The Badge - September 2023

INSIDE

More trade stories than all the others put together EDDIE NESTOR IS BACK IN THE BADGE!

VETERANS AND CABBIES AT HAGUE RECEPTION

Issue 288 September 2023 JOYCE READY FOR ZHANG REMATCH

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LCDC QUIZZES TFL OVER LACK OF ACTION ON UBER EMPLOYEE COURT DECISION

0203 488 8000

2

Issue 288 September 2023

WE’RE PUSHING TFL TO BE MORE ROBUST WITH UBER

Published by The London Cab Drivers’ Club Ltd. Unit A202, Tower Bridge Business Complex Tower Point, 100 Clements Road Southwark, London SE16 4DG Telephone: 020 7394 5553 E-mail for membership enquiries: E-mail: thelcdc@gmail.com Web: www.lcdc.cab Editor: Grant Davis The Badge is distributed free to the Licensed London Cab Trade.

For advertising enquiries please contact the office on 020 7394 5553 or E-mail: thelcdc@gmail.com All advertising in The Badge is accepted under our terms and conditions. These are available at the LCDC office.

Before entering into any commitment, financial or otherwise, always remember to seek professional advice.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarity those of the Editor or of the Management Committee of the London Cab Driver’s Club.

Contributions for publication are welcomed and should be sent to the Editor at the above address.

The London Cab Drivers’ Club Ltd. Printed by Iliffe Print. T: 01223 656500 www.iliffeprint.co.uk

I would like to start by saying I hope you all had a well earned summer break and the memory of washing sand out from between your toes is a distant one.

As i write this, it is the second week in September and after a quiet start, It seems like work is creeping back now the kids are back to school. The Badge this month centres around trying to get TfL to be more robust in their approach to the Supreme Court decision regarding Uber and also the COF, which has raised its head once more.

aIn London we have now seen the introduction of the ULEZ zone, I must say that after attending meetings where the cab trade was told..."it’s going out to a consultation " what that really means is ."we are going to do it anyway, but we needed to tick this box".

With the 20mph streets, LTNs and now this, I am more convinced that London is on a downward economic spiral and the thriving vibrant city we all knew is a thing of the past.

The LCDC takes a vote on supporting the COF at our AGM and as it stands we support it, but the number of calls and emails we are receiving from older drivers not able to return to work due to the costs have risen dramatically.

Once again, as you may have read and heard from other trade groups, the amount of drivers being caught / filmed on their phones keeps happening... buy a cradle!

I would also like to thank Eddie Nestor for returning to the Badge, he loves the banter when cabbies call into his morning show on BBC Radio London and wanted to just engage with us more.

Unfortunately our lawyers are receiving cases on a very regular basis, so make sure you have someone in your corner... join the Club and give yourself a chance.

PAYTON’S SOLICITORS Suite 12, Temple Chambers, 3, Temple Avenue, London EC4Y 0HP

We at the LCDC don’t often bang our own drum when it comes to helping our members with their legal troubles. A lot of the cases which come our way with members are quite sensitive and we respect their wishes to keep things in house and out of the paper which I can fully appreciate.

However, not only do Payton’s Solicitors offer our members a 24 Hour Duty Solicitor 365 days a year, but since getting involved with the Club, our solicitor Keima Payton has the distinction of having a 100% success rate in all her cases which she has handled on behalf of the Club’s members.

Keima Payton has a fearsome reputation in court and should ever the need arise you will find no one better able to fight your corner and save your Badge than Keima.

- Grant Davis, LCDC Chairman

Tel: 0207 405 1999 FAX: 0207 405 1991

3

Issue 288 September 2023

LCDC WRITE TO TFL BOSS OVER UBER CASE Helen Chapman Director of Licensing, Regulation & Charging Transport for London 5 Endeavour Square London E20 1JN

Grant Davis, Chairman, London Cab Drivers’ Club Unit A202, Tower Bridge Business Complex 100 Clements Road London SE16 4DG

Dear Helen, I am writing to you as I wish to raise a modern slavery concern with TfL. I note that Transport for London’s Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2021/22 does not cover taxi & private hire services. Additionally, I note that TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire Driver Policy does not mention or address modern slavery within the taxi or private hire trades, may I ask why this is?

The Supreme Court statement in the Uber employment case states: "… the respondents are drivers who are or were users of that app…following a preliminary hearing the Employment Tribunal found the Respondents [Uber drivers] were workers and they were working whenever they had … [Uber’s] app switched on…[and]… were able and willing to accept assignments.

These findings were upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal” (and the Supreme Court).

To my knowledge, Uber is still not paying their drivers the minimum wage whenever their drivers have the app switched on and they are willing to accept bookings (or assignments as the Supreme Court put it). Has TPH carried out any investigation to ensure that Uber is complying with the Supreme Court judgment?

The comparison that I wish to raise with you is: if a person were to work as a cashier in a supermarket and start at; say 8 AM, they would be sitting at the checkout doing nothing until the customer wanted their shopping scanned. Therefore, it is quite clear that the supermarket checkout staff are paid for their time in between serving customers – this is because they are at the beck and call of their employer - this also means that on a quiet day, the supermarket checkout staff might have 10 minutes between customers (clearly, this 10 minutes of doing nothing is paid time).

Do you agree that the supermarket worker analogy is exactly how the Supreme Court instructed Uber to pay their drivers? i.e; the National Minimum Wage for all the time the app is switched on and the private hire driver is at the beck and call of Uber.

I hear you ask what has this got to do with me and my members?

I believe that by not complying with the Supreme Court judgment, and TfL as our regulator not imposing this clear Supreme Court decision on Uber, then you are allowing Uber to continue paying drivers below minimum wage (which raises modern slavery concerns) and you are allowing our competition to keep private hire fares artificially low, which is sucking trade out of the licensed taxi trade and which is having a negative financial impact on my members.

You are asking my members to transition to a very expensive electric taxi while allowing our competitors to run riot.

You may well say that Uber is a private company and therefore you have no jurisdiction to implement this, but I strongly disagree – if TfL (TPH) is not going to enforce the law as the regulator, then who is?

The whole term ‘fit and proper’ must apply across the board and any actions by individual companies not complying with a Supreme Court decision cannot, in my view, be considered as being fit and proper to hold a licence.

I very much look forward to your earliest reply in this matter.

Kindest regards Grant Davis Chairman LCDC

L.C.D.C: LEADERS NOT FOLLOWERS

4

Issue 288 September 2023

WHY ISN’T TFL TRYING TO KEEP As readers of the Badge will be aware, back in April we contacted Helen Chapman regarding reports of Wolverhampton licensed PH being seen working in London.

We even had passengers inform taxi drivers that they had "booked" a PH in London unaware it had been licensed in Wolverhampton and in all fairness, why would they?

As of now, we have heard nothing back from Tph that satisfies the trade that 1. They are aware of this problem 2. They are going to act on it This has also been highlighted at the recent meeting with the new TfL Commissioner by LCDC Committee member, Danny O’Regan, so TfL are aware of this.

How are Wolverhampton licensed PH vehicles openly allowed to work in London via an app and how (more importantly) can this be safe for Londoners? If the drivers also are licensed in Wolverhampton then how do TfL & more importantly their passengers know that they have met the TfL "Fit & Proper" requirements?

This situation is outrageous and we now have the farce where Wolverhampton PH vehicles can operate in the Capital and Tph compliant officers are powerless to stop them - even if the car had bald tyres or customers complained to the officers, they are completely powerless to act.

As you can see there is a suspicion that Wolverhampton PH Operators who have "Sister" companies are making provisions for their Wolverhampton operations in London and if so, the LCDC consider this a breach of Section 2 1998 London Private Hire Act. The prominent case in determining the lawfulness of cross border hiring arises from the 1995 judgement of Adur District Council v Fry.

Adur DC brought the case against an operator (Car Cabs), who were licensed in the nearby area of Brighton for operating vehicles in Adur. For simplicity, it was found the operator was licensed in his area and operating from there, and Adur’s case failed.

Although, in the judgment, the question posed;

"Whether it was correct to say that the word 'operate' in Section 46(1)(e) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, only includes that part of the whole transaction taking place in the operator's premises."

The question is, perhaps, too widely worded because it is possible to envisage activity taking place outside an operator's premises that might come within the definition provided by s 80(1). There was, however, no such activity in the circumstances of this case. I would, therefore, answer the question "Yes, in the circumstances of this case" and, accordingly, dismiss the appeal’.

In the circumstances of this case, yes there were circumstances, the operator answered a phone call from a customer, accepted the Private Hire booking, recorded and dispatched from his premises!

Move forward nearly 30 years and what do we see.

We have established operators from all over England licensed in areas they truly operate obtaining a Wolverhampton operator licence under sister companies. We know there are addresses in Wolverhampton where numerous operators are licensed. We at the Club consider these no more than PO boxes, albeit an operator might provide a member of staff for pre arranged compliant visits. It is what we call ghost offices. Where do these operators really conduct business?

We know one

Wolverhampton operator that advertises a London telephone number on the vehicle!

Internet and cloud based bookings are a grey area, although in London we know TfL consider the managing and monitoring of these

bookings as a contributing factor in determining an operator’s lawfulness. This was shown in TfL’s ill fated 2014/15 Uber model

5

Issue 288 September 2023

THE WOLVES FROM THE DOOR?

investigation. TFL were at pains to highlight this.

long as it’s done correctly.

The 1998 act is very specific:

Then later in 2018, when TfL were ‘minded to conclude’ that Uber‘s operating model was unlawful, Uber made changes. We know this from Helen Chapman’s first witness statement: “Making enhancements to the monitoring of bookings in our licensed operating centre”.

“The other operator is licensed under section 55 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (in this Act referred to as “the 1976 Act”) by the council of a district and the sub-contracted booking is accepted in that district”.

Where do those Wolverhampton operators whose vehicles complete trips in London and have sister 1998 operator licences manage and monitor those bookings? Certainly not from unmanned ghost offices!

Another factor to consider with this issue is sub contracting. It is entirely lawful for a London operator to sub contract to their sister (or any other operator) company holding a Wolverhampton licence, as

How would the booking be accepted ‘in that district’ by an operator with a ghost office or indeed a cloud based booking?

Whether bookings that supposedly go direct to a Wolverhampton operator or sub contracted, TfL have a duty to establish the legality. It is all very well for them to say they have concerns, though unless they have the appetite to address then we will see more Wolverhampton vehicles ‘operating’ in the capital.

LCDC CONTACTS TFL AGAIN OVER PH WORK IN CAPITAL AFTER WOLVERHAMPTON CAR ‘FROM BOLT’ SPOTTED Passenger told member vehicle was ‘from Bolt’ but had no idea the vehicle was not licensed for work in London but Wolverhampton Dear Helen, Graham.

I hope you both had a relaxing Easter ( and not too many eggs ).

I was contacted by a driver on Saturday regarding an incident he witnessed on Friday 7th April at around 11.30 / 12pm in Evering Rd E5.

My member found himself behind a silver PH vehicle (photo attached ) with a Wolverhampton licence plate attached to his boot. The car kept slowing down as if looking for something and when he turned right into Evering Rd E5 he followed him.

After around 50 yards the car stopped and a lady alighted from the vehicle. My member who was behind him asked the lady where she had been picked up from and she said

locally in Hackney. My member then asked her if it was Uber and she replied, ‘No, it’s Bolt.’

When my member explained that the car was licensed not in London but in Wolverhampton and not legally insured, she was very upset and said she had no idea it was from Wolverhampton.

In the February edition of the Badge we raised with you the issue of Wolverhampton PH working in London and that Bolt had put out a message to drivers not to pick up jobs in areas where they are not licensed to do so.

Why were Bolt asking drivers not to accept, unless the booking goes direct to the driver, a breach of section 2 1998 Act?

We are still awaiting your response on this question and maybe this email may provoke you into investigating their booking system and getting back to the Club.

Detail: Friday 7th April time: 11.30 - 12pm Evering Rd E5 Driver: black male 40 - 50 age

Our original report back in April

We at the LCDC look forward to your earliest reply in this serious matter.

Grant Davis Chairman LCDC

7

Issue 288 September 2023

WORLD’S BIGGEST DRIVERLESS CAR EXPERIMENT GOES HAYWIRE

Long at the bleeding edge of culture and technology, San Francisco this month became the testbed for one of the world’s most radical trials of driverless taxis.

Regulators voted to let autonomous cars from two companies – Cruise and Waymo – circle the city’s streets, picking up passengers and charging them for trips at any time of day and night.

Unlike many previous similar experiments, the vehicles would not require safety drivers, with only software and sensors preventing passengers from getting into accidents. These were driverless cars in the truest sense.

Robot cars would share San Francisco’s hilly roads with its 150-year-old cable car system, picking up those who had snagged a spot on Cruise and Waymo’s waitlists. It felt like a taste of the future, especially in a city that is notoriously averse to bold policymaking.

But less than two weeks later, that experiment seems to be unravelling. In the days since driverless cars were given the keys to the city, a string of embarrassing incidents – from traffic jams to crashes – have threatened to set the driverless revolution back years.

Over the weekend, San Francisco’s Department of Motor Vehicles demanded that Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, reduce its fleet by 50pc after a crash with a fire engine.

The decision took around 150 cars off the road. However, some want to go further: now, local politicians are seeking the reversal of the experiment before it had truly got going.

Driverless car companies and the technology’s supporters claim that autonomous vehicles will be safer than having people behind the wheel. They say the cars do not speed, do not drive drunk or get tired, and statistically will get into fewer scrapes than their human counterparts.

Cruise has been testing driverless cars on San Francisco’s streets since 2015, a year before GM paid a reported $600m (£471m) for the company. It was granted permission to conduct limited tests without a safety driver in 2020 and started charging passengers last year.

The cars, modified white

Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles with cutesy names such as Poppy, Crepe and Scampi, were at first a curiosity and then became just a part of the city’s fabric, only noticed by the odd motorist frustrated at their cautious approach to junctions.

Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent Alphabet, started ferrying passengers in 2021.

Yet what was a minor quirk observed only occasionally on the roads has been significantly expanded. On August 10, Californian regulators gave Waymo and Cruise permission to operate paid rides throughout the city, at any time of day.

The vote was controversial. San Francisco officials said they had logged around 600 incidents such as illegal manoeuvres or unexpected stops in the last year. In dozens of cases, passengers had been stuck inside vehicles when a car malfunctioned and stopped without an explanation, having to be physically rescued.

Jeanine Nicholson, the chief of the city’s fire department, said firefighters had had to repeatedly waste time dealing with the cars, including one case in which a car with no driver had inched towards a blaze, unable to be stopped until one firefighter smashed its window. “It is not our job to babysit their vehicles,” she said.

A group of anti-driverless car activists also took to placing cones on the cars’ bonnets to disable them in an extended protest dubbed the “week of cone”. The shapes confused the vehicle’s sensors, shutting

them down as a result.

Nonetheless, Waymo and Cruise secured victory. After billions of dollars in investment in driverless technology over the last decade, the decision seemed to offer the companies a path to commercial success.

Yet it took just hours for things to start going wrong. California’s Public Utilities Commission approved the 24/7 service late on a Thursday. The following evening, around 10 Cruise cars caused traffic chaos when they appeared to stall around junctions in a busy part of the city.

The company initially suggested that overburdened mobile networks related to a nearby music festival had interfered with the cars. Later, Cruise blamed the incident on a single pedestrian interfering with one vehicle.

The next week, one of the company’s cars became stuck after driving into wet cement, apparently ignoring the cones marking the area off. It was forced to pay for the road to be repaved after the vehicle was recovered.

And just the following day, a Cruise vehicle collided with a fire engine responding to an emergency, after failing to recognise its sirens and stop in time. The passenger was taken to hospital by paramedics with injuries that were described as non-serious, but it meant the company had disrupted two emergency services with one incident.

Greg Dietrerich, Cruise’s

general manager for San Francisco, said the crash was a unique case with “several factors that added complexity”.

But the string of incidents so soon after driverless cars had been given such freedom was unfortunate at best.

Over the weekend, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles demanded that the company halve its fleet of up to 300 driverless cars in San Francisco and said that it is investigating the situation.

Phil Koopman, an autonomous vehicle safety expert at Carnegie Mellon, says Cruise should have voluntarily paused operations before regulators forced action.

“Cruise could have been seen to do the right thing if they really care about safety. They didn’t, and the DMV had to come down on them.

“Driving into concrete is not the end of the world. And people do it all the time. But if your narrative is that we’ll be perfect and humans are terrible, you just eviscerated your narrative.”

Waymo, which has fewer cars on the road, has not faced the same intense scrutiny as Cruise, although its cars have also been recorded interfering with emergency services. In June, one of its driverless cars hit and killed a dog that had run into the road, with the vehicle unable to avoid contact.

One driverless car executive says the spate of incidents shows that the cars are simply not ready to function on their own.

“They’re doing many of the right things with good-quality science. And they are driving a lot of simulation and testing and simulation, all of which is necessary. The thing is, it’s just not enough.

“The design of the systems and the amount of testing that goes on, and the degree to which they’re being supervised is all falling short of where it should be. And as a result, we are unnecessarily putting the public at risk, really, in these trials they are effectively human guinea pigs.”

A Cruise spokesman said the company still compared favourably to human drivers.

The company said: “Over 100 people lose their lives every day on American roadways, and countless others are badly injured. We believe it’s clear that Cruise positively impacts overall road safety, and look forward to working with the CA DMV to make any improvements and provide any data they need to reinforce the safety and efficiency of our fleet.”

However, it faces growing opposition. Last week, San Francisco’s city attorney David Chiu launched a legal battle seeking to block Waymo and Cruise’s permits, while local politician Aaron Peskin said he planned to appeal them.

Driverless car advocates may insist the technology is safe. But they might lose their best chance to prove it.

Courtesy of The Telegraph

8

Issue 288 September 2023

THE TRADE NEEDS CHOICE AND MAYOR’S SUPPORT In recent years since the introduction of the TXe and also the new 12 year age limit being foisted upon the cab trade by our Mayor, I have had many members who have contacted me regarding not being able to be able to either fund a new TXe or rent a TXe. It seems to me that when TFL decommissioned the taxis at 12 years, they also decommissioned the driver as many owners were elderly, maybe freehold and wanted to carry on driving to support their families and boost their pensions.

In fact at one TFL meeting I did mention to Helen Chapman that I was amazed she had made "self employed" taxi drivers "unemployed".

I recently attended a meeting with TFL regarding the COF and the situation for drivers and highlighted the

replace them with LPG / Petrol vehicles ones....cleaner ones in fact....as its all about air quality isn't it?

LPG / Petrol taxi now on sale ( see below) at just £39,995.

I was informed that this taxi would only meet the Mayors air proposals until 2033 but i

argued that if TFL and the trade had a compromise where these taxis were allowed into London on a ten year plate (we have 12 & 15) what would be the

problem?

If as the Mayor would have us believe, its all about the air quality, then why would TFL not agree to take diesel taxis off the roads and

Whilst highlighting these taxis and also the HJS Euro5 /6 conversion ( see below ) recently the Mayor was at pains to point out a £6k grant to owners of Euro5 vans / working vehicles to upgrade theirs to a Euro6, therefore I am saying to TFL that both the LPG taxis and also taxis being converted by the HJS system, should be eligible for the grant.

Imagine buying a clean LPG taxi for just £33,995 and keeping it for the full ten years, it would work out at about £90 p week.

The trade needs choice and also if its all about air quality, the Mayor and TFL should be encouraging both of these to the taxi trade in my opinion.

Grant Davis

Latest on HJS emission technology Hello Grant Thanks for the call today.

It is fair to say that we have been working throughout the summer on the Taxi London project and we are expecting the next two weeks to be eventful.

The Vito has spent over 4 weeks at HJS in Germany to allow us to go through the vehicle with a fine-tooth comb. The main reason for the previous failures at Millbrook being a defective seal between the turbo and original, newly installed DPF. This allowed a substantial amount of oxygen to enter the DPF which has expired during regeneration as a result.

Subsequent tests have then failed due to high particulate emissions due the DPF not being

13th.

I hope this helps, it would be good to see your positive coverage.

operational.

In Germany we have also checked the entire vehicle and some Original MB parts have also been replaced for good measure.

We will be testing the system to TfL requirements at TUV Pfungstadt in Germany on Thursday 7th ahead of the trip back to

UK. Vehicle due back to UK in time for testing scheduled for 20th September, we remain committed and quietly confident that a good result will result.

The TX4 failed the Millbrook test as some Ammonia was detected at the tailpipe at

high speeds and we have spent the last two weeks going through the system making sure it doesn’t happen again. The positive here is that the system met all other emissions requirements.

We run our own test next week and then the official, witnessed test scheduled

Please can we invite people to email me directly with their interest and for updates? Name, vehicle TX or Vito, phone number and email address?

Best Regards Mark Cooper Head of Sales and Business Development (UK) HJS Emission Technology Ltd

Call 020 7394 5553 to advertise in The Badge

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The future is Green The future is Colts

Don’t be a diesel dinosaur

TXE taxis to rent We are still renting a limited amount of diesel taxis

Issue 288 September 2023

11

Alan’s Angle Victoria Rank feeder PCN camera Drivers please be aware that TFL have placed a camera on Wilton Road. It’s pointing straight to the back of the rank on Wilton Road and is issuing drivers a PCN that get caught trying to get on the back of the rank.

One of the problems we have is the monitor in Vauxhall Bridge Road keeps going

offline.

This means with a poor sight line drivers are pulling over when they think there is space on the rank. Only to find they’re stuck at the back overhanging the rank.

Then TFL go to work and issue you with a PCN, if they can get the monitor fixed quicker we might not keep getting issued these unwanted PCNs. So please be patient when feeding over - we don’t want to keep lining the coffers of TFL’s bank account.

City of London looking to change road layout around by St Paul Gyratory The City of London Corporation is working on designs to transform the streets on the 1970’s St Paul's gyratory.

The project area stretches from the Museum of London

roundabout to St Paul's underground station and is characterised by wide, vehicledominated highways, including King Edward Street, St Martin's Le Grand and Newgate Street.

The intention is to make these streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists and create a greener, more pleasant environment.

The Court of Common Council approved Option 1/1A, a formal consultation wENT live from 18 August.

Westminster council ranks and highways update

Phase 2 is connected to the potential new development at London Wall West (the site of the Museum of London and Bastion House).

Westminster council want to Create a new green space at the heart of Connaught Village with biodiverse planting, outdoor seating, and new paving in natural stone. This would be achieved through removing three parking bays at end of Kendal Street cul-desac.

With Improved crossings with a raised table and shorter crossing distances to increase pedestrian comfort.

The first change was The Biltmore hotel rank from was moved from Adams row and reappointed to Grosvenor Square. This was on the approval of the Biltmore Hotel who decided to start using the front door in Grosvenor Square for pick ups and Taxi Hirings.

Secondly was the Sanderson Hotel was moved back to the right of the Hotels main entrance. This was made after WCC reversed the one way system in Berners street.

Update the north-south cycle link via Titchborne Row to encourage pedestrian and cycle travel, reduce emissions and improve air quality.

Widen the footway at the southern side of Connaught Street (between the junction of Albion Street and Kendal Street) with a loading pad, two trees, cycle stands and potentially increase outdoor dining space (subject to pavement licenses).

The hotel are already meaning that taxis are being left on the rank. Please don’t leave you taxis unattended on the rank it doesn’t help drivers who want to work the hotels rank. Also TPH have been made aware of taxis being left unattended.

Lexington Street Farce

One of the things we need clarification on was a traffic movement from Great Windmill St into Lexington St. Looking at the consultation the drawings was a bit confusing to look at. The drawings was showing that there was a forced right turn into Brewer

The project will be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 includes all the streets south of roundabout and it is planned to be built during 2024 and 2025.

at the junction between Connaught Street and Kendal Street. This will increase green space and provide more pedestrian accessibility.

Last month we saw two hotel ranks move locations to have a better sight lines and access.

Three or Four months ago the ranks committee was asked for some feedback on a new traffic flow consultation in and around Brewer St.

The design layouts for these options are below with more details including vehicle journey times which are published in Agenda item 8 of the Common Council 22 June.

Street from Windmill St. So we asked for clarification to see if we would be able to go straight across for Great Windmill st.

We was assured that we would still be able to make that traffic movement.

To our surprise we was amazed when photos started coming in show we was going to be forced right into Brewer Street.

So a email was sent to WCC to see if they could clear up this mistake.

This was their very prompt reply Hayley is currently on leave at the moment but I have chased up her email that she sent to the design team last week. I have been advised that the new compulsory right turn out of Great Windmill Street was not intended as part of this scheme and should not have been installed. The design team has asked the highways maintenance team to remove this sign at the earliest opportunity.

If there is a delay in its

removal then the erroneous sign will be bagged over until it can be removed.

Just shows we have to be on our toes with changes like this.

Connaught Village Green public space Westminster City Council and the Hyde Park Estate have developed a proposal to improve the public space

Part of Kendal Street to be made one-way south-west bound to narrow the crossing distance and reduce the risk of vehicles driving over pavement corners.

Provide a place for residents to socialise with additional seating and have access to free drinking water.

Support local businesses through creating a more attractive place to visit, shop and enjoy 13 additional cycle parking stands added to Connaught Street, bringing the total number to 18.

Images of the proposal are above left.

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Issue 288 September 2023

13

THE THOUGHTS OF GENERAL JOHNSON Johnson v TfL – Croydon July 2023 It has been established in the recent employment tribunal case of Johnson -vTfL that the only available taxi which TfL will licence from new costs over £100,000 with finance.

It has also been established in the same case that TfL’s current conditions of fitness (“COF”) policy creates a substantial disadvantage (meaning more than minor or trivial) to taxi drivers who can only work on a part-time basis, for example disabled drivers; arguably, this extends to taxi drivers with childcare or other caring responsibilities, or older drivers who only really can work on a part-time basis.

In Johnson’s tribunal hearing, TfL’s own barrister referred to the only licensable taxi from new as (I quote): “the super expensive taxi”; and TfL’s head of licensing Graham Robinson said under oath: “the tight turning circle is desirable but not essential”.

Therefore, the question for TfL to answer is: how do they balance the needs of disabled taxi drivers, or those with childcare or adult care responsibilities, or older drivers who can only work on a part-time basis with the ability to fund the cost of the ‘super expensive taxi’?

Clearly, TfL’s policies have hardened against the taxi trade in recent years and TfL’s current COF policy of only licensing a ‘super expensive taxi’ from new with a tight turning circle restricts competition and simply hands a monopoly to one company - it doesn’t need me to tell you what happens with prices when competition is restricted in any market.

What is Johnson complaining about?

Johnson is complaining loudly that TfL are abusing their dominant position and is citing the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT’s) literature .

Johnson goes on to complain that by TfL refusing to review their current COF policy they [TfL] are restricting market competition and this should be viewed as a very serious allegation.

does approximately 200+ miles on a full electric charge and start earning in a matter of weeks – TfL know all of this and are killing the taxi trade with their intransigent attitude and alleged protection of big business.

Johnson is also saying that even if a student could get through the knowledge unfunded, then it is unlikely that such students who can only work part-time could even afford to do the job in a ‘super expensive taxi’.

Therefore, he is arguing that TfL should allow for Vehicle Powering Solutions brand new TX4’s with the LPG engine should be licensed for 10 years given that they meet the current emissions targets, these vehicles cost a shade under £40,000 and with the £6,000 grants available brings the cost down to £34,000.

The basis of his allegation is that unquestionably TfL holds a dominant position, and the restriction of competition is an abuse of such a dominant position.

Of course, TfL will argue that their COF policy requiring a tight turning circle is open to all manufactures to meet; the reality is that it adds approximately £12,000 to the cost to adapt a vehicle with the tight turning circle (a 2001 figure obtained by the difference in cost of London’s Vito taxis with the tight turning circle assessed against Edinburgh’s Vito’s without the tight turning circle – arguably, this cost is much greater today).

Therefore, the reality is that there is not an equal chance for other manufactures to enter the London taxi vehicle market. Ergo, Johnson is arguing that vehicle manufactures who could bring more affordable accessible ZEC taxis to the London market so that disabled drivers, or those who can only work on a part time basis could remain working as part-time taxi drivers are being unfairly restricted without any

objective justifiable reason.

TfL’s alleged abusive practices are forcing parttime taxi drivers out of work and Johnson claims that TfL’s abuse of a dominant position in their assistance of market restriction must be addressed immediately.

What does Johnson want TfL to do?

Driving a taxi in London is a fantastic job, but he says TfL are killing the trade.

He states that after 2 years of TfL resisting his argument that TfL are a ‘qualification body’ under section 53-54 of the Equality Act 2010, TfL finally succumb to the fact they are a qualification body on the morning of the tribunal. Johnson argues just how distasteful it is for TfL to deny taxi drivers of their basic equality rights (and this is why he supports funding a legal kitty to fight for the rights of taxi drivers).

Why does it matter that TfL are a qualification body? – Because our Knowledge of London students have Equality Act protections from the point that a student signs up to the knowledge when

they engage with a qualification body.

Johnson is saying the knowledge is dying because it’s too expensive to do; 3-4 years of trundling around London on a scooter earning nothing, the cost of the scooter and maintenance, and TfL’s fees to do the knowledge is a concept that might be fit for the 1980’s, but in 2023 it is not fit for purpose.

The Mayor understands this, because in his 2016 taxi and private hire action plan he said he would seek to implement that the knowledge becomes an Ofqual accreditation (thus protecting the knowledge); which also means that if the knowledge becomes Ofqual accredited then students can access student loans and can be disregarded for council tax.

Without getting money to students (by way of student loans) at the point of starting the knowledge means that very few people will sign up to the knowledge; instead in preference to apply to become private hire drivers in an affordable car that

Alternatively, TfL could relax the tight turning circle requirement and allow this to be an option for drivers who like it, while allowing for part-time drivers better access to a more affordable ZEC taxi, if indeed the tight turning circle is the barrier to entry that is stopping vehicle choice for London’s taxi drivers, which on balance is the reason why we have no competition in the London taxi market.

Johnson says that he is unfazed by any trade organisation’s resistance to change, or the relaxation of the tight turning circle, citing that any trade organisation who does not want a more affordable taxi for their disabled members or their members with childcare or adult care responsibilities (meaning they can only work part -time) isn’t a trade organisation that he’d want to be involved with.

TfL have been approached for comment…

1. https://assets.publishing.ser vice.gov.uk/government/uplo ads/system/uploads/attachm ent_data/file/284422/oft402. pdf 2. https://www.vehiclerepoweri ngsolutions.com/new-cabsfor-sale

14

Issue 288 September 2023

EDDIE NESTOR: MY TEAM LOST, BUT I FELT LIKE I’D WON...

Greetings Cabbies Long time no see.

With the reshuffle at BBC Radio London being almost as controversial as ULEZ, I was in hiding.

Glad to be back writing instead of talking.

I know it’s been tough but when I get a Black Cab, you guys are telling me things are picking up.

Sunday was interesting!!

They tell you at the BBC to be very careful about creating relationships with listeners.

They didn’t need to tell me, I’ve seen “Play Misty for Me” But there is this guy Adam and there is something about him.

Years ago, I was doing a feature on People who had turned their lives round and he came on. He told me that MS had saved his life. He was living the bad boy life and that as the illness progressed those (bad boy) “friends” disappeared. Now he had to find a way to validate his existence. Made sense to me! There is nothing like coming face to face with your mortality to make you fix up.

We had something in common.

The next time he came on (the show) was when I was talking about living with a disability. I knew he was in a wheelchair but the scope of his challenge still shocked me.

Here was my first lesson: I presumed that the angel who came with him was his carer.

She was in fact his girlfriend!!

I will have to get his permission to tell you how they met but I could deffo make money out of it.

And yes disabled people have feelings and sex.

We then worked with him to get the lift fixed in his building. Imagine being hostage in a tower block during covid with no personal emergency evacuation plan. [PEEP] Have we learned nothing from Grenfel?

Anyway a few weeks ago he sent me a message.

Eddie joins Grant Davis down at Fitzroy Lodge Boxing Club

Apparently due in part to the confidence he got speaking to me on the radio, he was now going to Geneva to speak at the UN as an advocate for other disabled people 😊 In way of celebration he asked if Badman would come with him to see Arsenal Vs ManU. 🙌 So yesterday I met him at Caledonian Road station and we made our way to the game. We seemed to be walking round the houses and he explained that when you are in a wheelchair you have to look for safe routes with level ground. I hadn’t even thought about that.

Nor had I really thought about how I should behave.

I started acting like his carer and he stopped me and told me to be cool. I didn’t know how stupidly I would react to his vulnerability. When we arrived at the stadium he said he was going to the toilet and I immediately got up to go with him 🤷🏽 ♂ He asked me what I was doing? I sort of mumbled something about if he needed me. He told me to sit down and stop being an Eddiat.

He was gone for 20 minutes and I didn’t know what to do. It was as frustrating as waiting for a woman with lox to do her hair. You can guess who that is.

When he came back, he couldn’t find his mobile phone. 🙀 I literally raced his mobility scooter to the toilet to see if he had left it in there.

It wasn’t!! 😔 We went back to our seats but I knew the vibe was going to be different.

My phone is important to me but his must be a lifeline.

The match didn’t matter anymore. I wasn’t having fun.

He said he was going to talk to the stewards in case someone handed it in. This was not South London so there was a chance.

As he turned the scooter round, I could see the

phone resting in the undercarriage. Again I ran after him and agin I was struck by his vulnerability.

He could see it and even if he did, he couldn’t reach it.

My team lost but I felt like I’d won. I was out of my comfort zone, I had a new

experience, I learned stuff about stuff and I have a greater understanding and empathy for people with mobility issues. That comfort. Zone is a safe space but I’m not sure how much you learn unless you challenge yourself.

When is the last time you were out of your zone and how did it go?

I travelled with him and those Arsenal fools, singing their hearts out on the tube and felt good that Adam had a good day too. ❤

15

Issue 288 September 2023

Walker on the March...

FUEL CONSUMPTION: A FAIRY STORY LEVC are no different to any other motor manufacturer ijn that they post fuel consumption rates created by a motor running under ideal conditions.

Obviously, they are telling the truth but at the same time nobody will ever achieve those consumption figures or even get anywhere close to them.

When I took delivery of my TXe in September 2019 I had the chance some time after to test these figures. LEVC told me I’d get 70 miles on electric under perfect conditions. I had to drop the wife off at the O2 to see the “Strictly Come Dancing” live show and pick her up again.

These were almost perfect conditions; Sunday daytime and a journey that was virtually all dual carriageway, except the fist mile from home and the last bit from the A2 to the O2 when the cab/bus lane was open. I turned everything off except the engine and I manage to get 54 miles.

IT’S CHEAPER TO DRIVE ON PETROL THAN ELECTRIC: TRUE OR MYTH?

I have a home charger and it’s a nice piece of kit. It takes around 210 minutes to charge from empty to full. It was a bargain at £350 after subsidies. It was just a shame that it cost me another £5,500 to pave my front garden because my cab won’t fit in my garage. Still, that’s dead money and I wanted to do the hard standing anyway; the charger just gave me the push I needed.

LEVC say the cab does petrol at 37mpg. Let’s be generous and say it does 30mpg as I have never checked. On petrol at current price, it would cost me £12.70 for 55 miles.

Using LEVC KWh usage figures: If I charge it at home at night (00.30 – 04.30hrs) it costs me less than £2.50; bargain.

If it charge it at home at any other time, it costs around £7.80; still a bargain.

If I charge it on “Pulse” it costs me £6.55 subscription fee + £19.40 for a rapid charge.

That’s a whopping 52% more expensive than petrol plus

£6.50 per month. It gets worse.

Using ESB rapid chargers, a full charge comes to £25.50 but no subscription fee. That makes electric 78% more expensive to run than on petrol and there’s a kicker. It can take more than an hour to charge from empty to full if the charger is running a bit slow, as sometimes happen. Well, dwell for more than an hour, even though you are not fully charged, and you’ll get a £10 over-stay charge on top.

Obviously, this is on top of all the time wasted driving around trying to find a charger that is available and waiting while it charges. What’s two hours of a cab driver’s time worth on top of that?

MESSAGE TO MR KHAN

Sort yourself out!!!

You’ve been crowing for years about how “your” new London taxis, at little cost to yourself or TFL, are fully electric; touting yourself around the world showing how we are leding the way to cutting out traffic pollution.

It’s not true. You, Mr khan, are presiding over a taxi fleet that has the ability to driver on electric but any sensible driver is actually driving on petrol.

What you are telling the world

is simply not true as the fleet isn’t driving on electric.

It never was. If the average shift mileage, including commuting, is 130 miles and the cab only does 55 miles to a charge, so long as the driver doesn’t switch t--he air-con or heating on, he/she is doing nearly 60% of a shift on petrol even without the cost factor.

GLA ELECTIONS

What d’ya think Sadiq, me ole mucker? Will you get reelected next year? After all, there is one born every minute.

If you do, sort yourself out and work out how to get a REAL electric cab fleet that drivers and more importantly, London’s travelling public, can afford to buy and run.

I, and many other cab drivers, have been sold a pup, economically speaking. When the TXe was introduced, it carried a 40% price hike on the cost of a TX4. The story we were told was that we would make most, if not all, of these increased costs would be won back on reduced fuel and running costs.

This was another fairy story. I double my cab with my son. At first it was great. OK, my last TX had monthly repayments of £780 p.m for 3 years, while the TXe is £935.5 p.m. for 5 years.

Nevertheless, at first, everything was working out.

Over the 4 years of driving the TXe, we have made PH/Lease payments that are £16,800 higher than for our TX4.

However, we have saved around £6250 in repair – related charge, knocking the difference down to £10,600.

We were doing OK. Our fuel bills had reduced early on by around £960 in the first six months by charging at home and petrol for the rest. Had that situation continued, by the end of 4 years, fuel savings would have knocked another £7680 off those increased lease payments, making a net increase of £2,920. That’s pretty good inflation over 4 years.

Now, I know Sadiq that you were not responsible for Covid or the Ukraine war or the profiteering by energy companies taking advantage of these events. However, you do bear some responsibility towards cab drivers and the travelling public of London. You cannot expect cab drivers and users to finance your aims of a pollution-free London.

If you want it, you have to pay for it. Either find or fund a way to make it economically viable for taxis to run op electric.

Otherwise, stop telling fibs the

world about the London taxi fleet. While technically it is a 100% electric-capable, the reailty is that the fleet runs 5075% on fossil fuel.

END NOTE

Despite all of the above, the TXe is the nicest vehicle I have ever owned and driven. Our personal circumstances have changed in that I drive a lot less hours now than in 2019 and my son has moved and this requires more use of onstreet chargers. In all, we probably save around £50 pm on what a diesel TX4 would cost. Our individual reality is that over these 4 years, it has probably cost us an additional £1900 per year over and above what our last TX4 cost.

For £20 per week each, the added comfort and reliability of our TXe over all our previous TXs, we reckon it’s good value.

We’re lucky though. There are two of us working the cab and we get around 25% of fuel at home at £2.50 a pop and another 20% at home at £7.80 a pop. Commuting is done on petrol. I doubt that many other drivers of the TXe have been able to keep fuel costs as low as we have when divided by two.

17

Issue 288 September 2023

AS AN L.C.D.C MEMBER YOU WILL RECEIVE: n 24 HOUR DUTY SOLICITOR EXCLUSIVE TO THE CAB TRADE Your 24 Hr duty solicitor hotline membership card.

Peace of mind 24 hrs of the day. n LEGAL COVER Our fantastic team of City Of London based solicitors and barristers, experts in Hackney Carriage and road traffic law. n COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS As a member of the LCDC, we will deal with any complaint that has been made against you by members of the public.

Also we will attend the LTPH with you on any personal appeals that would affect your licence. n HEATHROW AIRPORT REPRESENTATION With our reps at the airport working

hard on the trade’s behalf for a fairer, and more safer future at Heathrow. n RANKS AND HIGHWAYS The LCDC attend the Joint Ranks committee, working hard for more ranks and more access for the taxi trade in London. n CAB TRADE ADVICE All members can call the office for any information or up to the date news on any trade related subject. n TRADE’S FUTURE The Club worked tirelessly in bringing in the green & yellow identifiers to the taxi trade.

And are always working hard to protect our future. n CAB TRADE REPRESENTATION We are working hard to work with members of the GLA and also politicians to fight our corner against TFL and was a major influence in the recent “ future proof” document. n VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS The Club works alongside LTC and Mercedes to deliver a vehicle that meets

our standard as a London taxi driver.

Recently we have held meetings to work against the ULEZ strategy and the introduction of taxi age limits. n CLUB PROTECTA To help drivers who have acquired twelve points keep their licence.

JUST 50p a day! * £12 per month is tax deductible

Join over the phone - just call and we’ll take your payment details

JOIN THE LCDC IN JUST

FIVE

MINUTES!

1: Call 020 7394 5553 2: Get the DD link sent to your phone 3: Activate the link 4: You are now a member of the London Cab Drivers’ Club WELCOME ABOARD!

Calling all golf loving cabbies...

Sudbury Golf Club, in North West London is a classic Harry Colt designed course with rolling, tree‐lined fairways and slick, smooth pulpit greens ‐ and just twenty minutes’ drive from central London

Sudbury Golf Club CALL 0208 902 3713 www.sudburygc.co.uk

OFFER FOR CAB DRIVERS The offer is for a member’s guest rate Mon-Friday on production of valid taxi driver photo ID. You can book online or through the Pro shop. If you book online you will be charged the higher price and the difference will be refunded on production of your ID in the Pro shop when playing.

Issue 288 September 2023

Nobody wants to see Khan get another four years in office, to inflict more damage on not only residents, but also local businesses that are dying at a rate of knots. His "pay me £12:50 a day and you can pollute as much as you like (till midnight)" policy is seen as no more than a cash grab, which has angered many residents who have shown their increasing anger in recent protests around the capital.

Khan's ULEZ policy reminds me of the controversial plastic shopping bags con, where plastic bags were said to be harmful and polluting to the planet. But, you can still buy as many plastic shopping bags as you like, for 20p a pop. In fact in most shops, the first thing a cashier will say at the till is “would you like any bags?"

Mayoral candidate Susan Hall, has said she will stop the 'ULEZ extension' from day one if she is elected.

She has also said she will remove certain barely used segregated Cycle Lanes, currently seen to be causing massive congestion and will also scrap many of the LTNs. She has also gone on record saying, she will return the 30mph speed limits to all main roads.

Susan is currently just 10 points behind Khan in the ratings, but here lies the problem.

Howard Cox of the fairer fuel campaign, using the platform of Richard Tice's Reform UK party, is also standing and has approximately 10% support in the poles.

Cox said in an interview on TalkTV, that he had spoken to Susan Hall and offered her the job of Deputy Mayor for transport…if she would pull out of the race and support his candidacy.

He says "Susan isn’t prepared to go far enough with stopping ULEZ and even though she was leader

including the inner London section. She has also said she would keep the cameras and offer them to the Met Police, to help them track and trace suspected terrorists and criminals…..again in my opinion, not a brilliant move on her part.

To everyone’s surprise, former Conservative Party leader Sir Ian Duncan Smith, has came out in support of the 'BladeRunners'… (a group of activists who are currently damaging/removing the ULEZ cameras).

The Tory MP who normally prides himself on being tough on crime, says he is: "happy for residents of his

of the Tories on the GLA, she has never been able to stop any of Khans ridiculous policies."

But this is mainly because the Tories are in the minority on the GLA and Khans Labour councillors are supported by the Greens and the Lib-Dems.

The GLA is Labour controlled at present as they have (including the Mayor) 12 seats, Conservatives just behind with 9 seats, followed by the Greens with three seats and bringing up the rear, the Lib Dem’s with just two. If by some miracle Howard Cox were to become Mayor, he would have very little support from GLA councillors.

With Hall and Cox the only two viable candidates, the vote will be split, which will give Khan another four years to expand his own brand of Khanage.

Susan Hall's experience as leader of Harrow Council,where she balanced the budget after Labour left a £6 million deficit and leader of the Tory group on the GLA, plus deputy

19

Ed Davey has been mocked for hypocrisy over the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone.

While his party supported the expansion of the tariff across London, Davey has since come out to ask for an exemption for his own constituency. The leader of the Lib Dems apparently wrote a letter to Sadiq Khan raising concerns about the impact of the expansion saying it is "very damaging" - just months after his party backed the proposal If Susan Hall is to stand any chance against Khan, I personally believe she needs to come down harder on the ULEZ scheme as a whole, not just the

Chairman of the Police and Crime Committee, deputy Chairman of the Fire Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee, member of the GLA Oversight Committee….she has the experience and ability to make an excellent Mayor.

Howard Cox would probably make an excellent deputy Mayor for transport (Unlike a certain Heidi, who admitted she had no qualification in transport when given the job by Khan). Together, Hall and Cox would most definitely stop Khan's re-election.

As we’ve seen in her social media posts, Susan is a big supporter of the London Taxi trade and she has posted on many occasions the sets he supports "where Busses go, Taxis should go."

east London constituency of Chingford and Woodford Green, to destroy cameras because they have been lied to."

But here in lies the paradox….Susan Hall must go further than she has already implied. At present she has said she will stop the expansion of ULEZ but personally, I don’t think that’s enough. She needs to match Cox and say she will scrap the ULEZ completely,

In an interview with the Daily Mail, he went on to say: "The actions you are seeing, show how angry people are at what is being imposed on them.

“Sadiq Khan has gerrymandered all the information – people have had enough."

extension…plus, she also needs to rethink the remove of all the cameras. This issue alone is worrying to many people who believe London will be turned into a form of dystopian society.

But there’s still time….Susan Hall hasn’t officially launched her campaign as yet, saying she will wait until after the Tory conference (which is to be held on the 1st till the 4th of October).

21

Issue 288 September 2023

‘MORE MILES FOR YOUR MONEY’ - RANGE EXTENDING TYRES SETTING NEW STANDARDS FOR ELECTRIC TAXIS

ENSO’s new tyres could take your electric taxi further per kW and save you money

partnership with the taxi trade and hopes it will be mutually beneficial. ENSO wants taxi drivers to provide the company with feedback to help them in their quest to “constantly innovate” and improve their product.

The Badge recently met up with ENSO about this London-based company and its plans to shake up the tyre market for electric taxis and drive innovation in the tyre industry.

ENSO is the world’s first tyre manufacturer to become a Certified B-Corporation and has launched its specialist double-A rated electric vehicle (EV) tyres for electric LEVC TX taxis.

ENSO is operating within a North London based ’new breed’ service centre, EV Service Hub, which is a ‘state of the art’ 14,000 sq. ft, one-stop shop service centre designed specifically for EV commercial vehicles.

The LCDC recently learned about ENSO’s bridgehead entry into the market with their tyre for taxis. Earlier this year ENSO successfully proved the benefits of its EV tyres during real world trials extending the range of the fleets vehicles by improving energy efficiency and increasing safety by improving wet grip.

Why taxis?

Gunnlaugur Erlendsson is CEO & Founder of ENSO, Universally known as G. ENSO saw a gap in the market and set out to create a tyre which was, “designed in London, for London cab drivers.” G describes the double-A rated ENSO as “two levels above” the current market leaders for taxis. He says he has huge respect for cabbies and what they do, and he recognises that “Cabbies are sitting in their cab – effectively their office – for eight or nine hours a day,”. He wants to “improve the experience by making the vehicles more efficient, safer and quieter”.

Erlendsson explained that taxis are a “high mileage use case” so a great way to test new technologies, yet the taxi market has generally “been overlooked” through lack of innovation, leaving cabbies to settle for what’s already out there. He argued that the improvements that ENSO delivers were there for taking, but other manufacturers simply had not invested in this market, even

though this can make a big difference to cabbies, in particular to save costs.

ENSO will change this by offering best-in-class double-A rated tyres for the LEVC TX, with the potential to extend range by as much as 10 per cent, saving energy and costs per mile – all at an attractive and competitive price. ENSO’s double-A rated tyres also outperform standard fit tyres on other measures. The AA label is the highest grade set out by the European tyre label regulation and means a tyre has attained a top 'A' grade in fuel efficiency (rolling resistance) and a top 'A' grade in wet grip (safety). G explains that the other tyres in the cab market are generally Crated.

“ENSO’s EV tyres are engineered specifically for urban EV use cases, such as electric taxis, where there is a high demand for efficiency and durability from drivers who depend on their vehicles for their livelihood. The A-rated ENSO tyres are the highest grade set out by European tyre label regulations, and we’re excited to see how they perform from the data captured over the course of the trial. All the taxis are brand new which means that the only difference between the vehicle will be the tyres and the drivers.”

Launch ENSO is delighted to be operating its pop-up alongside EV Service Hub in Tottenham, Mowlem Trading Estate, Leeside Road, London N17 0QJ, and is proud of its association with Colts. Drivers can book-in via ENSO’s dedicated website –

www.enso.london – and reserve their one-hour fitting slot including free wheel alignment for just £299 including VAT. Over the last month ENSO has begun to fit their tyres onto one of London’s largest electric cab fleets. Michael Glassman, Owner of Colts Cabs said: “We are proud to be leading the charge in the Black Cab trade to not only reduce pollution but also to give drivers more miles per charge, this is consistent with our aim of making sure the cab trade is world class in every way, from service to

sustainability” Samuel Judah, Managing Director of EV Service Hub added: “We wanted to create a service centre from the ground up that was designed to support the demanding requirements of EV commercial vehicles from cabs to vans, ‘if the wheels aren’t turning, then drivers aren’t earning’. Adding Enso tyres to our stable of services was just common sense to give drivers and fleets exemplary service and sustainability” ENSO sees this as a crucial

If other tyre manufacturers see what ENSO is doing and improve their own offering that would be “great”, he notes, “we all need to be a bit better.” He is right. Governments and regulators are concerned about urban air pollution and are now looking at tyre particulates as a major source of this; having a zero-emission capable vehicle will no longer be enough. For example, a new EURO 7 emission standard for vehicle manufacturers will be introduced from July 2025 including a minimum standard for tyre PM emissions for the first time.

ENSO’s tyres use less energy per mile, reduce particulate emissions and make the TX even cleaner.

10% more range During London FreightLab, a year-long real-world trial organised by TfL last year and conducted as part of the Mayor of London’s Innovation Challenge, ENSO’s tyres were found to increase the energy efficiency and range by as much as 10 per cent, ultimately saving fleets and individual drivers money. They also reduced tyre particulate matter emissions by up to 35 per cent.

These real-world trial saw the tyres used on DPD and Royal Mail delivery vans, which are high use vehicles similar to licensed London taxis. G is therefore confident the tyres will deliver the same benefits, if not more for taxis. ENSO will be installing telematic devices in taxis to gather data and determine the savings the tyres deliver.

ENSO tyres could help cabbies get much more out of their vehicles with the chance to save money by going further per kW, whilst also making electric taxis even cleaner and greener.

Surely, these tyres are worth a go.

Find out more at www.enso.london and book your appointment at EV Service Hub and get more miles for your money.

Issue 288 September 2023

23

Veterans and Cab Drivers Attend British Ambassador’s Residence in The Hague On 1 September a group of Taxi Charity for Military Veterans volunteers, veterans and supporters attended a reception at the Ambassador’s Residence in The Hague.

Joanna Roper CMG, His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Netherland has met with the Taxi Charity on several occasions and kindly invited them to visit her Residence on their way to Oosterbeek for the annual Airborne March.

The Taxi Charity group, which consisted of ten black cabs and their volunteer cab drivers, veterans, carers and supporters, spent a couple of hours talking with Joanna Roper CMG, British Ambassador to the Netherlands, Keith Allan, Deputy Ambassador and Lt Col Piers Strudwick, British Defence Attaché to The Netherlands, while enjoying tea and cakes.

London Cab Driver and Taxi Charity Chairman Brian Heffernan said, “We took the overnight ferry from Harwich on 31 August and when we docked at the Hook of Holland the following morning, we made our way to The Hague for a reception at the Ambassador’s Residence. Joanna was incredibly kind and made sure she engaged with all of the veterans and there was a really poignant moment at the end of the visit when D Day veteran Bill Gladden sang to her. It was a fabulous way to kick off our long weekend in the Netherlands for the annual Airborne March and we are very grateful that Joanna, Keith and Piers took time out of their busy schedules to meet us.”

Joanna Roper, British Ambassador to the Netherlands said, “I was honoured to receive the veterans

Photos: The Taxi Charity visit the Ambassador’s Residence in the Hague Piers Strudwick (Left) and Joanna Roper (Third Left) with veterans, volunteers and supporters and their accompanying black cab drivers from the Taxi Charity at the Residence in The Hague, as part of their trip to The Netherlands for the Airborne March. I am always in awe of the veterans’ resilience and humility, which comes through in their personal stories. Their experiences are an important part of

the rich and historic relationship between the UK and The Netherlands. All of us here at the British Embassy are very grateful to the Taxi Charity, for their tireless work facilitating these trips. I wish them a happy 75th anniversary this year.”

To find out more about the support

the Taxi Charity offers to veterans or to donate visit www.taxicharity.org

About the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans The Taxi Charity is run by volunteer London black taxi drivers and has been supporting thousands of veterans since 1948. It is the only Forces charity that focuses on providing fun and entertainment and arranges free trips (for veterans from all conflicts) to the Netherlands and France, for acts of commemoration and days out to museums, concerts, or social events across the UK. 2023 is the charity’s 75th anniversary, a remarkable milestone for a small, niche charity peopled by enthusiastic volunteers.

The charity received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021, an award approved by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the equivalent of the MBE for charities.

To fund and facilitate their work, the charity is reliant on donations, grants and sponsorship and launched a ‘75 for 75’ fundraising campaign to raise £75,000 in its anniversary year. www.taxicharity.org

24

Issue 288 September 2023

Heathrow Liaison Meeting (The Badge)

There is a Compliance meeting on the 20th of September with TFL and the Police invited.

On Wednesday the 6th of September Taxi Reps met with Heathrow Airport Limited at Compass House to discuss the issues that affect the Taxi operation.

For the third month running we have done less rides than last year’s record numbers.

August was a particularly large drop of 15,000 movements, however, this was still the second highest August since 2010. We are probably seeing the effects of the Elizabeth Line and 100,000 PH Drivers on the volume of work. Another 30 new tags were issued last month.

The information boards that are our shop front on the ranks have been agreed and are now on all Terminals with guide prices listed. There are also guide lists for drivers that all the trade orgs have had printed to match. If you need one see a trade rep.

Please remember these are only guide prices and, depending on which Terminal you are on, can be adjusted with passengers. If there are

Heathrow Taxi Feeder Park Update Part 1.

By Brian ‘Noodles’ Nayar.

Terminal Drop Off Charge (TDOC) The trade have raised concerns HAL and APCOA regarding issues with drivers going to the T3 rank incorrectly being issued a PCN. We have been told the error has been identified and should now be resolved. We are still having issues with the inter-terminal drop off being charged. APCOA Head Office are working on a solution to capture the VRN, and link it to the Rank Agents machines, hopefully resulting in drivers not being incorrectly charged. There is still no resolution on the complaints procedure for drivers incorrectly receiving PCN’s. This matter needs to be rectified as soon as possible, and The LCDC will continue to push for a resolution.

EV Charging I have, for the last 5 years, been working hard to get more charging units in the Feeder Park. I have the

Trade Reps are due to meet the Airport’s ORC (Other Regulated Costs) Team in November to discuss the Entry Fee for next year, plus we expect to meet with TFL around the same time to discuss the setting of next year’s Tariff.

Airport matters

by Mark White any issues with the guide prices, please contact a trade rep. Space is limited and it’s not possible to list every destination in the UK - this list covers the most asked for.

Brian Nayar has written about the accepted procedure for charging a taxi whilst waiting - there should be notices explaining this in the Feeder Park now. It is hoped that there will be even backing of all trade organisations in my pursuit.

Only recently have I felt confident it will happen. The whole process is not a simple one I’m afraid, and, for reasons too complicated to go into here, it needs to get the green light from ALL of the airlines. The team at HAL tasked with upgrading the Feeder Park are truly on our side. I presented them with full details regarding the need for more EV chargers, and how it meets the Surface Access Strategy and the need to reduce the emissions in and around the airport. We are still jumping over hurdles, and the next challenge we face is in November. I will be meeting with the team again in the lead up to the next steps with the airlines.

If you have any questions regarding this process, please ask me if you see me at the Feeder Park and I will happily answer them.

We also have a breakdown in communication in the reporting of issues with the EV chargers, which I have highlighted with APCOA and HAL. HAL have said they will be taking this up with Heathrow Engineering to hopefully resolve.

more charge points in the South Park in the future but at the moment we only have the 7 rapid charge points in the North. HAL are in the process of electrifying the whole of the Airport and Brian is the lead person on the issue.

Discussions regarding the canteen (opening hours), food quality and prayer room are still ongoing. Drivers who use the wash basins are Whilst we are on EV chargers, I want to reiterate the agreed process for charging your vehicle whilst maintaining your place in the queuing system. It took a long time to get APCOA and HAL to approve the following, and any abuse to

asked to clean up after themselves. Bring a towel, cloth and your own receptacle.

Again, we have been asked to make sure that the bins are used and not to feed the birds due to Health and Safety concerns.

The LCDC recently printed a guide to working Heathrow in ‘The Badge’. You can find a copy online.

• 4. When your line moves, rejoin your place in the queue when you leave the North Park If you are not ready to rejoin your place when you leave the North Park, you CANNOT just jib in anywhere you like.

You must join the back of the

We are still concerned at Heathrow’s Taxi and PH Strategy and their claims about a ‘Sustainable Transport Policy’. We have asked for a separate meeting to discuss. HAL tell us that our sector has a 30% modal share of ongoing transport but, as usual, the reality is that it is PH that has grown and causes most of the problems regarding congestion and pollution.

More than half of the taxis are electric and are all Euro 6. Measures need to be brought in to reduce the amount of PHV’s operating at Heathrow and the new ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zone) might address some of those concerns. PH standards need to be raised but both TfL and the DfT are dragging their feet. prayer room is still on-going.

Please do not feed the birds, as they are a real hazard for the aircraft. Also ensure all rubbish is placed in the bins.

Watch your speed on the Perimeter Roads, as the speed cameras store VRN’s and speed. This information is held by the Police, and HAL can ask them to do random spot checks on them at any time. …And Finally If you have a new 23 or 73 plate LEVC TX, you may have been hit by the curse of it not starting. I have spoken to LEVC regarding this, and the have told me how to get the taxi started.

this will lead to it being withdrawn completely.

You may charge your vehicle and maintain your place in the queue if: • 1. There is a queue in the North Park • 2. Take a note of the line you are in, and the drivers details in front of you in the queue • 3. Wait to speak with the driver coming in who will be behind you, and let them know you will be charging

queue. We worked hard to get this process in place, and please don’t be the one to get this taken away from everyone else.

In Other News

Firstly, you must switch the taxi on WITHOUT putting your foot on the brake. Then put your foot on the brake and turn it on as normal. I have reliably been informed this will rectify the problem.

The trade have agreed to have Feeder Park Wardens at the weekend, and you should now see them in place.

If this fails, lock the taxi and walk around 10-20 meters away for 30 seconds. On returning to the taxi it should start.

The placement and installation of a multi-faith

Stay safe, stay vigilant and Come On You Whites

Issue 288 September 2023

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USYK PREVAILS DESPITE DUBOIS LOW BLOW Oleksandr Usyk retained his IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles when he stopped Daniel Dubois in the ninth round of an increasingly dramatic fight which changed course after the champion had been hurt by a borderline punch which was ruled a low blow.

Having dominated the fight with his superior skill Usyk was suddenly in real distress as he slumped to the canvas in round five after Dubois landed a heavy shot on the beltline.

Shaking his head and in obvious pain, the Ukrainian was allowed almost four minutes to recover. The referee might have considered it an illegal blow but he did not deduct a point from the 25year-old British challenger, who then had his best spell of the fight. But Usyk dropped him twice to seal his victory in the early hours of Sunday morning in the Polish city of Wroclaw.

Heavy rain fell as the bout began but the fighters were protected by a canopy over the ring. Dubois struggled initially to find his range against the elusive and cat-like Usyk, who landed the more effective punches with his jab in the opening round. Dubois came out for the second with more deliberate intent but, halfway through, Usyk caught him with a beautiful left that startled the Londoner with its speed and power.

The champion’s slick movement meant Dubois landed only sporadic blows as Usyk delivered the sharper work again in the third. Dubois did at least try to go to the body and also used a double jab to remind Usyk that he needed to be vigilant. But the round belonged to the patient and adroit Usyk, who clipped Dubois repeatedly with his jab and a few blurring combinations.

Moving ceaselessly and counter-punching, Usyk must have heard the chorus of his name booming around the arena but, to his credit, Dubois managed to close the distance and make round four more competitive. It was still won by Usyk but then, 30 seconds into the fifth, Dubois unleashed a hard right hand which landed on or just below the belt. Usyk slumped to the canvas in agony and the referee immediately signalled that the blow was illegal. He sent Dubois to a neutral corner and allowed the distraught champion ample time to recover.

Usyk was hurt again to the body two minutes into the seventh. He fought back with real urgency as if knew he needed to reclaim his previous dominance. It was unusual to see Usyk looking a little uncomfortable and eager to end the fight but Dubois, while trailing badly on the scorecards, cut a much more confident figure.

But near the end of a fiercely competitive round eight a chopping series of Usyk combinations, topped off by a cuffing blow to the head, sent Dubois tumbling to the canvas.

The bell sounded soon after and Dubois had a minute to try to recover. But two minutes into the ninth round a straight right rocked Dubois and he went down heavily. The referee made the right decision to wave the fight over and spare Dubois further punishment.

Oleksandr Usyk was in clear pain after being hit with a shot on or just below the belt by Daniel Dubois. Photograph: Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images Dubois came after him aggressively as soon as the fight resumed for he could tell that Usyk was troubled. He looked to punish Usyk to the body but in the last minute of a

JOYCE READY FOR HIS REMATCH WITH ZHANG Joe Joyce's highly anticipated rematch with Zhilei Zhang will take place on Saturday 23 September, with the WBO interim heavyweight title fight being held at Wembley Arena, exclusively live on TNT Sports.

The original bout occurred in April at the Copper Box Arena, with Joyce being pulled from the contest in the sixth round after his experienced opponent dominated proceedings and created significant swollen

around the Briton's right eye.

Magnanimous in defeat, Joyce opted to activate his rematch clause last month and, following confirmation of the rematch date and venue, said: "I'm coming back to take back what's mine.

"September 23rd I am leaving everything in that ring. No compromises. No underestimating my opponent.

Nothing but a win "last time out I lost my undefeated professional record.

It was hard to take. But after the dust settled, all that will do is

make me better. I've learned lessons. I'm ready. And I am coming for everything."

Zhang's initial reaction to the rematch announcement was more succinct, with the 40-yearold simply saying: "I created history last time. Don't mind doing it twice."

A win for the Chinese southpaw would increase the clamour for a world-title clash with Oleksandr Usyk, the current unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring magazine heavyweight champion.

tumultuous round the Ukrainian fought back strongly and drove Dubois against the ropes.

The nature of the fight had shifted and, while Usyk won the sixth with his sharp use of angles and superior hand speed, the best punch came from Dubois, who landed a withering left hook to the body.

There was more of an edge to the battle and it looked as if

Earlier in the week Dubois had promised to bring force and fire to the ring and he spoke, relatively convincingly, of his desire to bully and “rough up” Usyk before pummelling his way to an early stoppage victory. It was his only realistic hope of overcoming the prohibitive favourite whose intelligence and flair between the ropes always seemed likely to be too much for Dubois.

A few minutes after the fight a bitterly disappointed Dubois said: “I didn’t think that was a low blow … I’ve been cheated out of victory.”

The supposed illegality of the blow that gave Dubois his chance to become a surprising world champion will be debated intently.

-But at the end of a compelling contest, Usyk raised his hands in jubilation and just a little relief.

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Issue 288 September 2023

When I started in the newspaper industry in 1982, my first real ‘guvnor’ was a fella called Bill Bateman. Bill was in his late 50s, and someone we all had respect for. He was a real sweetheart who somehow kept control of a room full of a load us ‘nuisances,’ London lads in our early 20’s and the same amount of ‘I can’t afford to retire’ old boys, who we worked alongside.

To say there was a generational clash would be too massively underestimate the work force he had to deal with but deal with it he did. His stop gap phrase to quieten yet another row that had broken out would be, ‘Markie, keep it down son, ‘er indoors wouldn’t like language like that…’ for which I would immediately apologise to him for. He had a phrase or two, to deal with most of the grief he encountered every day and all of it revolved around quotes taken from the ‘Minder’ TV series.

I mention that by way of demonstrating how popular that show was in the early 80’s.

It of course made a national star of its lead character Arthur Daley, played by the inestimable George Cole.

In truth it was only when ‘Minder’ went big, that he became that star. George’s career up until that point had been one of the occasional success in among mainly

A nice little earner British ‘B’ movies. He first came to my consciousness when he portrayed the wide boy/spiv, ‘Flash Harry’ in the St Trinians films for many years from 1954. I can still whistle his theme tune when he appeared on screen if asked, as I’m sure some of you are doing now, whilst reading this.

His own real-life story was one of a tough start . Born in Tooting in 1925, he was adopted when 10 days old by George senior, who worked for the council and his cleaner wife, Florence. Cole’s schooling was in Morden. He discovered he was adopted when he turned 13, but Flo was keen for him to keep that quiet, which he did for many years.

Upon leaving school at 14, he was all set to join the Merchant Navy, but his love of entertaining his friends, with songs he learned off the radio at the time, got the better of him and he instead joined a musical troupe and went on the road as an understudy on 28 shillings a week.

When he acted opposite Alastair Sim, the actor took Cole under his wing, eventually moving George and his mum Florence into his family home, alongside him and his wife

Naomi. As a result of Sim’s tutelage, Cole lost his strong cockney accent (oh the irony,) learned stage craft, and eventually went on to act with Sim in eleven films overall .

This gave him a tremendous grounding in the acting discipline and found him working with the likes of Laurence Olivier on a couple of occasions.

George served his national service in the RAF from 1944 until 1947 and then returned to his acting and became a fairly well known ‘jobbing’ actor on stage, TV film and a familiar voice on radio. Among the 118 films he eventually appeared in, the highlights for me would be…

Henry V (1944) – Boy. Scrooge (1951) – Young Ebenezer Scrooge The Belles of St. Trinian’s (1954) – ‘Flash’ Harry Blue Murder at St Trinian’s (1957) – ‘Flash’ Harry Notable TV roles in the 60s and 70s included a role as the story teller on ‘Jackanory’ and playing a bank manager in an episode of ‘The Good Life’ that was recorded in front of our current Queen.

‘I don’t like abroad, Terrence.

Iffy water, sawn off toilets and

plod with guns…’

Then came ‘Minder’ created by Leon Griffiths. The Thames Television produced programme, started in October 1979 and ran until March 1994.

He stated in his autobiography ‘The World Was My Lobster’ (of course it was called that) that he despised the kind of person that Arthur was, so he definitely had mixed emotions taking the part. The show was in fact devised initially as the next step for Dennis Waterman’s career, once his previous TV show ‘The Sweeney’ had ended.

Waterman played Terry McCann, Arthur’s bodyguard or minder and he wanted the actor Denholm Elliott to play the Arthur role originally.

Thankfully all was right in the end and a beautiful friendship with Cole blossomed as the show became a success. Dennis even getting to sing the theme tune. ‘I Could be So Good for You.’ As I mentioned at the start of this, some of the lines and language of the show entered the everyday speech of everyday people, and it became national treasure time. Off the top of my head, I’ve only got to say Dave the

29

barman, The Winchester Club, a large VAT, the lock up, Used Cars, ‘er indoors, Castella cigars, and Mr Chisholm, and all of the above will be fondly recalled all these years later. ‘Minder’ lasted for 114 episodes and reached a viewing peak of 16 million viewers in 1984.

Later roles for Cole, included Sir Giles in the BBC adaption of ‘Blott on the Landscape’ and a memorable run of adverts for ‘Olympus’ cameras alongside celebrated photographer David Bailey.

George was married twice and had four children. He was made an OBE in 1992 and lived out his life in Oxfordshire until his death aged 90 in August 2015.

Last word from his mate Dennis at the time of George’s passing.

‘I’m so grateful to have been a friend of this wonderful man. We worked together for many years and my boast is that we laughed all day every day. He was an amazing man, a wonderful actor and besotted with his family.

‘Farewell old friend.’

The Mumper of SE5 THE SPEAKEASY Volume One by Mark Baxter (The Mumper) Illustrations by Lewis Wharton Foreword by Gary Crowley

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Issue 288 September 2023

I saw the 10-inch blade. Then the man jabbed it towards me

Nothing disperses a crowd, stops traffic, creates chaos and induces absolute panic quite like the flash of a 10in blade.

I saw this for myself, in full effect, at close quarters and in broad daylight. Just a few days ago. The man, having been chased by me for 100 yards, suddenly stopping to bend over and release himself from his rucksack straps, then unsheathing it from its place in the backpack in one swift motion: a sword from its grubby, synthetic scabbard.

Knife in fist now — its handle black and waxy, provenance probably culinary, the metal triangular and pointed and glinting in the afternoon sun — he waves it high in the air with an apparently practised menace. He is 20ft away.

and the beginnings of mild PTSD, I agree that he has a good point.

I thank him profusely, get out of the cab right outside the Waitrose and stand in the middle of a road traffic island, doing a slow but slightly barmy pirouette, looking for a police car, coming from any direction, to flag down. The cops, normally omnipresent in west London, are now invisible and I don’t see one during 20 minutes of looking. “Never around when you need ’em,” a passer-by and incident witness says.

With little else to do, I start walking, past the estate where my assailant is probably still

learning to avoid certain areas and certain types. Wary but mostly trusting and confrontationally averse. So, yes, the fellow heading straight for me — albeit in a bizarre zigzag, crazy look in his eye, one step on the pavement, one on the road, like a naughty child — was someone to be very definitely, widely berthed. Even with at least ten other pedestrians within a few feet of us, and still two and a half hours from sunset.

I strode out of his way, swerving purposefully, but also making a fatal error; I caught his eye, gazing directly at him for a moment. Did I get away with it?

He seemed to pass by without incident.

services. And the police kindly came, picking me up half a mile away for the flashpoint to retrace my steps and relive the drama. Mostly they were looking for CCTV cameras, of which there were none.

“And what was your relationship with this man?” they asked as we drove down Cleveland Terrace. “Never seen him before in my life.” “And he pulled a machete on you?”

“No,” I corrected, “a kitchen knife”, slightly surprised that a machete would be the most common type of blade that a London assailant might be carrying.

After a fruitless trawl, the cops dropped me off. Then three of

On the tree-lined street close to Paddington station in London, cars come screeching to a halt, pedestrians scatter in all directions, some screaming.

The man — what? 35, 40 years old? Hooded and wild-eyed — brings the knife up to chin height and waves it in the air.

Then — direct eye contact. He jabs it. In my direction. Right at me. A few threatening, staccato steps forward, feigning his evil intent. Any closer and he is going to cut me.

Freeze frame. Dolly zoom.

Psycho shower stab soundtrack. Total terror.

I recoil, backing off, sight unseen, into the busy traffic, almost getting knocked down by a taxi . . . which slams on its brakes, the driver shouting, “Get in!” from behind his wheel.

In a movie now, I climb in, and we give chase again — London cabbie knowledge versus maniacal running man — down Bishop’s Bridge Road, a smart, mothership of a Waitrose on one side, the Hatfield council estate on the other. The man, blade still in hand, disappears down some steps and into the warren of garden areas, parking lots and housing blocks. We have lost him.

“Thing is, mate,” my cab driver offers sagely, “what are you going to do if you do catch him?” Shaking now, somewhere between a red mist

hiding, to my parked car. I am shaking. I quicken my pace . I am, frankly, terrified.

It was a random attack. I had left my office at 5.30pm on a sunny late August afternoon, walking from Gloucester Terrace, just near Paddington station, intending to wiggle my way through some side streets, through Queensway and heading up to Notting Hill Gate.

The W2 area is Victorian, affluent and grand, punctuated with leafy garden squares. Like much of well-to-do London the W2 is also a multiracial, socioeconomic mix of wealthy and poor. Notting Hill Carnival, a sort of celebration of west London’s multiculturalism, had taken place only the day before.

After almost 40 years of living in this “colourful” area (™ 1980s estate agent-speak) one tends to be streetwise every day,

Then, in another split second, from behind and without warning, a massive whack on the temple. He’d punched me, knocking me sideways and offbalance with a juddering, sucker-punch blow. Now he was running away.

I was shocked but also very f***ing furious. Something in me said, “I’m not going to let you get away with that”, and I went after him, shouting obscenities as I sprinted. What a fool.

Exactly what was I going to do if did catch him? The cabbie’s wise words, at that point unspoken, never entered my head as I panted along the pavement in hot pursuit.

Eventually, a full half-hour after the attack, my heartbeat slowing down and red mist fading, I called the emergency

them, in stab-proof vests, braved a look around the estate. They found nothing. I received an email the next day informing me that the case was closed. I wasn’t injured or seriously hurt, just very, very freaked out at the whole bizarre and shocking experience.

In the meantime, I was reading grim stats about the Notting Hill Carnival; 275 arrests across the two days, for a range of offences including possession of offensive weapons and assaults on police officers. Eight people stabbed on the Monday alone — the day before my attack. Approximately 12,786 knife or sharp instrument offences recorded by the police in London in 2022-23. Rishi Sunak calling for police and the courts to be given tougher powers to tackle so-called zombie knives and machetes.

Yes, machetes! In fashionable

west London. The same hacking tools most commonly used for cutting and maintaining jungle trails, clearing brush, coppicing wood, now adapted for urban menace.

Was the punch in the head a provocation? To get me to give chase and then stab me. What was his motive? I was a total stranger — and he definitely wasn’t a mugger. Did he have mental problems? Maybe he was a jihadist? Or just a thrillseeker? Did he just not like the look of me? And if so, why?

What if he’d decided to knife me instead of punch me first?

That could have happened.

Easily.

And where was he now?

Maybe having noticed the havoc he’d wreaked with a kitchen knife, now upping his blade game to a machete?

After my attack a friend told me how h-is wife had recently been sitting on a Tube train when the police halted the train and arrested the man sitting opposite her. They cuffed and secured him, before removing a foot-long machete that had been hidden down the back of his jeans. I shivered at the thought of that black, powdercoated, brush-clearing blade and the chaos and violence it could have caused among the commuters, fear-belching a little as I relived my own moment once again.

In 40 years as a Londoner, I’d never been frightened of walking the streets at any time — day or night. Perhaps naively, I’d always trusted my instincts and street smarts, presuming good rather than evil in people I came across in shops, pubs, on buses and on the underground. Now? I am not so sure. Maybe, I’ll learn to evaluate my safety and confrontation potential more thoroughly in future, perhaps decide to cross the street that little bit quicker? Not make eye contact, react or engage and definitely not get involved with any kind of chase. Possibly with immediate effect?

As I told the police, I’d never seen him before in my life. I hope to God I never see him again.

Courtesy of Simon Mills, for The Times

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