Taxi Charity Receives Much Deserved International Coverage.

Taxi Charity Receives Much Deserved International Coverage.

by | Aug 30, 2016 | London News

Recently the press has not been the best friend of the cab trade.  Reporting is often biased and sloppy, and journalists persist in printing outdated stereotypes of the trade, so unlike the trade that we know and love.

However, the press has rallied somewhat in the coverage that has been given to the Taxi Charity and I thought readers might find it interesting to know which parts of the media have written about our veterans, their wonderful skydives and the work of the charity.
The coverage began in France, when Fred Glover and Ted Pieri, both WWII veterans from the Airborne Division, revisited Normandy and carried out a tandem skydive in aid of the Taxi Charity. Interestingly the Evening Standard also carried a piece.
Fred, Ted, Graham Pike (a Taxi charity committee member) and I followed up the Normandy jump with a skydive with the Red Devils on 25th August.
Naturally the veterans were again deservedly newsworthy, and we have coverage for both events ranging from the Jersey Evening Post, the Daily Mail, and People magazine’s website in the US.
Yet more publicity has been in the Worthing Herald, Guernsey Press, Irish Independent, West Sussex Gazette, Ouest france, the Celebrity Auction, Forces TV, MOD blog, Belfast Telegraph, Forces TV, BT.com, the Times, Mature Times.
Now we have been able to announce the thrilling news about winning the final of the National Lottery awards, and the Standard has published our entire press release.  Of course everything becomes yesterday’s news in the shortest possible time, but as ever, I hope that some of this coverage will resonate with the public and remind them of all the wonderful things that London’s finest do for them
—
Frances Luczyc Wyhowska
Why Did No10 Told Boris “Go Easy On Uber” : Connecting the dots…Uber Freight…Uber Personal Mobility

Why Did No10 Told Boris “Go Easy On Uber” : Connecting the dots…Uber Freight…Uber Personal Mobility

by | Aug 30, 2016 | London News

Unsolicited pop up add on the Uber App. Uber doing the government a favour…but at what cost?

Uber’s partner in the voter mobilization initiative, Bite the Ballot, is supported by none other than City law firm Hogan Lovells. This just happens to be the same firm that, in representing Uber, managed to persuade a High Court judge that Uber’s measurement of time and distance billing is not, errrmm, a time and distance meter.  Hogan Lovell’s Yasmin Waljee is a Trustee of the Bite the Ballot campaign.
We now know why number 10 told Boris to go easy on Uber. Even though they knew that Uber had been licensed illegally, their campaign had intentions to use the App, which has an alleged 1 million down loads, to encourage hipsters to register to vote in the Brexit election.

Pundits said the more people from this demographic that voted, the more chance the government had of winning the vote to remain.
But don’t just take my word for it. See the archived post on the UPHD blog. http://www.uphd.org/number-10-calls-in-an-uber-favour-but-at-what-cost-to-drivers/
This is definitely worth a read: Posted on the 28th May 2016.

Uber has started pushing messages to passengers in app to register for eligibility to vote in the upcoming EU referendum. According to the Guardian Uber is partnering with the mega cool Bite the Ballot campaign to get hipsters to care more about politics with messages like: ‘But Politics needs rebranding!‘

Don’t get me wrong, UPHD is far from cynical about the importance of democratic participation and mobilizing the vote but context is key in understanding some of the motives beyond the virtue. Consider the following:

In summary, great work Uber in getting out the vote. We just hope the price of the favour done for Korski and Number 10 does not come at the cost of  upholding worker rights for 105,000 private hire drivers now in a hunger games race to survive on starvation wages due to Uber’s business model.

Changes to conditions of Motor Cab Drivers Licenses

Changes to conditions of Motor Cab Drivers Licenses

by | Aug 29, 2016 | London News

Mr Daniels,

On the 3rd of October a mandate that all London Licensed Taxis will have Fitted Credit Card Terminals in the rear compartment and a facility to print credit card slips will begin.

The United Cabbies Group opposed the Mandation of Credit Card acceptance on a number of grounds many of the predicted problems and issues are now emerging. However this will be addressed in future correspondence.

The purpose of this email is to enquire as to the mechanisim used and authority discharged by yourself when you added Article 31a to the 2016 Cab order.

It states…

“every cab drivers license shall be subject to a condition that , if so requested by a passenger, the licensee shall accept payment by debit or credit card using a payment device approved by Transport for London”

At the head of the cab order the following acts are indicated.

The Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869 Articles 4, 8 and 9
The Greater London Authority Act 1999 C29 sched 20 Para 5
The London Cab and Stage Carriage Act 1907
The London Cab Act 1968

The Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869 Articles 4, 8 and 9 make no provision for the method of payment to be prescribed.
The Greater London Authority Act 1999 C29 sched 20 Para 5 just states you may excercise the Mayors Authority.
The London Cab and Stage Carriage Act 1907 only gives permission to set fares but makes no mention of payment systems
The London Cab Act 1968 Deals with provision to regulate fares for non obligatory journeys, signage, length of journeys and parking of cabs.

Given the above precis of the statutes you quote could you please…

1. Provide a detailed explanation of the process you used to implement a condition of a drivers license to include payment methods.

2. Explicitely explain how any of the authority detailed in the legislation quoted confers such authority to impose such a condition as payment methods.

3. Explain how this was implemented without the permisssion of the licensee’s themselves who are largely unaware and have not been made aware of this change of condition to their motor cab drivers license.

I urgently require a reply explaining the three questions posed above as it would appear you are not empowered to make this change to the license given the legislation you quote.

Best regards,

Len Martin
Chairman
United Cabbies Group

London taxi organisation for war disabled crowned UK’s best charity

London taxi organisation for war disabled crowned UK’s best charity

by | Aug 29, 2016 | London News

The London Taxi Benevolent Association for War Disabled charity has been crowned the UK’s best voluntary organisation, following a public vote.

The charity is made up of volunteer taxi drivers and has been running trips for veterans since 1948, including an annual seaside visit to Worthing.

Last year, the charity used National Lottery to fund  a five-day trip to the Netherlands.

More than 90 London taxi drivers and volunteers took 120 Second World War veterans and their carers to Arnhem, where they received heroes’ welcomes on the 70th anniversary of the Liberation.

The charity received took the title in this year’s National Lottery Awards – the annual search for the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects.

 

London taxi drivers honour WW2 heroes with trip to Arnhem

The project has been awarded a £3,000 cash prize, an iconic National Lottery Awards trophy, and representatives will attend a star-studded Awards ceremony, broadcast on BBC One in September.

Fred Glover, a 90-year-old Second World War veteran who recently undertook two parachute jumps to raise money for the Taxi Charity, said: “I’m over the moon that this magnificent charity has won a National Lottery award.

“The cab drivers and committee members are all volunteers. They look after us so well on our trips and outings. I’m proud to be associated with them.”

Strictly Star and broadcaster Katie Derham presented the veterans and taxi drivers with their National Lottery Award at a tea dance at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

 

D-Day veterans, 90, parachute onto battlefield where one was shot down

She said: “I have been bowled over by the special bond between the London taxi drivers and the veterans.

“It is great that projects like this receive funding, thanks to National Lottery players who raise £36 million every week for good causes across the UK.”

Dick Goodwin, event organiser for the Taxi Charity, added: “We are absolutely delighted to have won a National Lottery Award.

“We’d like to say a sincere thank you to everyone that got behind us – veterans, cab drivers, family, friends and the British public – this award sends a great message to our veterans that people genuinely care about them and what they went through.”

Uber driver takes sleeping woman on 35-mile detour across London

Uber driver takes sleeping woman on 35-mile detour across London

by | Aug 29, 2016 | London News

A woman who fell asleep in an Uber car woke up to find she had been taken on 35-mile detour and charged £85 for a journey that should only have taken a few minutes.

Comedian Hannah Warman caught the cab to get home from a friend’s party in Stoke Newington to her home, a five-minute walk away.

But, after she fell asleep in the back of the car, her driver appears to have taken her on a 35-mile, 90-minute trip around London.

A map of her journey shows the driver heading west through Wembley and towards Ealing, before doubling back and eventually dropping her off at the destination.

uberreciept2908.jpg
Route: The recipt shows the driver went on a 90-minute trip across London (Hannah Warman)

She told the Standard: “I must’ve fallen asleep in the car. I woke up a couple of times and said ‘Why is this taking so long?’

“I think I assumed he’d got a bit lost or something but I had no idea it’d been an hour and a half.

“I fell back asleep. I went straight to bed once I’d got home and I only realised what had happened the next day when I got an email receipt for my £85 Uber journey.”

Uber have refunded the money but Ms Warman said further action was needed against the driver.

She said: “After a lot of emails, Uber have refunded most of the fee but I feel like I don’t trust them anymore.

“I feel like they should reassure me that the driver was penalised or dismissed and explain how this could’ve happened.”

An Uber spokesman said: “We are speaking to the licensed driver and the rider to establish exactly what happened and have given the rider a full refund

Source: Evening Standard