The London mayor’s interventions in his transport body’s dispute with the capital’s black cab drivers have had a rather political flavour
A black cab meets an Uber mobile app. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
The continuing row between Transport for London (TfL) and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) about the private hire firm Uber and its fare-calculating booking app has been notable for many things, not least as an example of how digital innovation can disrupt established economic models overnight and reduce black-and-white law to a grey area. Also of significance has been the input into the debate of Boris Johnson, theincreasingly part-time mayor of London and “star player” in the Conservative Party’s general election campaign.
While his transport agency has been stoutly defending its decision in 2012 to allow Uber to operate on the grounds that it had no legal grounds to do otherwise, Johnson has publicly appeared to take the cabbies’ side. The LTDA contends that the Uber app should be defined as a taximeter and therefore deemed illegal. Johnson recently told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that in his view the legal advice to the contrary that he and TfL had been given was incorrect. This was not an isolated incident. As a mayoral spokesperson says: “The mayor has expressed his personal opinion about Uber’s mobile app on a number of occasions.” Johnson also expressed his personal opinion of Uber in general for Ferrari, calling the company “excessively bumptious”.
Johnson’s interventions on this issue include an unusual one at last month’s meeting of the TfL board, which he chairs. After re-stating his view that “the black cab trade has a point” about the Uber app being a meter and again expressing disapproval of Uber’s “attitude”, he declared the meeting temporarily adjourned in order to get round legislation precluding the LTDA’s Bob Oddy, a member of the board, from saying his piece on the affair.
The webcast of the meeting, which continued throughout, shows Oddy making the LTDA’s angry claim that it had alerted TfL to the Uber issue in summer 2012 and had only proceeded with its own private prosecutions against Uber drivers because TfL had not previously sought to clarify the legal position regarding the contentious app through the High Court, as itsubsequently has. TfL commissioner Sir Peter Hendy, who was also at the meeting, said Oddy’s assertion was “not true”.
It all got rather tense and dense and Johnson concluded, as on other occasions, that the most important thing, of course, was for the courts to sort out once and for all if the Uber app is or is not a taximeter (things have, thankfully, since moved in that direction just a bit). But, once again, he’d got his sympathy for the black cab trade across.
Why has Johnson been at such pains to do this? Why has he not followed his gut political instincts by warming to what other Conservatives regard as the dynamic, entrepreneurial flair of Uber and telling London cabbies, with their great Knowledge and proud history, to buck up and modernise or perish at the hands of superior market competition?
A clue may lie in the annals of the 2008 mayoral election campaign that brought Johnson to power in City Hall. Many London cabbies, eager to see Ken Livingstone removed, took to providing passengers with receiptsbearing the legend “Back Boris”, adding presence and momentum – not to mention an influential section of London public opinion – to his successful push for City Hall. That push was directed, of course, by Lynton Crosby, the aggressive right-wing strategist now running the Tories’ national assault on Number 10. Well, fancy that.
Johnson may, however, have his work cut out if he’s trying to get London’s cab drivers on his and Conservatism’s side as general election hostilities intensify. At last week’s mayor’s question time he was asked about the London Assembly transport committee’s recent report on the future of the capital’s taxi and private hire services. This bemoaned the deteriorating relationship between TfL and the hire trades as a whole but also said that efforts to reform them to meet changing passenger expectations were being hampered by a “lack of mayoral strategy”. As Andrew Neather reported in his admirably clear and exhaustive piece on the dispute, Johnson “admitted to not having read the report – to jeers from watching cabbies.”
Footnote: Labour is on course to gain eight seats in the capital. Taxi!
LTDA has already said it plans to challenge Camden’s Tottenham Court Road plans – is TfL’s ‘Crossrail for the Bike’ next?
Cyclists sign and London cab (copyright Simon MacMichael)
The Licensed Taxi Drivers Assocation (LTDA), which represents thousands of London’s black cab drivers, is reportedly seeking a judicial review of Mayor Boris Johnson’s decision, announced today, to approve two Cycle Superhighways running across the centre of London.
News of the LTDA’s potential legal challenge was broken in a post on Twitter by BBC London transport correspondent Tom Edwards, with his tweet retweeted by the LTDA’s own account shortly afterwards.
Danny Williams of the Cyclists in the City blog wrote: “My understanding is that a judicial review could hold things up for many months. Worst case, it could even kill the scheme.”
“The LTDA would be seeking a review of the process behind the consultation. Bear in mind that this is the largest consultation TfL has ever held and you’d have thought that the taxi association is on very very weak ground on this. But let’s see,” he added.
It’s the second time in less than a week that the LTDA has threatened to seek a judicial review of a major highways project in London.
Last Friday, BBC London News reported that Camden Council’s plans for a £41 million overhaul of Tottenham Court Road had been described as “madness” by LTDA general secretary Steve McNamara.
The council wants most motor vehicles, including taxis, banned from the street from 8am to 7pm on every day other than Sunday.
The street will be restricted during those hours to buses, cyclists and vehicles requiring local access, with the plans approved following a public consultation, as happened with the Cycle Superhighways given the green light by Mr Johnson today.
Camden Council says the works will improve safety and help local businesses ahead of the opening of the Crossrail Station at the Oxford Street end of the street in 2018
But Mr McNamara insisted: “To consider banning taxis from Tottenham Court Road could be described at best as farcical.
“No thought has been given to the hundreds of thousands of people that get picked up and set down by taxis in the metropolis every day.”
Camden councillor Phil Jones maintained that by using side streets, other vehicles including taxis would have access to 60 per cent of the thoroughfare.
“A detailed assessment of the impacts of allowing taxis to use the full length of Tottenham Court Road has been undertaken,” he said. “The assessment has highlighted that allowing taxis to use the street would lead to more traffic congestion, worse air quality and increased road traffic collisions,” he said.
A London Cycling Campaign spokesman said the proposals were a chance “to show how even the busiest London streets can begin to be reclaimed from motor traffic dominance.”
Meanwhile the Freight Transport Association (FTA) says it still has concerns over the impact on its members of the two routes approved today, although it adds that “it isn’t opposed to Cycle Superhighways in principle.”
Its head of urban logistics, Christopher Snelling, said: “The information published on delay times still does not reflect how industry and private motorists actually use these roads. And yet the first road-works to build these superhighways will start in just a few weeks’ time.
“By this April we will see works underway on all the proposed routes, affecting some key routes into the centre of London. It seems that the target pushing this is the aim to finish the routes by May 2016 – when the Mayor leaves office.”
The FTA believes that the works may result in a knock-on effect not only in London but also as far out as the M25, and Mr Snelling said: “Given the tight constraints of drivers’ hours rules, this could result in significantly increased costs to the logistics industry. And that means increased costs for the businesses and residents in London who rely on them.”
However, he added: “The improvements that have been announced today show how careful work can improve the situation to better reflect the balance of London’s transport needs, and the revised plans issued are an improvement on those previously put out – traffic delays have been reduced somewhat and more loading capacity has been added than was planned before.”
Revolutionary: how Parliament Square will look (Picture: PA)
Boris Johnson today confirmed he would build Europe’s longest segregated urban cycle lane through central London after delays likely to be suffered by motorists were reduced.
The Mayor approved the “Crossrail for bikes” protected route through Parliament Square and along the Victoria Embankment and Upper Thames Street after it won overwhelming public support.
A total of 84 per cent of the 21,500 responses backed the plans for the east-west route that will eventually link Barking and Acton, and a linked north-south route between King’s Cross and Elephant and Castle.
Amendments to the scheme mean that “worst case” delays of 16 minutes have been cut to six minutes for morning rush-hour motorists driving from Limehouse Link to Hyde Park Corner.
Mr Johnson said: “We have done one of the biggest consultation exercises in TfL’s history. We have listened, and now we will act. Overwhelmingly, Londoners wanted these routes, and wanted them delivered to the high standard we promised. I intend to keep that promise.
Plans: the road along Victoria Embankment is set to be transformed (Picture: PA)
“But I have also listened to those concerned about the east-west route’s impact on traffic. Thanks to the skill of TfL’s engineers and traffic managers, we have made changes to our original plans which keep the whole of the segregated cycle track and junctions, while taking out much less of the route’s motor traffic capacity – and so causing much shorter delays.”
TfL board papers being published this afternoon confirmed that the proposals are set to be ratified at a meeting next week, with “spades in the ground” from April.
The £41m central part of the route, between Tower Hill and the A40 Westway flyover at Paddington, is scheduled to be completed by April 2016 – making good the Mayor’s pledge to deliver a safer cycling infrastructure in the wake of a series of cycle fatalities.
Changes: Plans for a new cycle highway at Blackfriars
TfL board members will next week also approve an upgrade of the CS2 cycle superhighway between Whitechapel and Bow, with work beginning on February 9, and the £17 million north-south new superhighway linking Elephant and Castle and King’s Cross. Construction will start on this on March 2.
Seven cyclists have been killed in the last 18 months on roads due to be improved.
The east-west route attracted objections from the Canary Wharf Group, the London Chamber of Commerce and the City of London Corporation but was supported by hundreds of major employers such as RBS and Unilever. The NHS trusts running London’s four major trauma centres backed the routes on safety grounds.
Segregation: How Vauxhall Bridge Road will look under the plans
Projected traffic delays were reduced by up to 60 per cent by retaining two westbound lanes at three “pinch-points”. This will be done by narrowing the “both ways” cycle lane from 4m to 3m for short sections, at Temple, Tower Hill and in the Blackfriars underpass. Eastbound traffic will be reduced from two lanes to one lane as originally planned.
Mr Johnson was keen to reallocate space on central London roads in response to their changing use – the amount of vehicle traffic has fallen by 25 per cent in the last decade while the number of cyclists has doubled. Cyclists now account for a quarter of all traffic in central London in the morning rush hour.
Plans to extend the cycle superhighway between Paddington and Acton by removing an east-bound lane on the six-lane A40 Westway will be subject to a separate consultation later this year.
Crossrail for bikes is the central plank of the Mayor’s £913 million “cycle revolution for London”.
Mr Johnson said: “I now look forward to the transformation that these routes will bring – not just for people who cycle now, but for the thousands of new cyclists they will attract.
“Getting more people on their bikes will reduce pressure on the road, bus and rail networks, cut pollution, and improve life for everyone, whether or not they cycle themselves.”
Group of cab drivers call for restrictions to be relaxed so they can use customised vans, people carriers and minibuses
What qualifies as a traditional black cab could be set for a radical change in Wrexham.
A group of taxi drivers, spearheaded by local cabbie Barry Wilson, have got together to ask Wrexham Council to relax its vehicle restrictions so they can use customised vans, people carriers and minibuses.
Currently Hackney carriages, which are usually black and can pick fares up on the street, are restricted to a select number of models that are specifically factory built for the taxi trade.
But some of the county’s drivers are calling for a change because they argue that these types of vehicles are “expensive and unreliable”.
Those opposed to the idea fear introducing it could create hostility in the trade as many drivers have spent a lot of cash to comply with the existing rules.
Members of the council’s Environmental Licensing Committee are due to meet on Monday, January 26, to make a decision on the proposal.
A report to councillors said: “Mr Wilson and associates are in favour of a relaxation of the process currently applied to the licensing of Hackney vehicles.
“The request is being made because they feel that the current specification is restrictive and the type of vehicles on the current list are expensive and unreliable.
“They are aware that a relaxation would allow certain makes of vehicle to be licensed as either a Hackney or as a Private Hire Vehicle and this would mena that vehicles would look very similar.
“In that instance the group favour a colour coding system. All Hackneys being black in colour.”
A survey of Hackney license holders in Wrexham carried out by the local authority brought a mixed response.
Those opposed to the idea said it would cause confusion for customers, create “considerable friction” and “animosity” in the trade, as many have spent large amounts of money to meet the current restrictions, and increase congestion at taxi ranks.
Drivers responding favourably to the proposal said the move would be more “cost effective” and would allow them to use vehicles that are more beneficial to disabled people.
Mr Wilson said in his survey: “I feel the list is outdated and the current vehicles on the list are expensive to maintain.”
The current approved vehicles are Austin FX4, Metrocabs, Peugeot Expert, Citroen Dispatch and Fiat Scudo.
The group are asking for the likes of a Ford Transit Custom, Renault NX8, Mercedes Vito, Volkswagen Eurocab and Nissan Primastar to be considered as potential models to qualify as a Hackney carriage.
Similar requests to relax the restrictions went before the committee in 2003 and 2006 and were both rejected.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson, has declared his support for resident parking surcharges for owners of diesel cars in Islington, London, regardless of the vehicle’s age.
His support comes after the London borough announced that from April it will introduce a blanket surcharge of £96 per year on top of the emissions-based pricing system for its residents’ parking permit scheme.
While the charge is currently limited to Islington, it follows on from Johnson’s London Ultra Low Emissions Zone pollution crackdown that is set to penalise all vehicles not powered by a Euro6 diesel engine from 2020, and an increased focus on air quality in the UK.
Speaking to BusinessCar, AFCO chairman John Pryor warned the charge could spread to other London boroughs.
“Once one council starts, other councils in London will follow suit and the rest of the country will follow on,” he said.
Matthew Pencharz, Mayor of London’s senior advisor on environment and energy, told BusinessCar: “The Mayor supports the efforts of London’s boroughs to improve air quality, and Islington’s proposal to introduce a diesel surcharge is an interesting one.
“The importance of action at borough level is precisely why the Mayor has provided £20m through the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund to help boroughs tackle local hotspots and support innovative new policies.”
The council said the surcharge will “reduce the harmful emissions within the borough and mitigate their adverse impact on residents”.
Islington said there will be around 9000 cars affected by the introduction of the surcharge. Based on that figure, the council could earn £864,000 from the surcharge each year.
Fleet drivers operating the latest-generation Euro6 diesel engines will still be penalised, while taxis, some of the highest-polluting diesel cars on the roads, are exempt.
When questioned by BusinessCar why taxis will exempt from the charge, a spokesman from Islington council said: “Black cabs are exempt as their drivers have no alternative but to use a diesel vehicle.” However, an electric Nissan e-NV200 is a homologated taxi in London.
A current London taxi fitted with a Euro5 diesel emits 250 mg/km NOx, while a Euro 6 2.0-litre diesel Audi A4 emits 56.4 mg/km NOx.
BusinessCar questioned why Euro6-standard diesel engines aren’t exempt and the Islington spokesman said: “There are some concerns over the Euro6 diesel standard and whether it actually reflects real-world nitrogen oxide emissions.”
In a letter addressed to the council obtained by BusinessCar, Mike Hawes, chief executive at the SMMT, urged Islington to drop the surcharge.
Hawes said: “Today’s diesel vehicles are light-years away from those built just a decade ago. Intelligent engine design and highly efficient exhaust after-treatments, including particulate filters, now capture more than 99% of particulates and around two-thirds of NOx emissions from diesel vehicles,” he wrote.
“The diesel surcharge will discourage uptake of the very latest diesel vehicles and could threaten further improvements in air quality and efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.”
Currently, Islington residents pay between £15.50 and £434 a year in parking permits depending on the car’s emissions, which was introduced in 2008 and revised in 2010. The council said this was introduced to “in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging a move towards cleaner, low emission vehicles”.
The council said over the past seven years the two lowest-polluting bands have increased from 6.2% to 13.5% of all permits issued, while the two highest-polluting bands have reduced from 9.2% to 6.7% of all permits issued.
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