheel rim split along a manufacturing seam and Mercedes refused to replace it under the warranty. I don’t know why. This one item they fought me over and I wish I had fought harder against them. Because I found out over time that many other drivers had this same problem and had also been rebuffed.

I think it is about time that we got together and where manufacturers divide us as individuals and reject warranty claims, we should get together as a classaction and claim redress from them in terms of the new Consumer Rights Act

2015. This is so much better than the old Sale of Goods Act. The new act gives us real powers to make manufacturers produce taxis fit for the job or compensate us.

I recently went into my Mercedes dealership because the hinge of the top box had broken. The receptionist told me that every other taxi driver who had claimed for a replacement product had been rejected. I specifically claimed that “in terms of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the product had failed in normal use, that a similar failure had occurred in my 11 reg. Vito out of warranty period and that clearly their product was not substantial enough nor of merchantable quality to perform the duties of a for which it had been purchased”. Mercedes UK approved my claim without question.

GET THE WORDING RIGHT and you are less likely to have a problem with the dealership.

Of course, with Mercedes you are getting a genuine three year warranty. Last year, when I was replacing one of my three taxis, I did look at buying a TX4. They were offering a 120,000 mile warranty.

So I asked to see the terms of that warranty and after a struggle, got them to produce the almost thirty pages of exclusions to that promise. Unbelievably most parts were not covered for 120k mile but for just 36k and some parts for only 14k. Only the main drive line components were guaranteed for the promised 120,000 miles. For the sham LTC warranty compared to the Merc genuine one and with both taxis costing £43,000, the choice was obvious and not one I regret.

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The new Electric Taxi from the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), has in my view been unveiled in the dodgiest way. In March LEVC showed off their enormous glass manufacturing shed.

Empty, with a vehicle which appeared to move but the means of propulsion could have been just a few starter batteries for all we knew. Subsequent releases show it to appear to be a twin to the Frazer-Nash Metrocab and releases of information about the product have been slower drying paint.

As a release of a new vehicle it has been done with all the apparent honesty of an Arthur Daley second hand car sale. All we know is that it will achieve the seventy miles under battery power but anything else will be by petrol powered generator. I don’t know what your normal shift is but mine is much more than seventy miles so what are the fuel costs really going to be? Importantly what are the warranty terms going to be? five years on the battery I believe.

Not brilliant if you are hoping to recover the £63k purchase price over say ten years or more. Whatever the length of warranty lets make them stick to it.

If your taxi supplier refuses to accept your warranty claim, even though the taxi is still within the warranty period, email me at taxiwarrantyproblems@mail.com and if enough of us have the same problem we can take a class-action against the dodgy dealership who refuses claims under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which finally gives us some powers against the dodgy dealerships we all have to trade with.

Postcard from Southend

From Ben Fuente

Ralph Morgan It is natural that with the passing of time we lose members through death, unfortunately we do not often record them in Cab Trade News. But in this instance we would not like it to go unnoticed that we have lost a member who stood for the trade in his town of Basildon.

His name was Ralph Morgan affectionately known as the Snail, having a reputation for slow driving. But was also known by all in the trade for not acting like snail whenever there was a problem to be sorted out.

Strangely, I could never get him to take an official position as an officer of the branch or union, but it was Ralph that was always the first to be asked by drivers to represent them, and he would be the first port of call when drivers were seeking advice. And on many occasions the Council would ask for his input.

He would always be with us on lobbies of parliament and on demonstrations throughout our region. It was Ralph that would lead negotiations with the Council, railways and local MPs and was the first point of contact for the local newspaper for his opinion.

As a trade rep he will be greatly missed and a hard act to follow and replace. He was a Gentleman and a credit to his family and the trade and will never be forgotten.

Retired members After writing this article it went through my mind that, unlike poor Ralph who at seventy-four worked up to the end, some of us choose to retire. I would ask at this point you do not walk away from the union, because unbeknownst by many drivers you can join the retired members section and for a very small amount of money you can receive the cover and support you get as full member, (apart from support in working environment).

PLEASE, PLEASE if and when the time does come, contact your local office, and they will give you details, of payments and cover and all the things you can expect as a member of the RETIRED MEMBERS section which include legal benefits, financial services benefits and funeral benefits

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HEATHRO New beginning Unite have had a succession of meetings with TfL and the Police in London and Heathrow. These meetings are to address the touting and removal of the ‘Heathrow Tout Squad’ by Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) Going down the route of duty of care, the approach has been for TfL to accept responsibility for areas within the trade that have never been broached before. It was more an Occam`s razor approach, whereby the simplest solution is normally the correct one… take on the responsibility of those you govern.

as it is safeguarding your future as well as the passengers that are at risk every day. How this has been done or will escalate is somewhat guarded, to allow them to do their jobs. Unite know and have agreed to broaden their powers by not divulging until TfL are ready to make any announcement.

Heathrow Compliance Meeting Unite were somewhat perturbed that the Heathrow branch issues were not being treated with enough urgency by TfL. The non-policing within the terminals was becoming a free for all to the detriment of the trade as a whole. Passengers, especially those first time visitors to London, were at huge risk both physically and monetarily from touts, totally unacceptable.

To get where we are now has been a work in motion, where many cogs and wheels were put into place. Much of it behind the scenes where Unite had the knowledge and contacts to push this in a positive direction for everyone’s benefit.

There can be no cherry picking.

Because of these meetings there are now teams of TfL Compliance Officers’ working in the terminals, and they have given official airport status. HAL and TfL legal teams are now working together and the police and TfL are also arranging car park exit swoops on private hire vehicles. Even their legal powers will increase to assist in doing the job we are all paying our licence fee for. All involved in getting this up and running should be applauded for this,

The resulting process is now a shining example of putting resources of the largest union in the country, in place to be able to get the other trade orgs, Heathrow Police, Met. Police TfL and other government bodies in one room at the same time. All agenda issues have been dealt with as a matter of priority and the close links between TfL and Unite has meant that where problems arise, sensible solutions are being implemented.

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Credit cards are a huge success and that has been a major factor in a near ten percent rise in work at the airport.

Any other problems are physically being ironed out. TfL give us updates on what is happening to the betterment of all drivers. To make sure that this trend continues can I urge everybody to keep up the first-class service that has been another reason behind the work increase. Along with the successful price lists and the drivers who use them of course. We fully understand that it isn’t perfect yet but it is as close as it can be. I recently had to respond to a TfL complaint concerning a Unite member, regarding a credit card issue.

My reply outlined the issue and was then resolved by TfL in a prompt and courteous fashion.

Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) are to install seven electric charging points in the north feeder park in anticipation of any electric taxis being used at the airport. This is just a tester and will be reviewed as the year progresses. The infrastructure throughout the rest of London is being assessed by Unite with all possible haste. Clean air is a major concern for us all, but we can look at this in more detail later on as TfL release more of their information.

I cannot remember our reps being so busy in dealing with all the cab trade issues. It’s a shifting sea of sand at the moment, with almost every new regulation or a changing of rules being reviewed. The cab trade is going under somewhat of an overhaul at the moment, along with the rest of the transport sector throughout the UK.

BY STUART HOPE Secretary, Heathrow Branch

OW FLYER HAL have confirmed that those who don’t abide by their bye-laws concerning working practices, will result in a holiday for most misdemeanours and that TfL would probably be reviewing your fitness to hold a licence. New drivers also have to sign a working knowledge of the airport through the HAL T&C`s when first registering. Be careful, sensible and above all professional… that is how you are already winning your work back. Unite are pushing HAL on a couple of out-of-date and unreasonable issues. HAL have already confirmed they are looking at how to accept credit cards in the APCOA cabin. This is coupled with HAL addressing the lack of women’s facilities at the airport.

Both should have backing from HAL to move forward in the near future as they are already looking at options.

TfL have taken on the Unite requested tout deterrent job in the terminals, and they will be giving us a more detailed report as they are a work in progress.

At this moment, they are carrying out high-vis patrols. The marshals have been asked to carry on doing their diligent work and our own vicechairman has been giving TfL regular Intel reports which has led to a lot of activity in Heathrow and London already. TfL have responded positively and it is becoming rapidly progressive as more Intel is collated.

As TfL are beginning to push more boundaries at Heathrow it has been noted that many taxis are not presenting their taxis for the second MOT. Either failing to hit the fourteen-day time scale or not

presenting it at all. Most worrying was that a high percentage was rental taxis.

It will be the rental company's fault but it will definitely become your problem. You have been warned.

The advent of the whole of Heathrow becoming a clearway means that it will be up to the police, coupled with signage to enforce any traffic build up on Newall Road. This is because all warnings to HAL that as we were implementing schemes to speed up the park more drivers may be incentivised to work it has been ignored.

We have become victims of our own success and this is not acceptable. We are already meeting with HAL to discuss solutions. In the interim, when at the airport do as instructed by the wardens, they are there to get every driver in the park so as not to fall foul.

This would not need to happen if more drivers joined the union. If, you remain idle it affects everyone.

Unite also provide many courses, have computers for you to work on and have support for all your needs. Come into the Unite cabin and fill in a joining form. If you need to know more then join the Unite team and get

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involved. Have a greater say in your trade… JOIN UNITE!

Leeds dispatch www.cabtradenews.org

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By Paul Landau, Chair Leeds Branch

Energy savings...Trust?

There will be a great many out on the roads reading this and looking bemused at this article!

Would you like to borrow the money to buy a ULEZ or electric/hybrid cab at zero percent, yeah ZERO percent? I told you would look confused. Well the long and short of it is YOU CAN’T, well not unless you just happen to live across the northern border of Berwick and enjoy paying council tax to your local Scottish Council.

Because little known to us until four months ago was that Transport Scotland, who receives funding from the Dept. for Transport (DfT), have been allocating funds via the Scottish Office of the Energy Savings Trust (EST) for up to £100k to Hacks looking to change their vehicle to those mentioned above!

On contacting the EST English Office we were told that indeed this was correct but that no like-for-like scheme was available here in England, unless the DfT gave the EST the same incentive! So, live in Scotland borrow up to £100k interest free, live in England and pay…. well who knows what interest? The upshot being that even five percent can and does make a huge impact on finance repayments, and with the new LEVC TX costing £55k plus it can be the equivalent of an extra day’s work per week just to cover it.

We consider this to be an unfair practise by discriminating against two sets of workers just by geography. A national issue should be addressed nationally. Where does it make it fair that one Hack pays zero percent while another more? The vehicles are the same, the job is the same, but one drivers quality of life and working week is different. All down to demographics. This branch is therefore seeking support from localised branches across the UK and will

take this argument to the DfT for their response. If they want Hacks to spend huge sums of money, giving so-called support is crucial! We will also be pressing our local authority, whom announced recently that the DfT had £173M sat in their account, paid in by Leeds for a failed trolleybus scheme called the NGT ‘Next Generation Transport’. The 1940’s was the last time we saw a NGT. We believe a small sum should be earmarked similar to that being offered by TfL under its de-licensing scheme for Hacks. Sadly, Leeds has a morbid love affair with buses and given that we are all small business owners and that bus companies are now privatised, they need to argue why it’s okay to give to bus companies and not set aside funds for Hacks.

Trust? Perhaps better support would mean we could be Energy Saving…

Fares Fair…?

By now it’s safe to say that authorities and reps will have been locked in rooms with officials, negotiating the annual tariff increases for their own areas.

But one overriding question though that keeps springing into my head is, ‘are fares fair’? It’s a question, which of late has been reverberating around our city in light of the proposed tariff review. Can we charge more? Should we? Will it impact use?

Will it open a bigger chasm for the like of that pathetic American app to fill? (we are ABOVE them).

It’s always been a long tradition especially here in Leeds for Hacks to sneeze and Private Hire to catch cold. In short, we increase and they follow suit. Along comes the crappy yank app, undermining even the private hire charges, with the total number of operators here going from 134

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in November 2014 to just over 70 as we write… But one thing we have noticed is that their users are pretty well defined as mainly young students and those who mainly used private hire anyway.

But does putting fares up follow with the social belief that transport should be affordable? Well yes, because like everyone else on this planet, Hacks have to buy food, fuel, clothes, pay mortgages, insurance, repairs, earn a living wage and in light of the disastrous decision to exit the EU, already prices are increasing and who knows where they will be in a few years? We must be mindful of the pollution busting schemes that are being introduced nationally, in London by the previous mayor and the current incumbent, to the decision yet to be handed down to local authorities

by DEFRA on its Clean Air Zones and that by 2040 all vehicles that are sold in the UK must be electric or hybrid.

As we write we must say that the last tariff review we had in Leeds was in 2012 and a meagre five percent, which compared to most other local authorities was pitiful, but one that was overseen by the previous head of licensing. Take that and compare it to bus drivers pay across our region and we lag behind by at least fifteen percent in real terms. Match that to the Retail Price indexes, which bench marks the private sector pay awards and we lag even further at nineteen percent!

It is little wonder then that Unite’s proposal has been to look for a ten percent increase and in light of the ever increasing cost of five, six and seven seat vehicles, for a ground breaking time and a half on those fares with an annual uplift using Unite’s wage bargaining policy adopted annually in April.

Fare pay for all!

Glasgow circular

By George H. Kelly, Unite Glasgow Cab Section

Dash cams Glasgow have finally got round to allowing the installation of dash cams, although part of the delay was due to the time taken by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to reply to them regarding whether or not they have to be registered. Their interpretation is that as they are being used to inform insurance companies/police, therefore they do not fall into the domestic exemption rule.

Does this mean that every dash-cam installed in private cars MUST BE registered with the ICO – at an annual fee £35 to register as the data controller?

Nanny state gone over the top again?

The Unite Glasgow taxi branch organised a meeting with the Air pollution Group and Dundee's Unite Taxi representative, Chris Elder, was in attendance as Dundee Council have proposed only all electric vehicles will be registered in future, with all of the problems that will cause. As Chris says at the moment these vehicles do not have the distance that is needed for out of town work and the infrastructure isn’t there either.

interested in Cabbies views on pollution and was given lots of info regarding our willingness to help make Glasgow “a dear green place” again. Anna was unaware of the difficulties and cost of running a taxi and I felt, as she left on her bicycle she had plenty of food for thought. We would also like to thank Natalie from Global Action Plan for including Scotland in her film for National Clean Air Day.

At the moment Government gives very minimal grants for operators to justify putting taxis in service and Scotland will get even less of the grant money and we still do not know what is going to happen in the future when the grant money is exhausted. We need the government and councils to be doing far more to help taxi drivers. They could start by discussing these issues with Unite in Scotland.

We still have not had any definitive ruling on implementation of the private hire cap from the Scottish Office despite having been told that it would be out by May 2017.

We also had the new convenor of the Environment and Sustainability in attendance, Anna Richardson who was

Dundee now has got nearly all their drivers through the SVG course and has seen a significant drop in private hire

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numbers. Is this the way forward for the whole of the UK? Or as has happened in London, will tests and medicals be bought by unscrupulous people. The way to stop that is to involve the trade and ensure that councils keep rigorous control of the testing.

We wait with bated breath to see if UBER's appeal of the Court’s decision to classify their workers as employees will be upheld.

The Mayor of London while he appeared to be a more inclined to support taxis has proved a disappointment as he seems to be skirting round the Uber issue. We hope that he will refuse to relicense Uber as this will send a strong signal to the rest of the country that Uber can be challenged and beaten.

Mark’s M www.cabtradenews.org

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THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

Town won the first of their three top flight championships. How apt that the Terriers are back in the big time.

The English Premier League begins next month for the 2017/18 season. The EPL is one of the world’s most successful sporting franchises, watched by billions around the world and the 17/18 season is eagerly awaited, with more money than ever likely to be spent by the football clubs…….

On the eve of a new campaign, it is a good idea to ponder how the modern global phenomenon came about….there are the folk tales of villages in Europe trying to defend and place a pigs bladder on their neighbour’s turf. Or, China’s claim to be the birthplace of the beautiful game with challenges around possession of an object on a pitch to the more macabre image of a human skull being kicked about as a pastime….whatever the birthplace, the modern game was codified here in London.

Barnes, southwest London to be more precise. Solicitor, Ebenezer Cobb Morley, born in Hull in 1831, is widely credited as being the father of the Football Association and the modern game.

Cobb Morley was the captain of Barnes Football Club who was present at the inaugural meeting in Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen Street, London, WC2 of a body that created the Football Association (the FA) in 1863. Cobb Morley was the first secretary holding the post until 1866, then president until 1874. The first laws of the game were hatched in his Barnes home. Aside from playing for Barnes, he played in the first representative match between the clubs of London and Sheffield on 31 March 1866, and scored a goal too boot! Quite what Cobb Morley would have made of the game one hundred and fifty years on will never be known, but the joy and simplicity of football over the years would have put a smile on his face. He died in 1924 when Huddersfield

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With all the money sloshing around at the top of the game across the world it is good to recall events going back: Leicester City as Champions the season before last, Ipswich Town winning the title in 1962 as top flight newcomers then getting relegated two seasons later, Nottingham Forest’s European successes, Wimbledon winning the FA Cup, Arsenal’s Invincibles of 2003/4 going unbeaten for a whole season and the mighty Spurs double in the early sixties. Internationally: Denmark as European Nations Champions in 1992 and Greece in 2004. Plus England as World Champions in 1966 is still very special and haunting.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, AC and Inter Milan have fans around the world as football heavyweights.

Barcelona and Celtic appear to be model clubs for inclusion and fan involvement. The financial power of Chelsea and Manchester City means when they play each other, it is simply gas versus oil….

Sorry if I have not mentioned your club, however, no matter how big or good your team is? They still need someone to play against. And Ebenezer Cobb Morley wrote the rules of play.

Can I just mention West Ham United. Thanks….

Autumn 2017

Missive

BY MARK EDWARD TAYLOR

On the trail of Ebenezer Cobb Morley it is worth taking a trip Barnes. This as many folk always comment, is like travelling back in time. In Barnes it is always 1956. It is one of London’s enigmatic areas. Aside from taking in the atmosphere of southwest London, Barnes is the final resting place of Cobb Morley. Just off Rocks Lane is Barnes Common Old Cemetery, now a disused overgrown burial ground. Most of the graves are heavily weathered. Cobb Morley’s grave is one that is well tended and cared for and easy to find. There has been a campaign in Hull to honour Cobb Morley with a statue outside Hull’s KC stadium. Clearly his memory and legacy is dearly treasured across the country….

Football is called the beautiful game for its simplicity. Lovers of the beautiful game see the skill, tactics and athleticism defined within the rules. There have been changes over the years to the rulebook hoping to improve and enhance the spectacle but the game has not veered too far from Cobb Morley’s first laws of the game.

Red and yellow cards were first introduced in the 1970 Mexico World Cup. They were the brainchild of English referee, Ken Aston. Aston had officiated in the notorious Chile v. Italy game in the 1962 World Cup, sometimes referred

33

to as the “Battle of Santiago” for its sheer brutality. FIFA, the world governing football body, thought highly of Aston who developed the system, I guess, based on the traffic light principle. No red cards were shown at the 1970 World Cup but they were phased in across Europe and taken up here in England for the start of the 1976/77 season. The first player to receive a red card was Dave Wagstaff playing for Blackburn Rovers v. Leyton Orient on the 2nd October. The English FA stopped using cards in the 1981 season as it was believed they were inciting crowd violence and not helping the problem with hooliganism. FIFA said the FA was out of step with the rest of football and they were re-introduced for the start of the 1987/88 season. Mick Harford playing for Luton Town was the first player to get a red card on the opening day of that season after only four minutes play! Must have been some tackle….

The back pass to the goalkeeper has seen some changes with only a header or the use of the chest being permitted. This rule change has been devised to counter negative time wasting tactics. The first substitutions happened in the 1965/66 season but only for an injured player. Two seasons later one substitute was allowed for tactical reasons. Steadily, the number of subs has increased, with some countries allowing seven subs to be named, although only three changes are allowed.

To conclude this tribute to Ebenezer Cobb Morley and the Beautiful Game, please supply the name of the first substitute used in English football on 21st August 1965, and who was he playing for? Email Cab Trade News or the address below. taylortaxitours@gmail.com

Autumn 2017

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PRESS RELEASE

New online training protects taxi drivers on school contracts 17 SEPTEMBER 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE USE For the first time ever, taxi drivers are being offered video online training to transport pupils with Special Educational Needs on school contracts.

The courses give drivers and pupil escorts a recognised professional qualification for the difficult work they undertake and should reduce the number of incidents on school journeys.

Although drivers are obliged to provide DBS checks which prove they have no criminal record, there is no standardised training across the country. Each local authority that puts out the tenders for school contracts is left to organise and run any additional training.

East Midlands taxi driver Paul Brown has transported SEN pupils for almost 30 years welcomed the training: “Working on the ranks can be very long and hard, but knowing that you’ve got a school contract is very valuable because the regular work can make life a bit more comfortable. It can be very stressful and difficult work. These online training courses are very much needed.”

The interactive course can be taken in bite sized chunks over several days to fit in around work schedules. The new video coaching offers drivers and pupil escorts crucial training in how to manage challenging behaviours and explains their role in child safeguarding.

In 2015/16, more than £370 million was spent transporting SEN children to and from school. Local authorities

individually recorded up to 1024 incidents, which included damage to taxis and assaults on drivers and escorts.

Course provider Jane Saggers, of Spectrum, said: “There is a desperate need for taxi drivers and pupil escorts to be offered more support and information and our courses do that. We’ve presented the information in a friendly and informative way.

“This professional qualification, the first of its type, is accredited by CPDUK, and provides certificates which can be verified by every local authority. It offers taxi drivers and pupil escorts practical learning, and improves their employability to win new contracts. It should reduce incidents in taxis through greater understanding of the pupils’ needs, and close any child safeguarding loopholes.”

For some pupils with special needs, the journey to school is the most stressful part of their day. Stockport headteacher Chris Newiss says successful transport is crucial: “Young people with special educational needs can find the journey to school intimidating. If they don’t make

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it successfully, they don’t arrive, they don’t progress, they don’t have successful lives, so that journey is key.”

The course costs £49.00 and takes 3 hours in total to complete. Spectrum Courses are available for both drivers and pupil escorts. For more information or to enrol on a course, please visit: www.spectrumcourses.co.uk .

For further information, photos or to arrange media interviews, please contact: Hannah Severyn E-mail: hannah@spectrumcourses.co.uk Tel: 07961 586296 Note to Editors: Spectrum Courses offer the first standardised accredited online training courses for SEN drivers and escorts in England.

Driver courses offer audio as well as video learning Spectrum Courses are fully accredited by the CPDUK Certification Service.

Unite works Taxi drivers!

So keep in touch!

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