London Taxi PR (LTPR) is calling on both the City of London Corporation and the Mayor of London to rethink their plans to impose air quality pilot schemes in Moor Lane, Moorgate, and additionally and most recently in Tooley Street and Borough High Street areas, as this will once again restrict all vehicles that are not ULEV compliant and will therefore impact on the profession, passengers and businesses who all wish to use licensed London Taxis as their journey provider.
As an organisation representing the interests of the Licensed London Taxi profession, LTPR is not only calling on the City of London and the Mayor of London to reconsider these restrictions and their impact on London Taxis, but also take into consideration the effect on businesses within the zones, as this could be seen as effectively a restraint of trade being applied by the City of London Corporation and the Mayor of London on both.
This is outlined in a definition of restraint of trade https://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/business-laws-and-regulations/restraint-of-trade.htmlAt the most basic level, “restraint of trade” is any activity that prevents another party from conducting business as they normally would without such a restraint. For instance, two businesses agreeing to fix prices in order to put another competitor out of business is an illegal restraint of trade. Other examples include creating a monopoly, coercing another party to stop competing with your business, or unlawfully interfering with a business deal.
The new road restrictions are set to come into play within the City of London in Moor Street, Moorgate, and the pending restriction of access for Taxis and vehicles in Tooley Street https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/environmental-health/environmental-protection/air-quality/Pages/ulev.aspx will ONLY allow ULEV vehicles to access these areas, therefore effectively ‘banning’ Licenced London Taxis who are not ULEV compliant from plying their trade within the restriction zones. This would, LTPR feels, give an unfair trade advantage to other competitors whose vehicles are ULEV compliant, and therefore would create a mini monopoly, which would only increase as more clean air emission zones are rolled out within the City of London.
The Tooley Street and Borough High Street restrictions form part of the creation of a Borough High Street Low Emission Neighbourhood (BHS LEN) http://www.betterbankside.co.uk/travel/air-quality which has been established by Better Bankside, who together with Team London Bridge, have been awarded £200,000 of funding by the Mayor of London for its creation.
LTPR will therefore be seeking exemption for ALL Licensed London Taxis within the restriction zones, which will be of benefit to ALL passengers, who choose to use London Taxis for their journey’s to and from their workplace in the restriction zones.
All London Taxis are purpose built, fully wheelchair accessible vehicles, and the recent imposition of road traffic restrictions in Islington and Hackney has already seen a similar campaign activated on behalf of the licensed London Taxi profession by LTPR to have exemption applied. This is due to the fact that the vast majority of the 23,500 licensed taxis in London are unable to go into the affected roads, as the restrictions only allow access to electric vehicles.
According to confirmed statistics, currently, there are just 821 ULEV taxis in operation across the whole of the UK, so not only is this felt to be a restrictive practice being imposed on the profession, but, more importantly, for all Taxi passengers. Equally, it is thought that by allowing only electric taxi vehicles to access these areas that the restrictions are potentially breaching the Equality Act 2010 Sect12 Disabled Persons Transport, Sect1 Taxis http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/part/12 as it puts passengers with disabilities at a disadvantage, and the aim could have been achieved through less restrictive alternatives.
Since the recent road traffic restrictions have been imposed, an increasing number of London’s licensed taxis are already reporting that they are having to decline customers who want to travel into the affected areas, informing them that they can only take them for part, and not the whole of their journey, as they would normally be able to do. Or, worse still, are not able to take them at all if they wish to travel to and from an area that is within the restriction zones.
These Ultra Low Emission Zones, some of which will not come into operation in London until 2019 has already LTPR feels, caused confusion within the profession due to some of the statutory obligations that apply and leaving drivers fearing they will be open to a breach of these regulations and open to possible litigation.
In London, section 35 of the London Hackney Carriage Act 1831 states that it is an offence: “Hackney carriages standing in any street shall be deemed to be plying for hire; and the driver thereof refusing to go with any person liable to a penalty.
This means that any driver of a hackney carriage standing at any of the stands for hackney carriages appointed by the commissioners, or in any street, “who refuses or neglects, without reasonable excuse, to drive such carriage to any place within the prescribed distance, or the distance to be appointed by any byelaw of the commissioners, not exceeding the prescribed distance to which he is directed to drive by the person hiring or wishing to hire such carriage, shall for every such offencebe liable to a penalty not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.”
hese regulations place a duty on drivers of licensed hackney carriage vehicles not to refuse a fare when standing on a rank unless they are hired or, have a “reasonable excuse”. The duty to carry people when standing for hire applies only to journeys undertaken in within the prescribed distance or in other words those that starts and ends within the relevant licensing authorities’ district.
There can be no doubt that there is a distinct possibility for litigation from the implementation of these new clean air zones and so LTPR feels that the profession needs ‘A clear and unified clarification of these regulations, and the exemplification for those licenced taxis whose customers are disabled passengers’.
Licensed London Taxis have been a part of London’s landscape for the past 365 years and play an integral part of in London’s transport system. Their door to door service has made them the most envied, highly reputable and recognisable Taxi service in the world.
The message about the road restrictions and its impact on the profession as a whole is being promoted via press and trade media coverage, and also through a series of targeted social media messages, to help inform not only the wider disabled community, but also the general public, Government bodies, public authorities and decision makers.
Since their formation, London Taxi PR has undertaken a series of targeted media campaigns, which are being used by London Taxi PR to promote the benefits, advantages and safety of using the iconic London Taxi to a wide audience.
All the campaigns and publicity that has so far been generated by the company has been funded by fellow London Taxi drivers as well as supportive companies and organisations, many of whom have signed up to donate to the cause on a monthly basis, indicating how passionate they all are about their industry and the cause.
London Taxi PR. Passionate about promoting and preserving the iconic London Taxi trade and funded by London Taxi drivers who care about their industry. For more information on London Taxi PR and their campaigns, please visit their website http://londontaxipr.com
Police across London say they’re going to target criminals on mopeds “at every opportunity.”
The head of the Met’s Operation Venice Team says they will be pursued even when they ride dangerously and discard their helmets.
Moped crime has been in the headlines after a spike in the last few years.
But police say there’s been a large reduction with 44% fewer moped crimes January 2018 to October 2018 than the same 10 months of 2017.
There was also a 38% drop in moped thefts in the same period.
Police say moped crime can happen at any time of the day or night. Victims are often targeted as they come out of tube stations or at transport hubs. Thieves also snatch handbags, high-value watches, and other items. The Naegle Law Firm, PLC in Mesa is where one can go to get the necessary legal help needed
But police are using a range of tactics across Greater London to tackle offenders, including DNA forensic tagging and the use of automatic tyre deflation devices.
Commander Amanda Pearson said: “There is a perception that if you remove your arai helmets or fail to stop for police when requested to do so we will not take any further course of action. This is untrue. In case one is involved in an accident they can check this out to know which legal expert will provide them with the necessary legal aid.
“The public quite rightly expects us to intervene to keep London safe. Our highly trained police drivers weigh up the risks and decide upon the most appropriate tactics in those circumstances.
“Offenders on mopeds and motorcycles who attempt to evade the police are making a choice that puts themselves and others at risk.” It is advisable to read at Lane, Hupp, & Crowley blog for the gun laws and about who can and cannot own a gun based on the place they live.
“So our message is clear: we can, we will and we do target those involved in moped and motorcycle crime at every opportunity.”
Footage released today by the Met shows the tactics that specially trained drivers are able to use to reduce the need for pursuits and prevent injury occurring to offenders and members of the public.
It is hoped that by demonstrating the full range of tactics that officers are prepared to use against moped and motorcycle criminals, potential offenders will think twice about their actions.
Commander Pearson added: “The Met is at the forefront of tackling moped and motorcycle crime and I am pleased to see that we have seen a reduction in offences. However, we are not complacent and we will continue to work tirelessly across London to maintain this downward trend.
“Operation Venice can call on all manner of tactics from an experienced investigation team to police helicopters to tackle and arrest offenders.”
Police have advised motorists to avoid London for the next three days, as climate change protesters continue to block roads and cause traffic disruption in the UK capital.
Activists from the Extinction Rebellion group have been blocking roads and bridges for up to 10 minutes at a time for the past week, bringing motorists to a halt in an effort to protest government inaction on climate change.
Last weekend, they occupied five bridges across the River Thames.
Now police have recommended that people not travel by car or motorcycle in the city between Thursday and Saturday, and have reminded motorists that driving through the protests is illegal.
“On the 22-24 Nov, there will be protests across London that may result in delays to your journey. We advise not to travel by car or motorbike, so is better to take advantage of these days to do maintenance on the motorbikes, and there are even resources as a motorcycle mechanic Melbourne which can help with this. If you do drive into London please note attempting to drive through protestors in the road is very dangerous and illegal,” the Metropolitan Police’s Roads & Transport Policing Command wrote in a tweet that has since been removed.
The group has been encouraging protesters to sit on road crossings when traffic lights turn red and remain there for between five and 10 minutes. “When the police appear, get up off the road, mix into the general public, and then regroup,” the group encourages activists on its website.
They claim to have around 100 protesters blocking several sites in central, west and south London, and have planned a second consecutive Saturday “rebellion day” in Westminster’s Parliament Square to encourage the government to implement legally binding emissions-reduction pledges.
“I’ve tried everything — I’ve written to my (member of Parliament), been part of protests year after year, signed all the petitions and donated to all the major environmental NGOs, but nothing has happened,” said Angela, a 32-year-old protester. “Maybe it is just down to us, concerned citizens, to step beyond our comfort zones and disrupt.”
The group says it plans to create economic disruption rather than travel chaos in the city, in order to send a message to government.
But some disgruntled motorists have complained about their tactics on social media. “Unfortunately, I don’t think making traffic queue is going to help climate change,” one user wrote on Twitter.
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Birmingham’s iconic black cab trade will be ‘decimated’ by the Clean Air Zone, drivers have warned.
According to city council figures, only 72 of the 1,265 Hackney Carriages licensed to operate in the city will be compliant with the emission standards being imposed by the pollution charge from January 2020.
It is feared that should the majority of black cabs disappear from the roads it would have a major impact on disabled people, because only Hackney Carriages are required to be wheelchair accessible.
Drivers voiced their concerns today (Wednesday, November 21) during a heated meeting of the authority’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee.
Saj Mahmood, from the national union for Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) said: “We want to work with the council, but you have come across with a hammer, bang.”
He added there ‘won’t be a Hackney Carriage trade left’ unless the drivers were supported and the on-going issue around out of area workers was tackled once and for all.
The concerns were echoed by fellow RMT representative Mohammed Halim who said the Clean Air Zone would ‘decimate the black cab trade in the city’.
The committee agreed to go out to an eight-week consultation with the public and drivers later this month around proposed changes to the council’s licensing policy.
One of the ideas is to scrap the ‘exceptional condition test’ which allows Hackney Carriages to be used once they are more than 14 years old, providing they are deemed road-worthy.
Through a government pilot, 65 Birmingham black cabs were converted to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Only seven others are compliant with the emission benchmark.
The council has also enabled drivers to hold a dual licence which will allow them to work in private hire if they want to.
The authority is also making a multi-million pound bid to the Government’s Clean Air Fund to buy 50 ultra low emission vehicles, 10 of which would be offered on short leases as a try-before-you-buy scheme while the rest would be available for short-term rent on hourly rates.
Additionally, the bid will include a request for £5,000 individual support packages for up to 1,000 drivers to help them convert to LPG or run a low emission vehicle.
But today’s meeting threatened to spiral out of control when committee members starting making political points.
Cllr Simon Morall (Cons, Frankley Great Park) argued that the Conservative Group did not support the Labour-run council’s plans for a Clean Air Zone which charged private vehicles, including taxis.
While Cllr Mike Leddy (Lab, Brandwood and King’s Heath) hit back saying the council’s hand was being forced by Government demands to reduce pollution levels – said to contribute to 900 premature deaths a year in the city.
By that point taxi drivers were also voicing their concerns without being prompted.
Committee chairman Cllr Barbara Dring (Lab, Oscott) intervened and said: “This is starting to get political and starting to get critical of everybody.
“We are not going down that road. Your (addressing taxi drivers) behaviour has been impeccable up to now, I support the Hackney Carriage trade they are iconic in this city.
“We need to keep them and we are trying to assist in any way we can to get resources to make the transition.”
A report outlining final changes to the council’s licensing policy is due back in February after the consultation.
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