M25 speed cameras to be switched on in Surrey

Surrey Comet: No speeding: Police are taking control of M25 camerasNo speeding: Police are taking control of M25 cameras

Speed cameras on the M25 have not been operating since their installation in 2009, but all that is due to end in Surrey this summer.

The cameras, already installed on the motorway and with warning signs aplenty, sit dormant behind overhead signs that tell drivers to reduce their speed to 60, 50 or 40mph during busy periods.

But the cameras have not flashed once since they were installed and many motorists have happily, and dangerously, exceeded the speed limit without comeback on almost the entire London orbital.

The cameras currently only work in between junctions two and three of the motorway.

But further flashes could be coming soon, with cameras between junction 10 at Cobhamand the M40 due to be working by the summer.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: “Sections of the M25 where mandatory speed limits are displayed in red rings have continued to work effectively to reduce congestion and smooth traffic flow and have operated well without fixed camera enforcement.

“We are working with Surrey Police, who are taking over responsibility between junctions 10 and 16, to resume enforcement.

“The speed limits are enforceable by the police and the cameras will be operational by summer 2014.”

Taxi drivers protest outside Dáil over proposed changes

Taxi drivers are protesting outside the Dáil this afternoon over changes to the sector being considered by the Government.

Around 100 taxis from the capital will gather around Kildare Street from 1.30pm to highlight the association’s concerns regarding a number of proposals being considered by the Government.

“Dublin City Council has already removed 58 taxi rank spots in the city,” explained Jim Waldron, spokesperson for the National Private Hire & Taxi Association, which organised the protest.

“Taxi drivers are expected to keep driving around without stopping.”

Mr Waldron is also unhappy with proposals to lower standards of wheelchair access. “This will result in too many cars on the streets of Dublin,” he added.

Participants in the rally also hope to underline issues surrounding charges to drivers using credit card machines in their vehicles and the introduction of local hackney licences in rural areas.

The rally is expected to last until 3pm and may lead to traffic disruption in the area.

Bogus taxi drivers targeted in Birmingham

bbcnews_logoweb1Inside Out joins the police and Birmingham City Council’s taxi enforcement team looking for unlicensed drivers, known as ”plyers” in a clampdown on bogus cabs.

From BBC West Midlands

Click here to read on the BBC News website with video

Only hackney drivers can legally pick up customers without a booking so private hire cabs who take fares straight from the street are breaking the law.

Most private cabs who pick up passengers from the street do this to make some quick money. But some have a darker motive to lure vulnerable, often drunk, lone women into their cars.

Seventy five women have been sexually assaulted while trying to get home from a night out in Birmingham in the past two years.

Inside Out speaks to one woman, 19-year-old Sarah, who was subjected to a serious sexual attack by a bogus taxi driver. Her attacker was jailed for five years in December 2013.

Most of the city’s 1,300 legitimate black cabs and 4,500 private hire drivers work hard to make an honest living and want the rogues off the road as much as anyone else.

About 100 drivers lose their licenses for ‘plying’ offences in Birmingham every year and these are the drivers being targeted by the police.

Inside Out West Midlands is broadcast on BBC One at 19:30 on Monday, 13 January on BBC One and nationwide on the iPlayer for seven days thereafter.

Here is the iPlayer link

– See more at: http://www.supercabby.co.uk/uncategorized/bogus-taxi-drivers-targeted-in-birmingham/#sthash.PS7z9oyC.dpuf

Cabbies mad about airport waiting

Electric taxi drivers who have been forced to the back of queue say they may go back to LPG cabs

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Drivers Chan Chi-hung (left) and Ng Yeuk-hon point at a notice that tells them to wait at the back of the queue. Photo: Edward Wong

Drivers of electric taxis said they would switch back to LPG cabs if the Airport Authority continued its policy of making them wait as long as five hours before being able to take a passenger from the airport to the urban area.

Previously, drivers were given a ticket while they waited for their taxis to be recharged and when they were ready they could queue at the back of the first row of taxis waiting for fares. But the authority changed the policy this month and now drivers must charge their taxis first, then wait at the back of the queue.

Drivers of electric taxis said the new policy meant they would have to wait hours at the airport, especially when there were only two charging stations available, with one of them being switched off occasionally until the end of the month due to construction nearby. Each driver can only use a charger for a maximum of 45 minutes each time.

Driver Chan Kwok-keung said he arrived at the airport on Thursday at 9.20am, but was not able to pick up a passenger and leave until 2.35pm.

“There were two electric taxis waiting to be charged ahead of me. It took me two hours to wait for a charger and then three hours more in the queue,” he said. “How can we survive with only one trip in five hours?”

Chan said he had not driven a taxi for more than a decade, but went back to the job because of the introduction of electric cabs. “I thought it was new and environmentally friendly,” he said.

He would quit again if the authority, as a public organisation, made no improvement, he said.

Ng Yuet-hon, one of the first drivers of a BYD electric taxi when they were introduced to the city in May, said it was a shame the authority was going backwards while commercial organisations were becoming more supportive of electric cars.

“If the government is not supportive enough, I may just go back to driving an LPG taxi,” he said. He added that there were sufficient chargers specifically for BYD taxis situated around the city, but not at the airport.

The drivers were due to meet the authority yesterday, but said they did not attend because the officials wanted to meet in Sham Shui Po instead of the airport.

Lai Ming-hung, of the Taxi and Public Light Bus Concern Group, said some electric taxi drivers were abusing the rules. “They are taking the tickets even though their taxis are charged, so they can jump the queue,” he said. “They shouldn’t blame anyone but those who are abusing the system.”

Currently, 27 electric taxis are operating in the city – 18 fewer than the original target of 45 by the end of last year. Wong Chung-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and PLB Association, which rented the taxis from BYD, said the rest would arrive by the end of the month.

An airport authority spokesman said it would add another charger before March and would continue to talk to the drivers.

A BYD spokesman said it was concerned about the new policy.

Hailo black cab app made £150 disappear from my bank account

Although ‘no cab was available’, each time I tried to call one I was charged £20
Using Hailo app to call a black cab

Road to ruin? Suddenly finding money had been taken from a bank account after tryinhg to call a black cab. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

I used Hailo, the black cab app, to call a cab in London. The message “Sorry, no taxis available right now” kept coming up. In the end, I tried to call six times, with this same result, so headed out into the street via a cash point to get money for a cab.

I had £153 in my current account but the cashpoint said the funds were unavailable. I went back to look online (Santander) and, sure enough, my current balance was £153 but the available balance was only £3.

Santander told me the Hailo app merchant provider had reserved these funds. I had to rush off and get on a bus with a lot of equipment.

I had to wait until the following Tuesday until the reserve on the funds was released. Surely they can’t be allowed to do this? Hailo doesn’t seem to see my point. AF, London

When someone uses Hailo to call a cab, £20 is “reserved” off their account, much in the same way that car hire companies “pre-authorise” funds from your credit card.

Hailo told us it only takes one £20 reserve when someone calls, but a technical error meant that, in this case the reserve amount was applied each time you tried to hire the cab.

The system should ensure there is only a single pre-authorisation on a passenger’s account. They are supposed to expire within 24 hours if not used.

Hailo said: “Our technical team is working as a matter of priority to ensure this does not re-occur. Our UK managing director has called and written to AF to apologise, and applied a (£100) credit to his account for any inconvenience caused.”