A TAXI boss has failed in his legal bid to force Blackburn with Darwen council to licence his white car as a hackney taxi which can pick up customers from the street.
Charles Oakes was furious the borough would not approve his white ‘Eurocab’ Peugeot E7 unless it was repainted, or licensed as a private hire vehicle only entitled to carry pre-booked fares.
Before the case, the council’s licensing committee confirmed its policy that all hackney carriages, other than two specified ‘London taxi cab’ designs, must be black.
Last week Judge Anthony Russell at Preston Crown Court dismissed Mr Oakes appeal.
Now the chairman of the Bolton-based Hackney Carriage Association is considering taking the council to the High Court in Manchester asking for a judicial review.
Council environment boss Jim Smith said: “We are very pleased the court agreed with the licensing sub-committee’s decision to refuse this application to licence a white, non-London style hackney carriage”.
Now the council faces further legal action from Mr Oakes and anger from Blackburn Taxi Association over new bodywork standards for the borough’s black cabs being debated tonight.
Blackburn with Darwen’s licensing committee will discuss the proposed regulations when it meets in the town hall. Taxi association vice-chairman Mohammed Mangera said: “We are pleased at the court decision on the taxi colour rules.
“However we are concerned at the proposed new bodywork regulations. They seem to be based on London taxis which cover many more miles. They would be unnecessary and too expensive from Blackburn drivers to afford.”
Licensing committee chairman John Wright said: “Everybody is unhappy at the current bodywork regulations which are difficult to administer.
“We have consulted the taxi trade and will debate new proposals before making a recommendation to coun Smith.” Mr Oakes said: “I am very disappointed about the court decision on my white taxi. Other councils approve different colours.
“Blackburn with Darwen council is stuck in the past. I am taking legal advice on a judicial review.
“This is not finished.
“The borough needs new bodywork standards but not ones based on London.”
A strike by Nottingham’s Hackney carriages has left the city centre in chaos during this morning’s rush hour.
Drivers reportedly blockaded Old Market Square and the road outside John Lewis between 8am and 10am.
Maid Marian Way was also completely blocked.
More than 400 drivers went out on strike.
Driver Javid Ali, 58, from Sherwood, said: “We are not taking fares between 8am and 10am.
“This is not what we want to be doing because after all it is our livelihood and not getting fares means we cannot pay the bills.
“It is all about passenger safety.
“We are sorry for the disruption to people but we have got to make the council listen.”
Nottingham Licensed Taxi Owners and Driver’s Association Chair, Jamil Ahmed said in a statement:
“Nottingham City Council as a taxi licensing authority is not meeting its obligation to keep taxi law and order during the night time economy in the city centre.
This puts thousands of people in danger when they return from the city over the weekend in un-booked private hire and outer borough taxis. These journeys are not covered by insurance.
Only the Hackney taxis can be legally hailed in the city.
Many parents like me, will rightly be deeply concerned that their children might be driven around unprotected and uninsured and that the City Council seems completely uninterested in acting on their responsibility to keep taxis well licensed and safe.
Many of the tourists attracted to the city for its great attractions and choice of night clubs, bars & restaurants are unknowingly stepping into un-booked vehicles of disreputable drivers that litter the city streets and pedestrian walk ways.
I hope that the City Council listens to our concerns and implements new taxi strategy so that taxi law and order can prevail thus ensuring the public receive a safe and dependable taxi service they deserve.”
Huddersfield Taxi drivers of the Huddersfield Taxi Drivers Association who say they should be allowed to use the bus lanes.
Hackney carriage drivers have hit out at Kirklees Council’s decision to ban them from bus lanes.
Unlike in many cities, taxis are barred from bus lanes on several of Huddersfield’s busiest roads, including Bradford Road, Manchester Road and Lockwood Road.
Drivers say the rules mean they spend hours extra each day sitting in queues and causing additional air pollution.
Manjit Singh, who has been driving taxis since 1976, said: “Most other towns and cities allow it, it only seems to be Kirklees that does this.
“We asked for it to be changed about five years ago but nothing happened.
“Every day we’re stuck in the traffic with customers complaining.
“On Lockwood Road or Manchester Road it can take 15 or 20 minutes longer in rush hour than if we could use the bus lane – that’s an extra £3 or £4 to the customer.”
The Kirklees Hackney Carriage Association has written to Kirklees Council’s chief executive, Adrian Lythgo, to appeal for a re-think.
The drivers say allowing dual use of the bus lanes would allow a more efficient service that would be of benefit to both the trade and the public.
And they say it would have a positive effect on air quality as fewer taxis would be sitting in traffic pumping out exhaust fumes.
Wayne Casey from the National Taxi Association, said the use of bus lanes by Hackney Carriage drivers varied depending on the local council.
He said: “The National Taxi Association’s position is that taxis are public transport and therefore should be given access to the lanes to allow us to progress.”
A Kirklees Council spokesperson said: “We are in the process of making plans to improve traffic flows in Huddersfield town centre and will consider authorised access for all different users as part of that planning.
“Once this is sorted and the necessary legal process commenced, we will consider other bus lanes in the district. If any alterations are thought appropriate a report would be submitted for the Cabinet to consider.”
LONDON — Roads snarled in London, Paris and several other major European cities Wednesday as taxi drivers and train workers protested new technology they say endangers passengers and gives upstart enterprises an unfair advantage. If you work in real estate check out One Spot Tech Inc property management solutions to help you run your work more smoothly.
Drivers of London’s famed black cabs refused to pick up fares and drove at a snail’s pace through Trafalgar Square — creating nightmarish gridlock — and travelers in France were hobbled not only by the taxi slowdown but also by strikes on the national train network and Paris commuter lines. Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin were hit as well.
The strike action was sparked by fears about the growing upheaval in the travel and transport industry, largely due to digital technologies that have made things easier for travelers but that have caused workers to raise concerns about safety — and the future of their jobs. These are some of the changes and the debate surrounding them:
PRIVATE CAR SERVICES
Services like Uber and Chauffeur Prive, the crux of Wednesday’s taxi strike, allow passengers to hail a ride from a mobile app. Taxi drivers, who can pay tens of thousands of dollars (euros) for their training and their medallions, complain that it’s unfair and that drivers of the private services don’t face the same requirements. Uber has been banned in Brussels, and come under scrutiny in Spain, but the European Union is pushing for acceptance, saying it benefits consumers. Apparently timed for the strike, Uber released an app directed at London customers, offered free rides to some customers in Paris and half off in Berlin.
AUTOMATED SUBWAYS
Subway lines are increasingly run by semi-conductors, and not human conductors. Two metro lines along Paris’ Seine River are automated, but creating driverless systems required extensive negotiations with the unions, followed by an advertising campaign to persuade passengers of its safety, which included hiring musicians for two days to offer their interpretation of a song composed in honor of the computerization. About 40 supervisory jobs were available to the 250 drivers who worked on one of the lines.
RENT A ROOM
Airbnb pioneered the idea of linking up homeowners with travelers, allowing people to rent out a room or an entire home for considerably less than hotel rates — especially in expensive, heavily visited cities like London, Paris and New York. The company that made a commodity of couch-surfing has come under criticism from the hotel chains that are its main competitors — they are subject to health and safety inspections that people who list their homes on Airbnb don’t face. Landlords are also watching closely because subletting is often barred under leases, and city governments have filed complaints that the service could be violating local laws regulating zoning and transient housing.
ONLINE AIRLINE TICKET SALES
Online travel booking has devastated the jobs of travel agents. Since 2000, their numbers have been cut in half in the U.S., from about 124,000 to 64,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s projected to decline by 12 percent in the next decade. It happened with hardly a protest, largely because most travel agencies — both in Europe and the U.S. — tend to be smaller, non-unionized companies. “The fact is that digital technology is changing many aspects of our lives,” Neelie Kroes, the European Union vice president in charge of digital affairs, said of Wednesday’s protest. “We cannot address these challenges by ignoring them, by going on strike, or by trying to ban these innovations out of existence.”
Shahar Waiser says the taxi ordering app will start making profits this year.
GetTaxi Ltd. founder and CEO Shahar Waiser has disclosed financial details about the taxi order app. He says the company’s revenue is growing 400% annually and it will move to profit this year with revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars. He added that GetTaxi is considering an IPO.
Waiser published these figures and thoughts on his Facebook page after its rival Uber yesterday reported that it raised $1.2 billion at a company value of $18.2 billion. He first published them as a comment on Alpeh VC’s co-founder Eden Shochat’s post about Uber’s success.
Waiser said that Uber’s fund raising was “excellent news for the industry generally and for GetTaxi in particular. This is the first time people begin to understand how big this sector is. GetTaxi worldwide generates hundreds of millions of dollars sales worldwide for taxis and $100 million revenue for GetTaxi.
He added, “There is no other example in history of a company wth over $100 million in sales growing 400% per year. Both Uber and GetTaxi are doing it. GetTaxi expects sales of $500 million next year.”
Waiser said that GetTaxi was profitable in 22 of the 24 cities in which it operates.
