New blow for Eco City as Mercedes terminates distributor deal

by | Sep 24, 2014 | London News

Eco City Vehicles said Mercedes-Benz had terminated a financing and trading deal making the British firm the sole distributor of the Mercedes Vito model that is licensed for use as a London taxi, in the latest blow for the stricken company.

Its shares have been suspended since Friday when it said that its One80 subsidiary was facing potential administration, leading to “uncertainty as to the group’s financial position and prospects”.

Eco City said in a statement on Tuesday that its directors were evaluating options in the wake of the termination of the arrangements with Mercedes.

Production of the Mercedes Vito taxi model has been on hold since August due to a lack of sales, a development which has sent revenues at distributor Eco City plunging by a third in the six months to end-June.

Eco City in August blamed Uber, a U.S. taxi-hire company, as one of the reasons for the challenging conditions it faces, saying the company caused uncertainty in London’s licensed taxi market.

San-Francisco based Uber, backed by heavyweight investors including Goldman Sachs and Google, allows customers to book and pay for a taxi using an app on their smartphones.

Eco City’s 76.6 percent-owned subsidiary One80 owns the licence for the rear-wheel steering system used in the Mercedes Vito taxi, making the vehicle fit for approval under strict rules governing London taxis.

Eco City has a market capitalisation of about 1.5 million pounds ($2.5 million).

Shares suspended in rival black cab maker Eco City

by | Sep 23, 2014 | London News

Turning on a sixpence: the firm had said its difficulties were “mainly” the fault of cab-booking app, Uber

 

Eco City Vehicles, the firm behind the Mercedes Vito London black cab, today saw its shares suspended as it stood on the verge of collapse just two years after rival TX4-designer Manganese Bronze did the same.

The company — founded by ex-cabbie Peter DaCosta — broke Manganese’s monopoly by converting Mercedes people carriers into cabs approved by the Public Carriage Office.

But now its future looks bleak after Eco City admitted its subsidiary One80, which owns the intellectual property to the crucial steering technology that adapts the Vitos to comply with London taxis’ strict turning circle rules, looks set to collapse into administration.

With no more Vitos at present being built after a lack of sales led to a pile-up of stock, Eco City admitted One80 cannot survive because of a “lack of production revenues” as well as an impending legal case against its 76.6% subsidiary by one of its licence holders.

“The group continues to experience challenging trading conditions requiring Eco City Vehicles to seek additional funding,” the firm said.

It added it was in talks with a potential backer but warned those negotiations “may or may not lead to additional funds”.

That uncertainty saw Eco City suspend its shares — which have plummeted by more than 80% in 2014 — at 0.3p “pending further evaluation of its position and future structure”.

Eco City only has one person left on the firm’s executive team, finance director Jonathan Moritz, who did not return telephone calls today.

In August, Eco City blamed San Francisco cab-booking app, Uber, for slaying London’s iconic taxis trade. It said that its collapse in revenues — which were down by a third in the six months of July — were “mainly due to the emergence of Uber”. But the Vito is also facing challenges from new taxis from Metrocab, which is making an electric cab, and Nissan.

Eco City’s struggles follow Maganese Bronze’s collapse in 2012, just two months after the Spice Girls sang and danced on top of five of its cabs in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. The firm was later bought by China’s Geely, for £11 million, and restarted production.

Source: The Standard

Result For The Drivers Who Follow Tag Hit Squad and Flash Demo On Twitter

by | Sep 10, 2014 | London News

Modified pedicabs seized as part of police crackdown 

Rogue pedicabs adapted with motors to make them go faster have been seized following an operation last weekend.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, in partnership with Transport for London, seized nine pedicabs which were classified as motor vehicles due to their weight.

Over 50 pedicabs were inspected during the operation which took place in central London on 5 and 6 September.

The drivers of these vehicles were found to have no driving licences, no tax and no insurance. Two of the pedicab owners received fines of £200 and six point fixed penalty notices at the roadside. Seven other pedicab owners were reported for summons, one rider was found to be disqualified from driving and will appear at court in due course, and 25 were advised about waiting and parking restrictions.

Superintendent Rob Revill, Roads and Transport Policing Command said: “Operations checking pedicabs that have been fitted with electric motors like this will continue to prevent collisions, as well as reducing the anti-social behaviour associated with obstructing pavements and roads.

These vehicles have historically fallen outside of the insurance legislation, leaving the public passengers using them exposed to higher levels of risk.”

Grandfather David James left passenger a ‘sobbing heap’ on the back seat of his minicab.

by | Sep 10, 2014 | London News

A pervert minicab driver has been told to expect a lengthy jail sentence after he was convicted today of molesting a passenger.
David James, 72, had told a jury he was too old for such behaviour but a jury convicted him of assault by penetration.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the woman was left in a “sobbing heap” after the great grandfather kissed her and molested her in the back of his car.

Minicab driver David James has been found guilty of molesting a female customer.

She told how she afterwards repeatedly showered and scrubbed herself because she felt so unclean.

James was working for Chatham-based Vokes minicab firm when he drove the woman and three friends home from a nightclub in November last year.

She was the last to be dropped off in the early hours and moved into the middle seat to pay her fare.

Prosecutor Charlotte Newell said as the 25-year-old woman went to take her change James kissed her, putting his tongue in her mouth.

He let go. She dropped her purse in the footwell and then found James had joined her in the back.

She tried to get out but James kissed her again and put his hand down her top. He then pulled up her dress, pulled down her tights and assaulted her.

“You understand a custodial sentence is going to follow. It is going to be a substantial one” – Recorder Simon Taylor QC

James, whose licence to drive minicabs has since been revoked, denied the offence, claiming the woman twice snogged him, using tongues and nothing else happened.

>He said: “I was a bit surprised getting a kiss from a young girl. I thought: ‘Happy birthday.’”

Asked if he sexually assaulted the woman, he replied: “No, definitely not. I am a bit old for that.”

The jury of eight women and four men convicted him by an 11-1 majority after deliberating for almost six hours.

Recorder Simon Taylor QC told the father-of-three, of Sturdee Avenue, Gillingham: “You have been convicted of a serious offence. You understand a custodial sentence is going to follow. It is going to be a substantial one.”

Sentence was adjourned until after October 6 for reports to consider dangerousness.

Alexia Zimbler, defending, said it would enable James time to get any necessary medical information.

“He no longer has a licence, so he is not entitled to drive legally any more,” she added.

Recorder Taylor made it a condition of bail that James, who will have to sign the sex offenders’ register, should not drive a cab.

“I have given up driving now,” he told the judge.

Minicab driver hurls a tirade of abuse!

by | Sep 10, 2014 | London News

The Taxi Driver in this video politely asks the Minicab/Private Hire driver to move off the Taxi Rank and is then subjected to a tirade of abuse from the PH driver.

This is the sort of abuse that Taxi drivers face in their working lives every day from these Private Hire drivers who flout the law, these PH drivers are licensed by Transport for London (TfL).

These drivers do not have any form of character assessment before gaining their license to transport people around our capital city, unlike London Taxi drivers whose character is continually assessed while attending appointments for the Knowledge of London test.

Although originally it was stated that licensing minicabs would weed out these sort of individuals at now appears that TfL have decided that licensing of Private Hire drivers is now a mere paper exercise to give the impression that they have some form of control over private hire drivers, but obviously they do not have any control whatsoever.

The way in which private hire drivers are licensed needs to be overhauled to ensure that drivers like the one in this video are never considered for licensing.