Recently the trade organisations have been criticised on social media for the lack of activity in promoting the KOL
We think that as far as the LCDC are concerned, this criticism is most unjustified The LCDC raised concerns about the future of the KOL as far back as 2017 In fact the club went as far as to arrange a seminar with the help of then GLA member David Kurten to highlight the decline of KOL This was held at City Hall in July 2018, with open invitation for stakeholders to attend
Unfortunately TfL and other taxi trade bodies refused to accept the invitation
As recently as 7th June we at the LCDC contacted the other trade groups, garages, KOL schools and stakeholders to arrange a meeting with everyone regarding the parlous state of the KOL
I am very pleased to say that the meeting was well attended and at last the trade as a whole agreed that with just 700 KOL candidates,
I am also glad to report that following on from our meeting I contacted TfL and this week the trade groups attended a meeting with Tfl which was also attended by the Knowledge examiners
One of the main issues on the agenda was the time it is currently taking for applicants to complete the Knowledgeit seems that after the blue book number was cut from 460 to 340 runs, it now takes twice as long How can this be?
Many drivers do not realize that on current predictions with drivers retiring and also the disastrous taxi age limit cull, we stand to lose some 1,000 drivers a year
With these current Knowledge numbers the shortfall would be filled by a paltry 200 new drivers a year, which would spell disaster for us.
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
W H Y W E M U S T R E T A I N T H E G O L D
S T A N D A R D O R R I S K E V E R Y T H I N G
Recently in the national press and on social media, there were various articles regarding the Knowledge and claims it was to be scrapped, made easier and some even said all done via a computer screen. I can categorically say that unfortunately for the scare mongers, none of the above is true
For many years the LCDC have been very concerned the way TFL have been delivering the KOL and In fact in 2018 after much discussion at City Hall, the then UKIP candidate, David Kurten held a Knowledge seminar and invited taxi trade stakeholders to attend It is worth noting that Transport for London and others failed to attend the event, purely down to the fact that he was a UKIP member and this went
This article plans to show you the history of our Knowledge concerns through past editions of the Badge
For clarity, the LCDC is adamant that the Gold standard of the cab trade and the Knowledge stays intact and at NO time are the standards to be lowered in any way And in relation to the recent irresponsible article in the Times we feel it’s done more harm than good, as it paints a very negative picture of our trade - when really we need positivity, as if you were contemplating doing the KOL then you read this piece, you may leave enrolling, hoping that the KOL will become easier
The demise of the KOL coincidently started when
Uber were allowed to ride roughshod in London and flooded our marketplace with cheap (and sometimes free) trips to ultimately gain market share and destroy the cab trade
Although the trade has picked up a bit in recent times, this was more down to the lack of PH drivers working last year, but more worryingly, the lack of taxi drivers who have left the trade and not returned We have looked at the projected figures and in the next three years we are expected to lose some 3,000 drivers. These shocking figures are due to in part natural wastage but are enhanced due to the 12 year age limit, which saw hundreds of drivers have to leave the trade three years earlier than planned and also the cost of both rental and new taxis The costs of
running a taxi nowadays makes it nigh on impossible for part time drivers to return
Back in 2018 LCDC Committee member, Mr Dan O’Regan was our eyes and ears at TFL Knowledge meetings and urged them to hold a review, as TfL kept saying to him at meetings everything was rosy and they had some 4,294 KOL students who had yet to reach stage 3 But after TfL relented to the constant LCDC requests and contacted everyone on their list, there were only really 714 students. I ask myselfhow could you get this so wrong?
The Knowledge loses the highest number of candidates in the “blue book” stage and after admitting in court recently that they were in fact a
“qualification body” surely Tph should be doing a lot more to engage with KOL students on the blue bookwhether that is through zoom meetings, open house days or a separate email address where students can get in touch and ask questions, as not everyone on the Knowledge can attend a Knowledge school
There will be some drivers out there who would be happy to “pull up the drawbridge” and keep figures low and think let’s keep these work levels we have at present. But rather than be reactive, I hope for once the trade can become “proactive” and try to keep the trade buoyant, but at the same time retain our numbers - so we can deliver a good level of service to our passengers and stay relevant
The KOL is in crisis Student numbers are falling, Knowledge schools are closing or amalgamating However, the problems with the KOL do not stand alone but are a symptom of wider problems in the taxi trade If these problems are resolved, the KOL problems will largely resolve themselves
Attempting to isolate and resolve the problems specifically associated with the KOL, without reference to the wider problems, will be doomed to failure
The London taxi trade is in crisis, possibly terminally so Knowledge student numbers are at an unprecedented low A quarter of existing drivers are 60 years of age or older Less than 2% are under 30, resulting in overall driver numbers falling month on month and week on week
Many drivers will retire or semi-retire in the near future, seriously reducing supply but many of these will not surrender their licence as it has no tradable value
The shape of this age demographic is a fairly recent phenomenon as baby boomers have reached retirement age
The result is that not even TFL themselves know the true number of working drivers and by what % this has fallen over recent years
Meanwhile, the taxi fleet is reducing in size, month on month and week on week as new taxis fail to keep up with the number going out of service Since the arrival of the new ZEC taxi this year at a cost increase of nearly 50%, only one new taxi is being added to the fleet for every 10 going out of service
This fleet reduction should see rentals struggle to satisfy demand This was certainly the case when the 15 year age limit was first applied and reduced the fleet This time however, fleets are reporting that they are unable to rent all their stocks
The corollary of this is a combination of falling driver numbers and income, plummeting student numbers, a reducing taxi fleet and unrented taxis The only reasonable conclusion is the taxi trade is in serious decline Unless preventative measures are taken, the taxi service could quickly become untenable as a vital part of London’s transport service
Both the taxi trade and the GLA transport committee recognised this when they worked collectively to produce the 2014 “Future Proof” document intended to secure the trade’s future Unfortunately, the report’s recommendations have been largely ignored by The Mayor and TFL
All the problems identified by “Future Proof” are still relevant but the situation has worsened because no action has been taken to rectify them
The value of the KOL extends far beyond topographical expertise gained The effort required ensures that any successful applicant has the character to turn the job into a lifetime career. Such commitment engenders pride in the trade
The additional driving test required is crucial to maintaining the very high driving safety standards that the taxi trade has maintained since the birth of the motor car
Perhaps even more importantly, the licence has no material value The cost is the time and hard work invested by the holder and the value is what can be earned from driving a taxi, meaning a driver is committed to the work long-term and produces the greatest respect for licensing conditions This is the bedrock of what makes London’s taxi service the best in the world
The result is that vehicle accidents and cases of sexual assault and other criminal activities committed by taxi drivers are miniscule when compared to PH drivers This is no coincidence The gaining of a PH driver licence requires very little time, effort and cost
There is no additional PH driving test and the connection between this and the comparatively high number of road accidents involving PHVs is indisputable However, there are other important factors, not least the reduction in concentration caused by the use of GPS and App dispatch technology
The PH driver has the same DBS checks as the taxi driver, yet the PH driver commits a hugely greater number of sexual and other criminal offences The licence value is as important a factor in this as the DBS check, if not more so The DBS check reveals past offences while the licence value affects future offences
As stated above, the taxi licence has a very high non-monetary value and results in high levels of driver compliance to the specific rules of the job, law in general and commitment to the job Conversely, the very low non-monetary value of the PH licence produces less respect for compliance and a short term commitment to the job; more than a third of new PH licensees do not renew their first licence
There are certain myths that those that sit in authority over the taxi and PH trades appear to believe as truth These are:
1/ That a free market will stimulate better value and choice for consumers
2/ An apparent belief held by the Mayor/TFL that the taxi and PH services operate in a free market;
3/ That operators in the “gig” economy, by use of technology and economies of scale, will be a driving force to provide the aspects of “1” above
4/ the taxi trade is a “dinosaur” industry that refuses to move with the times and adopt new technologies
only has to look at the instant coffee market for an example of this There are literally 100s of brands on supermarket shelves and yet there are less than 10 producers and this is a deliberate policy to make it hard for consumers to compare the price of similar products
Very few markets satisfy the condition of no producer having the ability to affect the market price More often, a market has a small number of very large players and these dictate market price to a large degree, either directly or indirectly
1/ FREE MARKETS
For a market to be free consumers must have perfect information and access to a homogeneous product/service, while no supplier can be large enough to affect market price
Under such conditions the market will set the price automatically at the lowest reasonable price and both consumers and suppliers will either accept that price or leave the market Any inefficient producer will be forced to leave the market and consumption will be set at the optimal level
However, this is clearly not the case in most markets Certainly, modern communications have made it more possible for the consumer to access prices and supply of a product/service
However, a homogeneous market supply is a rarity Suppliers strive to differentiate their product from their competitors in deliberate fashion One
Thus, markets are rarely “free markets” in practice
While free markets are the accepted optimal form of exchange, there are many exceptions On occasion, a free market will not achieve this and is usually due to one of two conditions Where a free market will not allow the exploitation of available economies of scale and/or where market players are able to externalize market costs onto society at large
Natural monopolies are better able to exploit economies of scale than free markets Examples of this are utilities such as gas, water, telephony, etc
Taking the example of gas, in a free market every supplier would need to develop their own pipeline infrastructure
Clearly, this duplication would be a waste of resources when a single pipeline would serve the whole of society
It is the second example of market failure that concerns the taxi industry; the externalisation of costs
This type of failure is due to the full cost of production falling elsewhere than on the final consumer of the good/service
Where this occurs, a variable degree of regulation will normally be applied to the market by an overseeing authority
Up until the middle of the 20th century many manufacturing industries discharged waste into UK rivers The cost of this pollution fell on society at large rather than the consumers of these manufacturers This resulted in legislation forcing manufacturers to make any waste
The London taxi industry is a similar case It is compelled to use vehicles and drivers of a prescribed standard and competency to carry out the duties of taxi driving
The advent of Uber ( more specifically the ride-hail PH service) is proof that without legislation, it is improbable that a taxi driver would choose to purchase a vehicle (the TXe taxi) that costs up to double that of a PHV vehicle used to convey passengers Equally, it is illogical to expect that a driver would voluntarily undergo the time and expense of completing the KOL if the law did not compel him/her to do so
Thus, the London taxi market is not free; it is a highly regulated market
drivers who are unable to earn a living wage from a reasonable number of working hours
Long-term, the Uber aim is to create a monopoly situation by using technology to avoid legislation in order to operate what can only be described in practice as an App-taxi service Uber call it a “ridehailing” service
PH legislation bars operators and vehicles from offering on-demand (hailing) hiring that is the province of the taxi service with its higher regulatory framework and was formed with a lighter regulatory framework on the premise that PHVs would be pre-booked rather than instantly available
The higher the regulation, the higher the cost. By ring-fencing immediate hiring to taxis only, taxis and PH operate in two distinct markets, albeit some cross-over exists in the pre-booked market This allows the maintenance of the taxi service and the growth of the PH service to the benefit of the consumer but has been disrupted by the Uber App-taxi While the regulator supports the claim that Uber are a PH operator, in practice they operate similarly to taxis in the on-demand market.
Uber PHVs are “hailed” like taxis; they respond to “hails” like taxis; they determine fares like taxis, though the device used cannot be deemed a taximeter.
The taxi trade does not oppose “moving with the times”. The PH trade copied taxi use of telephony and two-way radio to give public access to their services Taxi radio circuits used computerized ordertaking and dispatch systems long before PH. They similarly utilized GPS technology before PH for dispatch Taxis were accepting card payments (although not universally) long before PH Perhaps currently most significantly, the taxi trade used App booking technology years before Uber came on the scene
Why would a candidate opt to train for the KOL? Even allowing for the increased earnings that can be theoretically made by a taxi driver over and above a PH driver, it makes no economical sense to opt for the KOL
Assuming a taxi driver can earn 25% more than the driver of a PH “ride hailing” service, it would take eight years of taxi driving to compensate for the four years spent “doing” the KOL This means a total of 12 years investment in the taxi trade before becoming better off financially by choosing the KOL over a PH licence Most current taxi drivers don’t believe there will be a taxi trade in London in 12 years time
Therefore, the solution to the KOL crisis lies in preventing PH from offering taxi services by the back door of “ride hailing” By all means allow PH operators and drivers the use of App and GPS technologies to benefit the consumer but prevent them from using these technologies to avoid taxi regulations
The intention of lighter PH regulation was to improve “pre-booked” services to the consumer. “Pre-booked” was intended to mean “advance booked” If the KOL is to survive, the regulator needs to outlaw PH “ride hailing” services
The result should be what was intended by The Mayor that introduced PH licensing in London; a PH driver licence would a progression stage to becoming a taxi driver This could perhaps be formalized by increasing the qualifying standard for a PH licence to meet a stage of the KOL, avoiding any need to separate the PH trade from the KOL Every candidate would apply for the KOL but allowing a student attain a PH licence and continuance to a full taxi licence, either immediately or within a maximum time allowed
safe for the environment before discharge into rivers or to dispose of waste in other ways
Costs were rightly forced onto the consumer that the market had been avoiding when left free Because price is normally the dominating feature of any free market, if able to externalize a particular cost, the producer left to its own devices will do so in order to maintain consumer price as low as possible
More specifically, this applies to many trades and professions that range from doctors and lawyers to electricians and gas fitters The latter is a prime example
Originally gas fitters did not have to qualify or register to offer their services and avoided training costs The ultimate result of this cost avoidance was a gas explosion in 1968 that caused the destruction of the Ronan Point tower block The CORGI scheme forced the cost of training onto the industry and its consumers, where it rightly belonged
Without doubt, technological advancement generally produces lower prices and greater quality for the consumer as a result of finding better materials and/or better ways of producing and distributing goods and services
The previous Mayor, Mayor Johnson, and TFL, apparently believe that this is the case with Uber However, this is not the case Hubert Horan, a leading authority on transport industry economics, rightly points out that Uber is a “disrupter” of a taxi industry that has worked well for more than a century; not only in London but across the world However, there are no scale economies to be taken advantage of in the taxi and PH industry The technology used by Uber simply replicates what is already being done within the industry and according to Horan, more inefficiently so The cheaper fares offered at the moment are being subsidized by Uber and its
The main difference between the trades is not the use of these technologies but “why” they were and are being used The taxi trade utilized the above technologies to improve the services they provide to the public The PH trade has used them to avoid legislation put in place to prevent them offering taxi services
The heart of the problem for the taxi trade and therefore, the KOL crisis, lies in the regulating authorities differing licensing terms for the two trades, while allowing the more lightly regulated PH trade to operate taxi services by use of App/GPS technology under the guise of operating PH services
It takes approximately four years to qualify as a taxi driver, with all the associated costs this implies The same candidate can qualify as a PH driver in approximately six weeks, with very little cost or effort involved and then use carhailing systems to operate as a pseudo
Failing this, “ride hailing” should be recognized and licensed distinctly from “normal” ph operations. The vehicles on a ride hailing app perform the same functions as a taxi and should meet similar standards
Perhaps the most obvious current anomaly is in respect to the disabled The disabled taxi passenger has an equal chance of hailing a taxi but only a 1 in 800 chance of hailing a car from a car hailing service compared to an able-bodied passenger
There is no logical reason why a ride hailing driver should not be subject to the same advanced driving test as a taxi driver
In conclusion, there are two possible solutions to ending the KOL crisis:
1/ End the use of app based technology currently being used by PH drivers to offer ride hailing (taxi) service without the need to obtain a taxi driver licence; or
2/ recognize ride hailing as a service distinct from “normal” PH operations and apply additional regulatory vehicle and driver costs to the service This would have the effect of swinging candidate choice away from PH and towards taxi driving to some degree
Sadiq Khan’s plan to expand the ultra low emission zone (Ulez) to tackle London’s air pollution may be struck down in a High Court battle.
Five Conservative councils claim the Mayor had acted unlawfully in his proposal to widen the zone into Greater London on August 29, the Evening Standard reports
They hope the hearing on July 4, which they have dubbed their ‘independence day’, will lead to a humiliating defeat for the Labour politician
The expansion will lead to thousands more motorists in London liable to pay a £12 50 levy every day, which opponents claim many cannot afford amidst the cost of living crisis
Gareth Bacon, conservative MP for Orpington and a leading Ulez critic, said Mr Khan could be dubbed an ‘achievement-free mayor’ if the expansion is scrapped
But Mr Khan’s aides say he remains ‘confident’ of securing a legal victory
He insists his plan to expand Ulez is driven by his wish to cut 4,000 premature deaths linked to air pollution a year
Rosamund Adoo-KissiDebrah, whose daughter Ella was the first person to have air pollution listed as a cause of death, said the expansion would be a ‘massive step
forward in limiting public exposure to tailpipe emissions and all the health
risks that come from them’ She said: ‘I don’t know when
the cost of living is going to be over Does that mean we continue to breathe dirty air in the meantime?
‘This isn’t so much about Sadiq It’s about public health in London – it must go ahead’
The mayor has been accused of acting beyond his powers by varying the current Ulez regulations in order to expand the scheme, and or ‘acting irrationally’ in how he set up a £110 million scrappage scheme for people to trade in their cars
The hearing is expected to last two days
If the policy is not struck
down in court, opponents are hoping it will become a key issue at the by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip on July 20
Next May’s mayoral elections are also expected to become a referendum on the Ulez expansion.
July 4 is also the day voting opens for Conservative party members in London to choose their mayoral candidate
All three contenders – Susan Hall, Dan Korski and Moz Hussain – have vowed to scrap the expansion Courtesy of The Metro
A former Uber driver who took the ride-hailing app all the way to the Supreme Court has announced that he is planning to sue again, The Standard can exclusively reveal
James Farrar, who achieved a landmark Supreme Court ruling in February 2021 declaring that Uber drivers must be treated as workers, rather than self-employed, is heading to an employment tribunal in late June
Mr Farrar, who turned up to Uber’s press conference on Thursday in central London to protest for better rights, claims he has refused to accept a settlement and sign a non-disclosure agreement following the Supreme Court decision
He wants a judgment to be logged that dictates exactly how Uber is allowed to define and calculate a minimum wage for its drivers
However Uber disagrees.
“We’ll see in this employment tribunal what a judge thinks We believe what we’ve done is totally appropriate, complying with the law and fair, basically,” Uber’s general manager for the UK, Andrew Brem, told The Standard
This comes as Uber announced a raft of sustainability changes on Thursday morning, including live programming for drivers so they can integrate their trip planning and show them how much battery they have left The new feature will help them plan rides better and not show them rides they might not be able to complete
“There are 100,000 Uber drivers still being cheated out of their full statutory rights by Uber and private settlements prevent the courts ever reaching a proper determination,” Mr Farrar, general secretary of the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU), told The Standard
“I feel like I would have wasted my time and failed
our campaign if I did not push on to a final court judgment that could be used to protect all Uber drivers in future ”
Mr Farrar and another former Uber driver Yaseen Aslam took Uber to employment tribunal in 2016, arguing that they worked for Uber, and won However Uber appealed against the employment tribunal decision and kept appealing until the case ended up in the Supreme Court Britain’s highest court, which has the final say on legal matters
In his judgment, Lord Leggatt said that the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Uber’s appeal that it was an intermediary party and stated that drivers should be considered to be working not only when driving a passenger, but whenever logged in to the app
Uber states that all UK drivers always earn at least the National Living Wage, which is currently £10 42 If drivers’ earnings, after vehicle expenses and other charges like congestion charges in London, are lower than the National
their
The ride-hailing app also pays drivers holiday pay every week, which is calculated by taking their earnings, multiplied by 12 07 per cent
However, Mr Farrar says that Uber’s concept of a “minimum wage” falls short because it only pays for the journey from the moment the Uber driver picks up a passenger, until the moment the passenger gets out of the car
“Uber has unilaterally decided not to pay drivers for waiting time and has failed to adjust their own minimum wage calculations to account for inflation and the significant extra costs in shifting to electric vehicles,” he said
Uber disputes Mr Farrar’s views on how driver minimum wage should be calculated
“What if they’re logged into three other apps at the same time? Would you get three National Living Wages from three different people?
I don’t think that makes any sense to me,” stressed Mr Brem
“Of course, I’m licensed in
These firms are Leigh Day, Keller Postman, and Dallas McMillan, according to Mr Farrar
Many drivers represented by these three law firms have now settled their claims Because he is unwilling to settle his case, Mr Farrar has parted ways with Dallas McMillan and intends to now represent himself in the employment tribunal, which is set for June 26.
“Uber unilaterally decided that driver costs should be assessed at 45p per mile back in 2021 We've never accepted 45p as a true reflection of driver costs,” said Mr Farrar
London, I can drive in London That’s a free choice When I’m not on a trip, I could be doing something else I could be driving on the Bolt platform I could be writing an article for the Evening Standard and getting paid a couple of hundred quid for it.
“It doesn’t make sense to me that I would be getting three sets of payments during that period when I’m not actually driving on a trip for Uber ”
He added, “I don’t even have to be in the car to put the app on and go online I could be having a coffee with my mates and have the app on online and I could be sitting there rejecting every trip ”
However, he did agree that flexible working is the future
“I do think platform work or independent work is something that is here to stay People are choosing to do it. People are choosing to have the flexibility, 100% flexibility that it gives ”
Following the Supreme Court ruling, three law firms handled the settlement process on a “no win, no fee” agreement basis
“Fares in London have been around £1 40 per mile We say they should be £2 50 per mile Realistically, we are looking at costs of £1 to £1 50 per mile ”
From January 1, all privatehire vehicles licensed for the first time must now be “zero-emission-capable”, meaning either electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids Mr Farrar says that this regulation and rising costs of electricity are forcing drivers to work “longer and longer hours”
ADCU also has an issue with Uber’s new artificial intelligence-backed dynamic-pricing algorithms, which force consumers to pay higher prices during particularly busy periods However, not all Uber drivers agree with Mr Farrar’s position
“This attitude grinds my gears. Some drivers are entitled It sounds like they want all the benefits of flexible working and guaranteed earnings for a whole shift, too,” Uber driver Eniola Robbin, who was attending the event this morning, told The Standard
“This means that they could sit around and be paid, even while they are not actually driving That’s simply not realistic ” Courtesy of The London Evening Standard
We’ll arrange for the recovery of your cab into safe and secure storage until repairs are started.
We’ll arrange for repairs to be completed by an approved repairer as well as dealing with insurance assessors.
We’ll deal directly with Transport of London on your behalf to ensure all relevant procedures are complied by involving the accident of your licensed cab.
Once repairs are completed, we’ll deliver your cab back to your home address.
We are still renting a limited amount of diesel taxis
For those drivers who work the Buckingham Gate rank it has been a frustrating 18 months. The rank has been shut, the road made one way due to building work and road works. I’ve had drivers phoning me up about ph drivers parking the cars on the rank and BT vans abusing the rank too
When the rank has been suspended we’ve had a temporary rank in Caxton St that has either been unworkable or full of vehicles, adding to drivers’ frustration
The other main point has been that the rank needs repainting and I’ve been
asking for months and finally two weeks ago a Westminster Council worker finally painted it, and yet there’s always a but they forgot to paint the clear way line back, which means a section of road where you are not allowed to stop your vehicle for any reason, unless in an emergency Now this makes the rank unenforceable for wardens to ticket and vehicles left on it
Now comes another mistake in this soap opera at Buckingham gate The one cab rank across has just been suspended due to road works They finished the works and laid fresh tarmac only not to re paint the rank back What a nightmare as the hotel staff are now having to tell PH drivers not
TfL accelerated plans to improve safety on the bridge following a passionate local campaign after the death of Jack Ryan on Battersea Bridge on 13 January 2021
The first phase of work on the north side of the bridge was completed in November 2021 and included a new pedestrian crossing, wider pavements and a new lower speed limit of 20mph
Following local engagement, last year TfL consulted on further proposals to make additional safety improvements to the rest of the junction Key results from the consultation showed that a majority of respondents (70%) expected the proposals would mean more people would choose to travel by cycling and more people would choose to walk (69%)
Half of respondents expected that more people would choose to use public transport.
After fully considering the consultation responses, and further engagement with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, TfL has decided to proceed with the following changes to the north end of the bridge:
New, straight-across, pushbutton pedestrian crossings on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea Embankment and Beaufort Street
Making improvements for cyclists at the junction by installing dedicated cycle signals and a section of segregated cycle track
A new section of westbound bus lane from Royal Hospital Road to the bus stop at Beaufort Street to ensure bus journey times in the area are maintained
Banning the left turn into Beaufort Street for a small number of vehicles, to reduce delays and wait times at the turning point, and to improve safety and eliminate the risk of left turning vehicles colliding with cyclists Cyclists will still be
able to access Beaufort Street via a shared use footway
TfL is also making changes to the southern end of the bridge, including:
A new push-button pedestrian crossing on Battersea Bridge Road at Hester Road
A bus gate, which would continue to improve bus journey times for buses travelling northwards
A new pedestrian crossing at the Battersea Bridge Road / Battersea Church Road junction
An extended bus lane from Banbury Street northwards
Then we get to the confusion that drivers seem to be having with the One Taxi Rank outside the St James Court London Hotel, yes it’s the main rank for the hotel and the seven spaces on the big rank are its feeder
When the driver pulls off from the hotel rank point acab should pull over onto it Most drivers stay put but then get annoyed if a driver passes them and then pulls onto the hotel rank. Now hopefully WCC will pull their finger out and finally get both ranks painted back to full status
Also for TPH to get all rank plates put up stating it’s the feeder and to stop the confusion if drivers should stay or move over
on Battersea Bridge Road to improve bus journey times
Reconfigured crossing points at the junction of Battersea Bridge Road with the Prince of Wales Drive, widening pavements, removing the existing traffic island and building two new pedestrian crossings
Banning the right turn from Battersea Bridge Road into Parkgate Road and the left turn into the B305 to improve safety for people walking and cycling, including an “all green man” phase at the junction, and to help bus journey times Penny Rees, TfL’s head of
healthy streets investment, said: ”Every death and serious injury on London’s roads is unacceptable and we’re determined to make them safer for everyone We are committed to Vision Zero, the mayor’s goal to eliminate death and serious injury from the transport network, and these changes will play a vital role in reducing danger at these key junctions ” Chelsea resident Rob McGibbon started the safety campaign to improve safety at the junction after witnessing the aftermath of the Jack Ryan tragedy
He said: “I am delighted that the Phase 2 works have been agreed and will go ahead It will make a huge difference to thousands of pedestrians and cyclists that use this area “I would like to thank TfL and its officers for being so consultative throughout this process and for moving quickly to make this junction safer.
“The support for the campaign – from the public, the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and from local residents’ associations – has been extraordinary and it goes to prove that change really can happen when people work positively together ”
TfL plans to begin work on the Battersea Bridge safety improvements this winter
TfL is moving forward the next phase of plans to reduce road danger for people walking and cycling on and near Battersea Bridge
All our TXe Taxis come with a 3 year warranty
ownership.
only use genuine LEVC parts and specialist tools to repair your vehicle.
The warranty covers all parts and labour should any component fail as a result of a manufacturing defect. Please be aware, however, that the warranty does not cover normal deterioration of wear parts such as tyres or brake pads or misuse of the vehicle, including physical damage or improper maintenance.
Electric motoring is, in theory, a subject about which I should know something My first university degree was in electrical and electronic engineering, with a subsequent master’s in control systems Combine this, perhaps surprising, academic pathway with a lifelong passion for the motorcar, and you can see why I was drawn into an early adoption of electric vehicles I bought my first electric hybrid 18 years ago and my first pure electric car nine years ago and (notwithstanding our poor electric charging infrastructure) have enjoyed my time with both very much Electric vehicles may be a bit soulless, but they’re wonderful mechanisms: fast, quiet and, until recently, very cheap to run But increasingly, I feel a little duped When you start to drill into the facts, electric motoring doesn’t seem to be quite the environmental panacea it is claimed to be As you may know, the government has proposed a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 The problem with the initiative is that it seems to be largely based on conclusions drawn from only one part of a car’s operating life: what comes out of the exhaust pipe. Electric cars, of course, have zero exhaust emissions, which is a welcome development, particularly in respect of the air quality in city centres But if you zoom out a bit and look at a bigger picture that includes the car’s manufacture, the situation is very different In advance of the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow in 2021, Volvo released figures claiming that greenhouse gas emissions during production of an electric car are nearly 70% higher than when manufacturing a petrol one How so? The problem lies with the lithium-ion batteries fitted currently to nearly all electric vehicles: they’re absurdly heavy, huge amounts of energy are required to make them, and they are estimated to last only upwards of 10 years It seems a perverse choice of hardware with which to lead the automobile’s fight against the climate crisis Unsurprisingly, a lot of effort is going into finding something better New, so-called solidstate batteries are being developed that should charge more quickly and could be
about a third of the weight of the current ones – but they are years away from being on sale, by which time, of course, we will have made millions of overweight electric cars with rapidly obsolescing batteries Hydrogen is emerging as an interesting alternative fuel, even though we are slow in developing a truly “green” way of manufacturing it It can be used in one of two ways It can power a hydrogen fuel cell (essentially, a kind of battery); the car manufacturer Toyota has poured a lot of money into the development of these. Such a system weighs half of an equivalent lithium-ion battery and a car can be refuelled with hydrogen at a filling station as fast as with petrol
If the lithium-ion battery is an imperfect device for electric cars, concerns have been raised over their use in heavy trucks for long distance haulage because of the weight; an alternative is to inject hydrogen into a new kind of piston engine JCB, the company that makes yellow diggers, has made huge strides with hydrogen engines and hopes to put them into production in the next couple of years. If hydrogen wins the race to power trucks – and as
a result every filling station stocks it – it could be a popular and accessible choice for cars But let’s zoom out even further and consider the whole life cycle of an automobile The biggest problem we need to address in society’s relationship with the car is the “fast fashion” sales culture that has been the commercial template of the car industry for decades Currently, on average we keep our new cars for only three years before selling them on, driven mainly by the ubiquitous three-year leasing model. This seems an outrageously profligate use of the world’s natural resources when you consider what great condition a three-year-old car is in. When I was a child, any car that was five years old was a bucket of rust and halfway through the gate of the scrapyard Not any longer You can now make a car for £15,000 that, with tender loving care, will last for 30 years It’s sobering to think that if the first owners of new cars just kept them for five years, on average, instead of the current three, then car production and the CO2 emissions associated with it, would be vastly reduced Yet we’d be enjoying the same mobility, just driving slightly older cars
We need also to acknowledge what a great asset we have in the cars that currently exist (there are nearly 1 5bn of them worldwide) In terms of manufacture, these cars have paid their environmental dues and, although it is sensible to reduce our reliance on them, it would seem right to look carefully at ways of retaining them while lowering their polluting effect Fairly obviously, we could use them less As an environmentalist once said to me, if you really need a car, buy an old one and use it as little as possible A sensible thing to do would be to speed up the development of synthetic fuel, which is already being used in motor racing; it’s a product based on two simple notions: one, the environmental problem with a petrol engine is the petrol, not the engine and, two, there’s nothing in a barrel of oil that can’t be replicated by other means Formula One is going to use synthetic fuel from 2026 There are many interpretations of the idea but the German car company Porsche is developing a fuel in Chile using wind to power a process whose main ingredients are water and carbon dioxide. With more development, it should
be usable in all petrol-engine cars, rendering their use virtually CO2-neutral Increasingly, I’m feeling that our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end, and that’s no bad thing: we’re realising that a wider range of options need to be explored if we’re going to properly address the very serious environmental problems that our use of the motor car has created We should keep developing hydrogen, as well as synthetic fuels to save the scrapping of older cars which still have so much to give, while simultaneously promoting a quite different business model for the car industry, in which we keep our new vehicles for longer, acknowledging their amazing but overlooked longevity
Friends with an environmental conscience often ask me, as a car person, whether they should buy an electric car I tend to say that if their car is an old diesel and they do a lot of city centre motoring, they should consider a change But otherwise, hold fire for now Electric propulsion will be of real, global environmental benefit one day, but that day has yet to dawn Courtesy of The Guardian
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
LEGAL COVER
Our fantastic team of City Of London based solicitors and barristers, experts in Hackney Carriage and road traffic law
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
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 RANKS AND HIGHWAYS
The LCDC attend the Joint Ranks committee, working hard for more ranks and more access for the taxi trade in London
CAB TRADE ADVICE
All members can call the office for any information or up to the date news on any trade related subject
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
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
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
CLUB PROTECTA
To help drivers who have acquired twelve points keep their licence
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
The offer is for a member’s guest rateMon-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.
It’s disgraceful, that after the Curb system failure over a bank holiday weekend, when repeatedly asked, our regulator TfLTPH, stayed silent and refused to answer the simple question:
“Can drivers legally work, in the event of a system failure of thei CC provider?”
Should we now ignore TfLTPH and all their dystopian regulations, regarding the way TaxI drivers receive payments from customers?
In the past TfL have made it extremely clear, that drivers can not use hand held units in the front compartment of their vehicle They have also stated before that if the Credit Card system fitted in your Taxi stops working, then you have to stop working and get the system fix before you can return to work
TfL point to their conditions of fitness which clearly states that every licensed Taxi driver must accept credit and debit card payments, and must only use authorised units can be used and must be fitted in the rear of the Taxi
Three representative orgs and two unions (one with allegedly 10,000 members) were unable to access any information at the time from TfL on the Curb system failure This left drivers not knowing if they could legally work over a bank holiday weekend
Is it now time to change the mandate or scrap it completely?
Surely after this latest system failure, drivers should now be able to to choose a hand held device of their own choice, for situations as and when their TfL authorised CC system goes down.
At present, Taxi drivers are legally obliged to abide by the conditions of fitness of their licences….but after the recent failure of the Curb system, is it now time to have these conditions amended?
As ‘sole traders’ drivers should be able to choose how they accept payment of a fare Personally, I have been taking card payments in my Taxi (as have hundreds of other drivers) for many years before TfLs mandate, and never had one complaint Legally (if the driver agrees) you can accept payment in a variety of ways, cash, cheque, credit/debit card and even the old fashion way of barter….a driver can legally accept a sack of potatoes or a couple of chickens,
should they wish!
It should not be up to TfLTPH to oversee how a driver accepts payment
Taxi trade representatives orgs and unions should now be focusing on TfLTPH for compensation, after leaving drivers in the position of being unable to work, through no fault of their own?
On another note how safe is your data with TfL?
Up to 13,000 drivers on the ULEZ and congestion charge database have been warned that their data has been stolen by Russian hackers in a cyber attack on Transport for London (TfL)
The cybercrime gang (known as Clop), last month targeted the capital’s train bus, Taxi and Private Hire regulator, as part of a wider raid that saw the personal financial information of hundreds of thousands of Britons stolen.
British Airways, one of the companies also affected, told all 34,000 of its staff that their details had been stolen, while the BBC wrote to all staff to say they were
caught up in a “significant global issue”
UK authorities are on high alert, to watch whether any compromised data, including bank details, National Insurance numbers and addresses, is sold on the dark web as the gang’s ransom deadline approached
TfL is writing to the 13,000 drivers whose details were stored by a contractor responsible for the controversial Ultra-Low Emission Zone (Ulez), the London congestion charge zone and other parking offences
A spokesperson for TfL said: “Like other companies in the UK, one of our contractors recently suffered a data breach The issue has been fixed and IT systems have now been secured ”
TfL’s warning comes after Ofcom admitted on Monday it was also the target of the Russian gang Clop
TfL... A fine one to talk! It gets worse.
TfL’s (Khan’s) agents who deal with issuing ULEZ
fines, have themselves been charged with breaching the data protection act, to acquire the details of vehicles registered abroad Two EU countries say TfL’s agency unlawfully obtained details of citizens to issue driving fines.
Source: The Guardian
Let’s not forget that although they tried desperately to keep it quiet, Uber also suffered a number of Cyber attacks from hackers who managed to get the account details of both customers and drivers
Joseph Sullivan was hired as Uber's chief security officer in 2015
In November 2016 Sullivan received an email from the hackers demanding a ransom, and employees quickly confirmed that they had the records of about 57 million users and also 600,000 driver's had been accessed Sullivan was eventually convicted over a cover-up of 2016 data breach where hackers stole millions of customer records
But it’s not all gloom and doom, there is good news International star Elaine Paige recently tweeted: “Sat in huge traffic jam on Park Lane’s restricted road while cycle lane is empty Not a cyclist in sight for past 15 mins I expect they’re using the cycle lane just over railings in the park! I mean who wouldn’t!? Even buses can’t move thanks to Sadiq Khan’s insane schemes”
Susan Hall, the front runner for the conservative mayoral candidacy replied: “You are correct @elaine paige , it’s ridiculous If I become Mayor of London believe me it would go immediately!
Safer with Susan Susan Hall has also gone on record saying that if she becomes Mayor of London, from day one, the ULEZ extension will go
Sadiq Khan is set to address the “cost of doing business crisis” at a crunch summit with firms including Uber, Natwest and KPMG.
The mayor of London will welcome more than 200 CEOs to his annual City Hall business reception at the Crystal in east London today.
He is expected to tell firms the “cost-of-doing-business crisis casts a long shadow over our economy, just as there’s a cost-of-living crisis inflicting a heavy price on our communities ”
Khan will say: “This is why I’m more determined than ever to live up to my promise of being the most pro-business mayor London has ever had by working hard to create the conditions for you to thrive, our people will prosper too ”
It comes amid Labour’s efforts to woo the Square Mile, with the ‘scrambled eggs offensive’
spearheaded by leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves Attendees at the event will also include Deloitte; D&D London; the British Beer and Pub Association; Tech London Advocates; Abrdn; The City UK; Business LDN; the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association; the Federation of Small Businesses; Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield;
and the Canary Wharf Group.
The mayor will highlight support from the Grow London scheme, run by London & Partners, to help UK and international firms expand and create future employment opportunities
While a ‘single front door’ service is set to launch this autumn offering a one-stop shop for business advice to scale ups and small firms
City Hall hopes Grow London will ensure 400 growing companies a year, including those in the
fintech and cleantech sectors, are able to expand overseas
Grow London boss Janet Coyle said London’s success relied on “a mix of international and homegrown businesses access to high levels of growth
capital and world class talent”.
She added: “The mayor’s support for our services will help our city’s businesses to keep accelerating their growth at home and abroad ” Courtesy of City AM
Breathe operates a subscription service letting customers buy their electric cars
Funds were pledged by Mayor of London's Energy Efficiency Fund
15 months ago
Sadiq Khan's green fund could lose millions of pounds of taxpayer's cash after an electric car firm it invested in collapsed into administration.
The company, called Breathe, supplies electric vehicles to a range of customers from Tesla motors to private-hire drivers and had £3 2m injected into it by the Mayor of London's Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF)
The funds were pledged by MEEF just 15 months ago, but earlier this week insolvency practitioners from Begbies Traynor were appointed as administrators, Sky News reports
Breathe operates an EV service allowing customers to take full ownership of their car at the end of a subscription period
The firm's website continues to advertise its work with the Mayor of London to reduce CO2 emissions and clean up the city's air
As part of a deal for Londoners, the company was working with Transport for London to offer drivers who scrap their car under the new scrappage scheme 'an additional £500 off their subscription for a
brand new, zero emissions EV'
But it now also states on the website: 'Paul Appleton and Adam Shama of Begbies Traynor were appointed Joint Administrators of Breathe EV Limited on 13 June 2023 They are managing the affairs, business and property of the Company
'The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Company and act without personal liability '
In a strange coincidence, the Labour mayor's new book, which came out last month and is about 'politics, life, and the future of our city and planet', is also called Breathe
It comes amid Khan's drive to get crack down on diesel vehicles in the
capital
MailOnline revealed this week that TfL handed out £400million worth of fines to motorists who failed to pay the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) charge over a 16-month period
Some 2,468,471 penalty charge notices were issued between January 2022 and April 2023 for non-payment of the Mayor's daily £12 50 rate for driving in London
Drivers whose vehicles do not meet Ulez emission standards receive a fine of £180 if they fail to pay the charge, although this is reduced to £90 if paid within a fortnight
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, said: 'The Mayor's Energy Efficiency Fund is the largest of its
kind in the UK and has already invested in 17 projects across London mobilising over £380m of investment which is expected to save over 38,000 tonnes of CO2 and nearly 40m kwh of energy
'MEEF's original investment of £3 2m in Breathe represents less than 1 per cent of the total funding mobilised by the fund to date
'The Mayor is aware that Breathe has recently entered administration The appointed administrators are working with all parties to complete a sale of the business and if needed realise assets to enable the debt to be repaid '
Begbies Traynor has been contacted for comment.
Courtesy of MailOnline
For 75 years the London based Taxi Charity for Military Veterans has been supporting veterans For many years they have been taking veterans to Normandy to the D Day commemorations so that they can pay their respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom
This year WWII veterans on the trip included Doug Baldwin and Mervyn Kersh who landed on Gold beach, Ernie Davis who spent D Day on patrol looking for U Boats and minesweeping and Marie Scott who transmitted messages to and from the beaches on D Day Younger veterans on the five day trip included Ben Mead who served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan and Chris Langford who served in Iraq and Afghanistan
The relationship that builds between the volunteer drivers and the veterans is very special and there are always magic moments This year during the trip, WWII veteran Roy Smith who landed on Sword Beach after D-Day with the 4th Dorsets, told Micky Harris, one of the volunteer cab drivers, that in 1944 he managed to get ashore without getting his feet wet He told Micky that he "always felt guilty about that" Without hesitation, Micky took him into the sea and removed that guilt
WWII veteran Roy Smith from Sittingbourne said, “Being there brought back the memories of just how many men lost their lives I had always wanted to go back to that beach, but never realised just how much it would mean to me to do so I was one of the lucky ones ”
WWII veteran Marie Scott from Surrey said, “Our trip to Normandy was, once again, not only highly enjoyable but, because the nearer we get to the 80th anniversary of D-
Collaboration between BAE Systems, Central Lancashire Armed Forces Veterans Association and the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans enabled two WWII veterans to fly from Lancashire to Normandy on 6 June.
WWII Veterans Ken Benbow who served with the Royal Navy on HMS Crane and Stuart Taylor who served with the RAF as a Dakota pilot were flown from Warton Aerodrome to Caen in Normandy on the afternoon of the 79th anniversary of D Day
As well as the veterans the special flight carried David Waters, Central Lancashire Armed Forces Veterans
Day, the more relevant and meaning these occasions become to keep alive those precious memories is absolutely vital The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, with all the help and support it gives us, does just that, So a big Thank You ”
Brian Heffernan, London Cab Driver and Chairman of the Taxi Charity said, “Our volunteer cab drivers are quite simply incredible and I am so
very proud of what they do for the charity They are totally committed to ensuring a balance between the veterans paying their respects to those who didn’t return whilst having a wonderful time A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered and made it such a success ”
To find out more about the support the Taxi Charity offers to veterans or to donate visit www taxicharity org
Association and David Holmes and Rachael Gordon from BAE Systems When it landed at Caen Carpiquet Airport the flight was met on the tarmac by Brian Heffernan and Simon Hawes from the Taxi Charity for Military
Veterans who drove the passengers to the British Normandy Memorial with the help of a team of outriders At the Memorial Ken and Stuart shared a few words with Ben Wallace, the British Minister of Defence, who also happened to be Ken’s MP David Waters, Colonel (Retd), Central Lancashire Armed Forces Veterans Association, said “It’s a simple fact that without BAE Systems intervening in such a timely fashion, our two veterans would not have been able to attend this prestigious occasion The Taxi Charity provided an additional key piece in the logistic jigsaw that made the transport plan appear seamless and effortless and left our veterans in no doubt that they are precious and valuable national treasures; they represented themselves, the traditions of our armed forces and the nation in general and we can all be very proud they were able to do that Well done BAE and well done the Taxi Charity ”
After all the years of trying, HAL have finally appointed a new team to actively look at installing more EV chargers. Thankfully, these are proposed for the south park. The design, placement and speed of the proposed units are being worked on now. The team are keen to work with us to ensure the installation will have minimum disruption, but we will need to expect, however, the possibility of losing some rank space in the main south park.
Over the past few months, I have met with HAL twice to discuss their proposals. These meeting are still ongoing. I am also looking at the price we get charged. This currently sits at 38p per kWh, and is competitive against commercial on-street chargers. Sadly, due to complex and complicated way the price is calculated, there is no movement on this. We know for sure the price will remain fixed until the end of the year. If there are any changes, I will keep everyone updated. As with anything relating to HAL, things take a long time to happen. However, what is in the pipeline is the installation of a new 1.5MW substation to power the new EV chargers. We’ve had over 5 years of EV’s now and we need to make sure that the Taxi Feeder Park is future proofed for the time when ALL taxis are Electric.
Other Heathrow News
I have been asked to introduce myself. I’m Brian Nayar, an Airport Rep for the LCDC. I also represent the Electric Vehicle drivers, and have done so since their introduction in 2018. I have been a taxi driver for 17 years; helped run a Knowledge School, and guided countless students over the years. Oh, and I am a Taxi Feeder Park warden and a Fulham season ticket holder.
For the past 5 years, alongside Paul Falcini, we have been actively involved in lobbying Heathrow (HAL) to get more EV chargers in the Feeder Park. Since 2018 we have had just 7 x 50kW chargers, and these are never working to full capacity. The reporting process is very long winded, and SWARCO get notified third hand on any issues.
Fuel Station
Reps were only recently informed that the Fuel Station is to close. By the time you read this it will probably be shut for good.
The Entry Fee was reduced at the end of April on the same day as the new Taxi Tariff came in. Trade Reps met with the new ORC (Other Regulated Costs) Team after the decision not to move us into the Commercial Department. We’ve another meeting scheduled this month to discuss next year’s budget and entry fee. Trade Reps have asked HAL to work with us so that any future changes take place in sync with our Tariff Consultation so that we can ask TFL to amend the Heathrow Extra, something that is on the Agenda at the moment. In the past Drivers have paid the full cost of the Gate Fee and been lucky to recover 25-50% on the meter via the Extras. Originally, the extra was 50% of the Entry Fee, based on Drivers doing 2 jobs (on one local journey and a job to town). However, that was eroded over the years and we were lucky if we got 25%. This year Drivers will get the full £3.60 on the Extras, which should go some way to
a) the cost of the previous few years when we paid £7.20 (often subsidising passengers by £3.60 if only one ride was done on a ticket)
and
b) the cost of returning to the Airport on a local journey. Fuel and Electricity have gone through the roof but no one at TFL seems to consider our costs in coming
back to the Airport to provide a service. One thing that came out of our discussions with HAL’s Commercial Department was that they were under the impression that we passed the Gate Fee on in full to passengers. TFL need to realise that life moves on and what was happening in 1986 has changed.
There have been many concerns regarding the Canteen at the Feeder Park. Most notably the menu and the closing of the canteen during the night. The Feeder Park is a 24-hour taxi rank, and the canteen should accommodate the needs of drivers at all hours. Both of these issues have been put to Heathrow Airport, who say they will put forward to the Canteen Management. We have also asked that the vending machines be moved to an area where they can be accessed when the Canteen is closed. There is also the issue of the fire doors being permanently locked. This is a health and safety concern which needs rectifying.
After all the years of trying, HAL have finally appointed a new team to actively look at installing more EV chargers. Thankfully, these are proposed for the south park. The design, placement and speed of the proposed units are being worked on now. The team are keen to work with us to ensure the installation will have minimum disruption, but we will need to expect, however, the possibility of losing some rank space in the main south park.
Over the past few months, I have met with HAL twice to discuss their proposals. These meeting are still ongoing. I am also looking at the price we get charged. This currently sits at 38p per kWh, and is competitive against commercial on-street chargers. Sadly, due to complex and complicated way the price is calculated, there is no movement on this. We know for sure the price will remain fixed until the end of the year. If there are any changes, I will keep everyone updated. As with anything relating to HAL, things take a long time to happen. However, what is in the pipeline is the installation of a new 1.5MW substation to power the new EV chargers. We’ve had over 5 years of EV’s now and we need to make sure that the Taxi Feeder Park is future proofed for the time when ALL taxis are Electric.
This was discussed yet again, with tickets being issued erroneously. The trade is awaiting a reply to our request to be made exempt again if HAL want us to take their Sustainable Transport Strategy seriously. Another proposal was made by the trade to have an APCOA member of staff at the Feeder Park, to resolve any issues with their PCN’s. We are still awaiting a response from HAL and APCOA.
150 new Tags have been issued, with 650 drivers still on the waiting list.
As you will have seen, they have been reintroduced to the Feeder Park, but there has been a shortage of people willing to help. The numbers are now slowly rising again. However, drivers need to help themselves before HAL take action and start issuing bans for drivers who regularly break the bye laws. You must be ready to go to work when your line starts to move, and you must go directly to your given Terminal. Last month a guide to working at Heathrow was published in ‘The Badge’ with all the Bye Laws included. Don’t say you weren’t warned. APCOA staff will be taking Badge Numbers and reporting Drivers who do not return to
again. However, drivers need to help themselves before HAL take action and start issuing bans for drivers who regularly break the bye laws. You must be ready to go to work when your line starts to move, and you must go directly to your given Terminal. Last month a guide to working at Heathrow was published in ‘The Badge’ with all the Bye Laws included. Don’t say you weren’t warned. APCOA staff will be taking Badge Numbers and reporting Drivers who do not return to t heir taxis in time and warnings/bans will be issued to repeat offenders.
Late at night (around 21.00 - 23.00), we have a regular problem of Drivers who either put their taxi in the Feeder Park and then go to pray, visit the gymnasium, or indulge in extra curricular activities, that take longer than the TFP is doing in time, when the Terminal ranks and throughput is busy. May was yet another record
month. If your extra curricular activities are going to take longer than the time in the park, do not put on!
Do what you have to do before entering the TFP.
Do not enter the Feeder Park!
The Bye Laws state:
9.12 TFP Parking
No person shall without the permission of the Airport Company leave a Taxi on a TFP unless willing to be despatched immediately to an Authorised Standing.
9.13 Filling vacancies
Drivers shall move up their Taxis on an authorised standing or TFP by filling vacancies as they occur.
9.14 TFP Good order
Taxi drivers who are for the time being in a TFP shall comply with such directions for ensuring good order and an orderly movement of traffic within that TFP as may be given by a Constable, an Airport Official or the Airport Company.
9.15 Leaving the TFP
Taxi drivers who are for the time being in a TFP shall:
(a) Leave the TFP by an exit for the time being designated for that purpose and in the order in which they entered immediately they are required to do so by a Constable, or an Airport Official; and
(b) Proceed directly and without delay to the Authorised Standing provided that nothing in this bye-law shall apply to anything to the contrary done at the direction of, or with the consent of a Constable, the Airport Company or an Airport Official.
Drivers who enter the Feeder Park should go directly to the Terminal displayed at the barrier and not go back to the North Park. It’s one thing a Driver being caught short and needing to use the toilet again, but taking 20-30 minutes to arrive at the Terminal when the Ranks need taxis is unacceptable when there is no traffic.
APCOA’s Agents are responsible for managing the dispatch of taxis to the Terminals, but it’s becoming a huge problem that taxis are delaying their arrival at the Terminals to go and pray. This leads to more taxis being dispatched than are necessary, which in turn means that the management of the ranks is affected and passengers end up queuing for cabs that haven’t turned up, or taxis end up on the main roads when ranks are later oversupplied. HAL have previously warned Reps that if Ranks are oversupplied with taxis, then they will take action and suspend or scrap the Local Journey system.
You have been warned!
If Drivers wish to carry out extra curricular activities then they should do so on
scrap the Local Journey system.
If Drivers wish to carry out extra curricular activities then they should do so on their own time without impacting the smooth running of the Taxi Feeder Park.
Complaints about touts have been escalated to the Police. Action to address touting has restarted after Reps met the Aviation and Cab Enforcement Police Units. From conversations we have had, it would appear that our complaints are being listened to. We have also put questions to the Mayor asking him to fund a dedicated Tout Squad at the Airport.
The Terminal price lists are still being chased up with HAL and TfL. We had hoped that they would be in place by the time the new Tariff came in. Hopefully, there will be good news in the near future.
A project is ongoing, and a suitable room (PortaCabin) is being sourced.
Vulnerable passengers were discussed yet again. Trade reps are still awaiting someone at TfL to get in touch with HAL, APCOA and the taxi trade, to let us know what their guidance is.
Should you take them, or should an ambulance be called for them?
One driver was recently told he had to take a passenger to Hillingdon Hospital; en-route, the lady said she thought her appendix had burst. On arrival at the hospital, no one was willing to assist in getting the passenger off the floor of his taxi and into A&E. Luckily, he eventually managed to find a Police Officer to help him.
Until we get that in black and white from TFL TPH, drivers must make their own risk assessment.
HAL have again asked that Drivers use bins in the TFP and do not feed the wildlife as this can cause a hazard for aircraft and vermin in the Feeder Park. Drivers who are reported to HAL will be banned.
Stay safe, stay vigilant and Come On You Whites.
It was a bad night for Josh Taylor in the Garden ring in New York City on Saturday. Taylor was beaten by Teofimo Lopez over 12 rounds in a shock defeat It was certainly not the fight that Taylor expected Taylor suffered defeat for the first time in 20 fights, he lost his one remaining world championship belt and at the end he offered no excuses
“The better man won,” he managed, his voice crackling with emotions Taylor was putting on a brave face to mask the despair
It had been a fiery and ugly build-up and Lopez had talked of killing Taylor in the ring Lopez, who has his own personal battles away from the ring, apologised for the comment and received a peck on the cheek for his honesty. “It’s all song and dance,” Taylor told him It was an oddly respectful end to a week of promises, insults and stupid claims
It was also glorious redemption for Lopez, once the No 1 at lightweight Lopez had lost his way on both sides of the ropes, and finished his last fight asking his team live on air if he still “had it”? It was a difficult interview to watch; on Saturday in the ring in the Garden’s basement theatre, Lopez rediscovered the form most people thought had vanished He is still only 25, by the way
It was a close fight that Lopez won clearly and that often happens when two very good boxers meet One judge, Benoit Roussel, scored it wide in Lopez’s favour His 9-3 verdict was too wide, to be honest The other two judges, Steve Gray and Joseph Pasquale, returned identical scores of 115-113, which means 7-5 in rounds in Lopez’s favour Taylor never complained, but had he won the last round, he would have retained his title with a majority drawn verdict Instead, Taylor had to surrender his beloved world championship belt Last year, Taylor held all four belts at super-lightweight before slowly losing the struggle to keep the quartet of baubles in a protracted series of skirmishes
with the sanctioning bodies Taylor has not fought since February of last year and had been placed under relentless pressure to carry out his mandatory requirements He surrendered, under threat of being stripped, three belts and was left with just the WBO; he was still considered the best at his weight Taylor, incidentally, had won all four belts in a series of fights against six men with a combined record of 133 wins and not one loss Taylor was, make no mistake, the best in the world at his weight That changed in the Garden ring
Lopez was too mobile, too slick and Taylor was just off the pace It is not a tricky fight to understand; Lopez just worked that bit harder Taylor had talked before about moving away from the 140-pound limit of superlightweight and going to welterweight In New York late on Saturday, there was also talk of a rematch Taylor will let the loss settle and then make a decision, but hopefully he will not take another 16-month break On the same night, it was the Sunny Edwards show at Wembley Arena and he
retained his IBF flyweight title for the fourth time. On his undercard, Nina Hughes retained her WBA bantamweight title over 10 rounds against Katie Healy and in the bloody fight of the night, Ellie Scotney won the IBF super-bantamweight title Scotney, having just her seventh fight, was too smart, tough and determined for New Zealand’s Cherneka Sugar Johnson There was a dark and deep cut by Johnson’s right eye for most of the blood-splattered fight Scotney was quite brilliant, Johnson’s five Māori-haka men
stole the show with their routine before she walked to the ring. It was her highlight, they were exceptional Edwards was a clear winner of nine of the 12 rounds, but the Chilean Andres Campos kept it competitive “I need tests,” Edwards admitted And he does and the tests might start later this year And I hope so, Edwards has the style, craft and personality to be a big attraction Edwards has a deal with his new promoter, Eddie Hearn, for the big fights; there are three other world champions at flyweight, but Edwards wants Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – the WBO flyweight champion and a genuine threat Rodriguez is unbeaten in 18, just 23, the former world champion at super-flyweight and, according to heavy rumour, he wants our Sunny As a twist – and it is a good one – Sunny has signed and agreed to the fight, which includes the money terms, with Rodriguez as part of his deal with Hearn Rodriguez can be enticed over for a December showdown That, by the way, is a super fight Edwards won clearly, Hughes did the same, Scotney’s win was hard but clear and in New York, in the basement theatre at the Garden once evocatively known as the Felt Forum, Taylor was left wondering what went wrong There were no excuses, but there will be some questions.
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II was recently looking through my extensive DVD collection (yes, I’m the bloke who still buys them…) and I noticed how many films I have that starred Robert Redford
Among them, Barefoot in the Park’ ‘The Sting’ ‘All the Presidents Men’ ‘Three Days of the Condor’ and ‘Jeremiah Johnson’ for a kick-off Many of those titles are among my favourite films, so he is obviously someone I admire in the acting game So, high time for a Speakeasy on the man I’d say.
He was born Charles Robert Redford in August 1936 and grew up in Santa Monica Mum was Martha, and dad Charles Robert Redford snr The family are of English and Irish descent, with his forefathers landing in the US in the 1840s Redford was a highly competitive kid, who excelled in track and field and, especially tennis from the age of 8 All that ended for a while though aged 11, when he suffered an attack of Polio, which left him paralysed for a few weeks
Growing up in Southern California, Redford got caught up in race-related gang wars, bullied and pushed around by a member of The Pachucks, an Hispanic street gang
Redford – ‘There was a kid called Felix who picked on me, probably because I went to a good school, I was good at track and popular with the girls, and he beat up on me I toughened up fast.’
His mother died in 1955 and that seemed to trigger the rebel inside of him After graduating high school, he went to the University of Colorado, before he lost his baseball scholarship, due to his excessive drinking Deciding to get away for a while, from 1956 he hit the road and travelled across the US and Europe for a few years, picking up small prison sentences for minor offences along the way, as well as trying to make a career as an artist
When he finally landed back in the US, he at first studied
art, and then in 1959, enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York
His first work as an actor, was on the stage, performing on Broadway in the early 60s He also appeared on TV around the same time, in shows like Perry Mason, Dr Kildare, The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Minor film roles saw him in Inside Daisy
The success of the Barefoot film found him being offered similar parts and wary of being typecast, he turned them down, including The Graduate, the film that went on to make a star of Dustin Hoffman of course Instead, he teamed up with Paul Newman for Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid in 1969, a role which earned him a Bafta Then came the
President’s Men in 1976, alongside Dustin Hoffman, rounding off a superb run of stellar roles
He was an exec producer on All the Presidents Men, which indicated a slow move towards working behind the camera too
With the money made from early films, Redford bought a ski resort in Utah 1969, which he renamed
and Brubaker in 1980 His directorial debut came with Ordinary People in the same year, which picked up four Oscars, including one for Redford as Director as well as the Best Picture award He starred in the baseball film The Natural in 1984, and the Oscar winning Out of Africa with Meryl Streep in 1985 In 1992, He directed Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It and 1993 starred in ‘Indecent Proposal’ which spawned the following joke
Husband (reading Indecent Proposal review during breakfast) asks his wife: ‘Honey would you sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars?’
Wife: ‘Where am I going to get that kind of money?’
1996 saw him in Up Close and Personal and he was the Horse Whisperer in 1998, which was another film that he directed His production Wildwood Enterprises, Inc co-produced The Motorcycle Diaries in 2004, which was based on the memoir of a young Che Guevara Of his later onscreen work, All is Lost won rave reviews for a film in which he was the only actor on screen and there are only 50 odd words of spoken dialogue
Married twice, first to Lola in 1958, with whom he went on to have four children and then divorced in 1985 He married long time partner, artist Sibylle Szaggars in 2009
Off screen, he is a supporter of Native American rights, LGBT rights and is an active environmentalist
Clover for which won a best newcomer Golden Globe award and he worked together with Jane Fonda and Marlon Brando on The Chase in 1966
His major breakthrough success was due to the comedic play Barefoot in the Park in 1963, written by Neil Simon In it, Redford played the newly married husband Paul, a part he reprised for the 1967 big screen version, where he played alongside Jane Fonda, as his new bride
ski drama Downhill Racer, Tell Them Willie Boy is Here and The Candidate by 1972
That same year he starred in the ‘man in the wilderness’ western Jeremiah Johnson , followed in 1973 by The Way We Were with Barbara Streisand, and then The Sting, the classic ‘grifter’ film, which reunited him with Paul Newman The Great Gatsby was next in 1974, followed by the spy thriller Three Days of the Condor in 1975, and the politically charged All the
‘Sundance’ and it was there that he would eventually set up the Sundance Film Festival for independent films in 1978, which by 2008 had 125 films showing, with more than 50,000 people in attendance His work done in establishing the festival, Redford has taken a backward step from it, in recent years
After A Bridge Too Far in 1977, he took a break, before coming back in the The Electric Horseman in 1979,
In 2018 he picked up a golden globe nomination for The Old Man and the Gun and then announced his retirement from acting He has somewhat backtracked on that statement, now saying it was a ‘mistake to announce that’ and it’s now more of a case of ‘never say never, I pretty well concluded that this would be it for me in terms of acting, and I’ll move towards retirement after this because I’ve been doing it since I was 21 I thought, ‘Well, that’s enough Announcing it, was a mistake
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