by News Desk | Apr 16, 2015 | London News
This letter has today been sent to all Maaxi App drivers.
Please read and then tell us, why we shouldn’t demonstrate on Tuesday!
Currently, many drivers are tying black ribbons to their rear wiper arms as a protest to the woefull inadequate and biase treatment we have experience under the
Administration of Peter Hendy, Leon Daniels and Garret Emmerson.
The media will be made fully aware of this silent protest as a vote of no confidence in our licensing authority.
by News Desk | Apr 16, 2015 | London News
I’m Spartacus, has made a very well thought out and valid argument on immediate hiring as practised by LPH and seemingly condoned by TfL.
A Demo will surely bring our concerns, at this seeming law-breaking practice, to the attention of the travelling public. However, this nefarious practice (and turning a ‘blind eye’) should also be brought to the attention of the London Assembly. If we firmly believe that we are being undermined by malfeasance or maladministration by those who administer our trade, then a better remedy is to take a much more powerful approach as well as a Demo.
We should first determine what it is that TfL are illegally ignoring in their statutory duty, and serve a ‘Writ’ on them. This is decisive action and would carry the weight of the Law with it.
They could not ignore this and just brush it to one side or under the carpet or play it down in their usual fashion. We seem to have been here before in the last couple of years, but if we have the courage of our convictions in our efforts at defending the licensed London taxi trade, we need to get organised and fund such an action.
Let’s get it right – once and for all, instead of our usual moaning and groaning to each other and going round in circles or NOWHERE AT
Name withheld
Let’s have a reality check, as long as Johnson supports Hendy then unless we get TfL at a judge led enquiry he will survive.
He survived ‘Grundygate’ after all.
Rumour has it many at TfL view some PH apps as plying for hire, Could it be that TfL don’t want to enforce this as its too costly.
How can it be that they sought a legal opinion on the practices of one operator TWO YEARS after licensing them, that same operator strangely denies they are a PH operator!!
It stinks and the smell is getting worse!
Regards
Theresa
Anon.
by News Desk | Apr 16, 2015 | London News
Well would you know it, the rank outside Novikos has been implement and signage has been issued.
There is a sign on the parking board, same as the one outside Hakkasan. The rank is kerbside and starts at 6:30 pm and is in force to 8:30 am.
It’s now up to you to take this space back as night after night, touts will continue to illegally park on our rank here.
If you see a line of touts outside Novikov’s where our cabs should be ranking, call 101 the non emergency number and keep complaining until the police move them off. It’s all about statistics, they won’t like hundreds of complains over their system.
This is a major working night rank. It’s essential we continue to service and take back this space outside Novikov’s. We also have to make sure the touts don’t double park, blocking us in.
We have been putting ourselves at risk here for too long. Police and compliance teams have given us plenty of stick and often moved us on. Cmlaints were made by bus drivers about being obstructed by unlawful Taxi ranking.
Now we need to turn it around and get the police, compliance and cab enforcement teams to actually DO THE JOB WE PAY THEM TO DO and that’s enforce the regulations that are there to protect our trade and the public.
Again, a big thank you to the LTDA’s Mike Calvey who parked the AddVan outside and bought drivers attention to the ranks implementation.
Don’t settle for second best double parking, be active and insist the touts move. The club have been informed they can oark their cars outside. If the touts won’t move, call the police and insist they attend.
TaxiLeaks Comment:
It has been made quite clear that both the GLA and TfL currently feel that satellite offices complete with clipboard Johnnies have had their day. At last they have started to wake up to the dangers involved with allowing lines of cars to pick up unbooked passengers with no record of the journey taken.
This will of course put more floating PH drivers in the position of looking to an app to acquire work.
The corruption and fraud of certain smartphone app operators, shown in the media over the past few weeks, is at last starting to have an affect on the public’s use of eHailing apps.
As our customers start to drift back, we must make sure we have a visible presence and provide the first class service they’ve come to e left from the “World’s Best Taxi Service”.
by News Desk | Apr 16, 2015 | London News
Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, Chair of the Transport Committee, writes to TfL Transport Commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy.
Dear Sir Peter
I am writing following your letter of 10 March regarding legal advice received by TfL concerning Uber London Limited (ULL).
As your letter acknowledges, aspects of Uber London Limited’s operating model and the manner in which the licence was granted are issues of considerable concern. This is true not only for the licensed taxi and private hire trades, but for the wider travelling public and for the Transport Committee. There have been reports, both online and in the media, regarding incidents in which passengers have been placed in physical jeopardy or subjected to unwanted sexual advances. The Committee has heard evidence of a number of further issues, including:
- Uber London drivers cancelling scheduled journeys at short notice and charging a cancellation fee to the passenger;
- Passengers being charged high fares for excessively circuitous routes or taken to the wrong destination;
- Uber London drivers touting and forming illegal ranks at locations including Heathrow Airport; and
- Registered Uber London users being charged for journeys they have not undertaken
We are of course aware that there are examples of poor individual practice to be found elsewhere in the private hire industry and in the licensed taxi trade. Nevertheless, the sheer volume of publicly accessible complaints about one specific operator does suggest some wider systemic issues with how this particular business model is operating within London and poses some important questions for how TfL oversees complaints made against operators in general.
We welcome TfL’s commitment to review the regulations that govern private hire activity in London. Nevertheless, we are aware that this review process may take some time and that, in the meantime, passengers will continue to face these unacceptable problems.
It seems to us that TfL has contributed to the current situation by failing to fully consider the implications of licensing Uber London without establishing a clear legal grounding for this decision.
Your letter and accompanying documentation indicates that, while Uber London Ltd has been licensed by TfL since 31 May 2012, ‘a decision regarding the legality of Uber’s operational model was made on 3 July 2014’, over two years after the licence had been granted. We therefore request
urgent clarification on what, if any, legal advice regarding the legality of Uber’s operating model was sought as part of the pre-licensing inspection undertaken in advance of the decision to grant ULL’s licence in May 2012.
We would be grateful if you could you confirm the date on which ULL’s existing licence is due to expire. Please could you also confirm whether ULL’s licence was granted with any attached conditions and for the full five year term, as discussed in your operator licensing guidance.
On the issue of taximeters, the relevant section of the legal note which accompanied your letter is a procedural update and explicitly excludes, at point 32, discussion of whether or not Uber London Limited is in breach of Section 11 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 which precludes private hire vehicles from being ‘equipped’ with a ‘taximeter’. Please could you provide us with a copy of any further submissions that have been made by TfL counsel that address the legal issues relating to Section 11.
Your letter also indicates that the advice given to TfL by Martin Chamberlain QC was given in conference. We would be grateful if you could provide copies of any written documentation of the discussion and of the advice received in conference, including minutes, notes or transcripts of the discussion of Mr Chamberlain’s considered position on this case.
TfL as a regulator should take all possible steps to ensure that any licensee is compliant with the legislation as it stands. Where the law is open to alternative interpretations, it is surely in the interests of all concerned to err on the side of caution and ensure that the physical and financial safety of the travelling public is not compromised. We would be grateful if you could reply to the points raised in this letter by 8 May 2015.
Yours sincerely
Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM
Chair of the Transport Committee
by News Desk | Apr 16, 2015 | London News
Black Cab Drivers Use Technology For A Charm Offensive With New App That Allows On Demand Booking Of Individual Seats in Black Cabs, Aiming For Prices On Par With Public Transport
Today marks the launch of Maaxi, the personalised public transport app that offers London commuters a bespoke and affordable alternative travel option in and around the capital. Just as an airline sells seats on planes, Maaxi enables users to book individual seats in London black cabs, for shared journeys at a fraction of the cost of the taximeter. Maaxi retools one of London’s most abundant, trusted, and iconic travel options – London black cabs – and opens up the five or six seats in them to anyone who can afford public transport. Maaxi will run services in the vicinity of and along existing public transport routes, catering to groups of people who share present bus, tube or train journeys looking for added comfort, speed, and alternatives to their normal commute.
Due to the relative high running costs of a black cab, the seats in them have been until now available for sale only at a premium cost selling the entire space for exclusive rides. Going forward, via Maaxi, black cabs will have the option of carrying rides sold by the seat, as well as traditional exclusive rides. By sharing journeys with other customers, Maaxi users can enjoy all the convenience and comfort of a black cab, for prices per mile comparable to buses or the tube when sharing with three other passengers. The more fellow passengers Maaxi users are prepared to share with, the lower the price they pay.
“Black cabs are part of Transport for London’s licensed transport infrastructure. With Maaxi, London will be the world’s first city to enjoy on demand door-to-door public transport. With no government subsidies, and through our own cutting edge technology, black cab drivers will offer the ultimate convenience at affordable prices to Londoners who use Maaxi in their home communities and workplaces,” commented Maaxi Founder and CEO, Gabriel Campos. “This is London cabbies’ way of saying ‘thank you’ to the people and the city that made them iconic and famous.”
Through a departures board screen in the Maaxi App, passengers are always aware of the taxis available to get them to their desired location, as well as the price they will pay. Maaxi utilises its own bespoke made-in-London mapping technology to dynamically match passengers en route to their final destination, with the aim of participating black cabs always being full and continually daisy chaining to their next stop.
“London is a hotbed of innovation and the city’s transport sector is no exception. I am a strong supporter of any new technology that supports and enhances the offer from London’s cabbies, who are rightly famous the world over for their knowledge and professionalism,” said London’s Mayor Boris Johnson.
Just as with the setup of a new bus or train line, the roll out of Maaxi services throughout London is a considerable project that will take both time and active participation by black cab drivers and commuters. Rollout activities will be promoted in real-time under hashtags such as #doortodoorbus, #doortodoortube and #surgecut. For convenience and ease, Maaxi will follow existing tube, train and bus commute corridors, thereby ensuring a steady supply of black cab seats at the times and places they’re needed the most.
“It will take time to have regular Maaxi services in all areas of London, but like with any project we need to to start somewhere. We want to encourage people to spread the word even while they wait for buses, and if they are going to share the bus with fellow passengers, they might just as well share a taxi and go for free. The people inviting most new users could enjoy as much an entire year of free rides once Maaxi is fully active in their home community or workplace,” added Campos.
Maaxi will reward users who drive adoption of the service and spread the word. By sharing the unique code embedded in the app with friends, families, co-workers and even with strangers with whom they share bus or train rides, users can earn up to £10 credit for both themselves and for each person they invite to join. “The people inviting most new users could enjoy as much an entire year of free rides once Maaxi is fully active in their home community or workplace,” added Campos.
With Maaxi, users are able to travel with friends, solo, or book seats in female-only or male-only taxis should they prefer. Maaxi does not accept payment from users without a UK address and bank payment method and address, which when added to Maaxi’s GPS tracking, makes the sharing with strangers safe and trackable. For drivers, Maaxi means more fares and more efficient usage of both their taxis and time spent on the road, as provided by the platform’s dynamic route-matching technology.
Having been trialled in open beta at the end of 2014, Maaxi is available now via Google Play and in the iOS app store. For more information, head over to www.maaxiapp.com where details on the rollout of the service will be constantly updated.
About Maaxi
Maaxi is an application for iOS and Android devices offering personalised public transport by allowing users to book individual seats in London black cabs. By sharing rides, passengers are guaranteed a significantly lower price, often on par with public transport alternatives. The more fellow passengers Maaxi users are prepared to share with, the lower the price they pay.
The company was founded at the end of 2012 in London by CEO Gabriel Campos and is privately funded by backers including Campos himself and financier Nathaniel Rothschild.
………and the expression “taximeter” means any appliance for measuring the time or distance for which a cab is used or for measuring both time and distance which is for the time being approved for the purpose by or on behalf of the Secretary of State.
So why on earth do they need a court to decide that a mobile phone or any other mobile electronic gadgetry needs defining? Are they not appliances? Nowhere can I see in this act that it state that the appliance needs to be secured to the vehicle.