The LCDC have heard from a very reliable source today, that the new nissan taxi that we was hoping to be launched this year in London will not becoming out until Spring 2014. This looks like another setback for drivers who were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Nissan Taxi.

This is on the back of the problems that Nissan are having in New York where the NV200 is due to be launched without being wheelchair accessible. Disabled groups have been outraged that the taxi of tomorrow for new yorkers will not be wheelchair accesiable.Taxi industry groups, drivers, and passengers all seem to have one problem or another with the Taxi of Tomorrow, but the issue of accessibility seems to be driving a wedge between all three. Whether or not the groups find a fair compromise could change the cabs we see here in the city.

Danny Delany says he doesn’t take cabs often, but it’s not because he doesn’t want to. Delany says he’s waited more than an hour to flag down a cab.

And it’s no wonder why: just 2%, — or about 230 — of the city’s cabs are wheelchair accessible. For the 170,000 New Yorkers in wheelchairs, that can make find one difficult. Even if they find a cab, there’s no guarantee it won’t already be occupied by an able-bodied person. Delany, like many other New Yorkers in wheelchairs, thought the Taxi of Tomorrow would make life a little easier. “It doesn’t make sense that anything “of tomorrow” wouldn’t be accessible,” he said.

But right now, there’s no guarantee that that will be the case. Making the new Nissan Taxi accessible is not required by law and doing so would cost owners about $14,000.Taxi Safety Commission Director David Pollack says there just aren’t enough wheelchair fares each day to justify the cost. “For 56 fares a day you’re going to transfer and retrofit 13,000 yellow taxicabs to accessible vehicles? It’s beyond logic,” he said.

But right now City Council is considering a bill to do just that. If it’s approved all 13,000 yellow cabs in New York would be affected. Driver Rob Sheridan has been driving a cab for 16 years. He says he’s surprised that accessibility wasn’t already part of the agreement with Nissan.

“If you’re going to give an exclusive deal to one company to make The taxi of tomorrow then at the very least you got to make it wheelchair accessible,” Sheridan said. It’s not just people with wheelchairs, people with injuries and the elderly would also have an easier time getting into and out of accessible cabs. Delany says it’s not like making more cabs accessible wpuld reduce the fleet for able bodied passengers. “Everyone could use an accessible cab,” he said.

Delany says he has seen able bodied people using the accessible cabs plenty of times in the past making it even more difficult for him to find a cab. But one thing he says has helped: a dispatch service app called Wow Taxi. With it Delany says he can request a disabled cab which usually arrives within 15-20 minutes.

A major change to how taxis operate in Northern Ireland will come into force in September.

At present only public hire taxis are allowed to pick up passengers on the street
A major change to how taxis operate in Northern Ireland will come into force in September.

From then, private-hire taxis will no longer have to be pre-booked and, like public-hire black cabs, will be allowed to pick passengers up off the street.

The change was due to come into force in April, but was delayed to allow the taxi industry to prepare for the move.

Environment Minister Alex Attwood said the change would provide the public with “more choice”.

He said the introduction of a single-tier licensing system is designed to make it easier for the consumer to tell if the vehicle is a legal taxi and to give the customer greater choice as to the type of taxi they wish to use.

Its intrduction will also allow drivers from outside Belfast to come into the city centre and work, increasing the supply of taxis in the city centre at peak times, particularly at weekends.

“I remain fully committed to providing a safe, fair and fit-for-purpose taxi industry in Northern Ireland. Single-tier licensing is a significant step which will help achieve this goal,” he said.

“Having the ability to obtain any taxi without pre-booking will help to provide the public with more choice. It will also give those in the taxi industry more opportunities for business in these difficult economic times.”

Mr Attwood said he was also temporarily de-regulating taxi meters and fares for Belfast public hire taxis to bring them into line with the rest of the taxi industry.

‘Competitive market’

“This will establish a level and fair playing field as Belfast public hire taxis will be able to charge competitive rates to consumers and will not have to adhere to taxi fares set by law.

“I am also looking at a package of measures to enable public hire to develop and enhance their business opportunities, consistent with the taxis legislation.

“I believe this will help to create a competitive market and will bring about benefits for operators, drivers and passengers alike.”

At present, only Belfast public-hire taxis are required by law to have meters installed.

Not all private-hire taxis in Northern Ireland have meters.

The department of environment said it will introduce a maximum fare structure for all taxis operating in Northern Ireland in 2014.

This will include the requirement that all taxis must have an approved taxi meter and receipt machine installed.

Within Belfast only wheelchair accessible vehicles will be permitted to stand at taxi ranks.

Source: BBC NI

Black cabs were granted permission to use London’s bus lanes under a “cosy deal” cooked up by Ken Livingstone and the taxi trade, the Court of Appeal was told today.
Nicholas Green QC, representing Europe’s largest minicab firm Addison Lee, said the arrangement breached European fair trade laws as it allowed black taxis an “accelerated course” through London that was unavailable to minicab passengers.

Three Appeal judges today began hearing Addison Lee’s bid to reverse a High Court ruling last July that maintained Transport for London’s ban on the capital’s 50,000 minicabs from using bus lanes.

TfL contests that only black cabs should be allowed to use bus lanes as they are unique in being able to “ply for hire” and it is easier for taxi drivers to be spotted and pick up passengers when using the lanes.

Opening the lanes to minicabs has sparked fears about buses being caught in congestion and a greater safety threat to cyclists.

Mr Green said: “My client has long taken the view that the initial decision to allow black cabs into bus lanes was a cosy deal between the then mayor, Mr Livingstone, and the black cab trade.”

He told the court he had just obtained previously undisclosed “dynamite” and “explosive” TfL research into bus lanes.

“It shows that the reasons TfL had worked on for 18 months to justify keeping private hire vehicles out of bus lanes would apply equally to black cabs,” he told the court.

But the Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson, who is hearing the case with Lord Justice Elias and Lord Justice Patten, said: “I can’t see anything that is explosive or dynamite at all.”

Mr Green said there was a “wafer-thin distinction” in practice between the way black cabs and minicabs were used – though minicabs must be pre-booked and cannot be hailed in the street.

He said Addison Lee, which has 2,900 minicabs, took £30m a year in fares for journeys to and from airports and Eurostar services at St Pancras but was penalised by being unable to use bus lanes to speed up its passengers’ journeys.

The case continues.

Source: Evening Standard

Founded with one car in Battersea in 1975, father and son team, John and Liam Griffin, sold the business today to the Carlyle Group — which also owns the RAC and health food chain Holland & Barrett.

The Griffins and the family of Lenny Foster, who co-founded the minicab empire, will share those spoils while retaining a small stake in the business.

It has been quite a rise to fortune for John Griffin as, in the Seventies, he was forced to ditch his apprenticeship as an accountant and turn to mini-cabbing in order to make ends meet and rescue his father’s business.

Today, Addison Lee uses a cutting edge IT system to manage bookings for its 4500 cars after emerging as the major competitor to London’s black cabs.

Under the terms of the deal, the elder Griffin, John, will remain as chairman and the younger as chief executive. Drivers who work for the company don’t own shares and so will not get a windfall after today’s deal.

Liam Griffin told the Evening Standard: “We’re very much concentrated in central London but now we can look at going further afield within the M25, like the suburbs. We’ll look primarily at that area first.”

Carlyle Europe Partners managing director Andrew Burgess said he was keen to roll out Addison Lee to other cities in the UK which could benefit from the cabbie’s use of apps and technology that creates such an “efficient dispatch” system.

Internationally, Addison Lee already has burgeoning joint ventures in Paris and New York and the younger Griffin said that Carlyle’s deep international experience — it has 33 offices around the world — would help Addison Lee make major breakthroughs overseas.

The cabbie is also looking to widen the range of accounts with blue-chip corporates, which should mean that it will end up hiring more than the 4000 cab drivers that Addison Lee employs today.

John Griffin courted controversy last year, when he spoke out against London cyclists.

He claimed they were to blame for their own injuries on the capital’s busy roads, arguing that they “leap onto a vehicle which offers them no protection except a padded plastic hat”.

He added that people were safer taking taxis as they would be “sitting inside a protected space with impact bars and air bags and paying extortionate amounts of taxes on our vehicle purchase, parking, servicing, insurance and road tax”.

He also argued that for compulsory training and insurance for London’s cyclists, who were sufficiently angered to accuse him of “victim blaming”.

Carlyle was advised on the transaction by Deloitte, OC&C and Latham & Watkins. Addison Lee was advised by Catalyst Corporate Finance.

Source: Evening Standard.

15 April 2013

Below is the latest taxi ranks update to help keep you informed, follow the links provided for more information.

News

London Bridge bus station reopens
London Bridge bus station has now reopened following the completion of the works to repair the collapsed sewer in London Bridge Street.

The taxi rank in the station plus the drop-off bays and disabled pick-up bay are all now open, the temporary taxi rank in St Thomas Street is no longer in operation. Taxi drivers must not overrank or block access to the station for buses, taxis and other vehicles.

Baroness Thatcher funeral
On Wednesday 17 April 2013 the funeral of Baroness Thatcher will take place at St Paul’s Cathedral. A ceremonial funeral will be held with a procession between the Palace of Westminster and St Paul’s, details of the route of the procession and planned road closures are available here.

Some taxi rank suspensions will be in place from 05:00 on Wednesday morning along and around the procession route. Drivers must not park or leave their taxi on any suspended taxi rank otherwise it could be towed away and where possible drivers should try to avoid the area.

The following taxi ranks will be suspended from 05:00 on Wednesday 17 April:

- Aldwych (Waldorf Hotel)
- Aldwych (rest rank)
- Aldwych (One Aldwych Hotel)
- Aldwych (ME Hotel)
- Strand (Charing Cross Station)
- Strand (opposite Australia House)
- Strand (Clement Danes Church)
- Exeter Street (Strand Palace Hotel)
- Arundel Street (rest rank)
- Temple Place (refreshment rank)
- Embankment Place (under Charing Cross railway bridge)
- Whitehall Place (Corinthia Hotel)
- Whitehall Place (Liberal Club)
- Whitehall Court (Royal Horseguards Hotel)
- Pall Mall (RAC Club)
- Millbank (Media Centre)

The Strand (Clement Danes Church) taxi rank will also be suspended on Monday 15 April and Tuesday 16 April but drivers will be able to use the first three spaces of the taxi rank on these days.

Hammersmith Broadway works

Emergency repair works are taking place in Hammersmith Broadway and during these works the taxi rank will be unavailable but a temporary taxi rank has been provided in Queen Caroline Street. The works are expected to last for up to six weeks and taxi drivers should use the temporary taxi rank but must not overrank or try and use the rank when it is full as the rank is being closely monitored.

Liverpool Street marshalled taxi rank
The late night marshalled taxi rank in Liverpool Street continues to be popular with drivers and the public but since the scheme was first started more bars and clubs in the City have started to open on Saturday evenings.

In response to this increase in late night activity on Saturday evenings, and following discussions with the City of London Corporation, we have decided to change the evenings the marshalled taxi rank operates. Instead of the rank being marshalled on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings it will now be marshalled on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.

We intend to trial this and see how well the rank is used, if it is successful we will consider making the change permanent.

We Are FVSTL

On Saturday 25 May 2013 We Are FVSTL takes place at Damyns Hall Aerodrome, Upminster.

The festival is between 11:00am and 02:30am and will be attended by 15,000 people. Shuttle buses will run from Upminster Station to the festival site on Saturday but to help people who want to take a taxi there will be taxi marshals at the station between 10:00 and 15:00 on Saturday.

At the festival site there will be a designated drop-off area plus a taxi rank and this will be marshalled from 10:00 on Saturday morning until the festival ends on Sunday morning. The drop-off area and taxi rank will be accessible from Warwick Lane.

Taxis will be an essential form of transport for people going to and from the event so we hope that the local drivers will use the station taxi rank and the taxi rank on the festival site. Information about the event can be found on the We Are FVSTL website here.

Whitcomb Street

Following a public consultation by Westminster City Council the taxi rank in Whitcomb Street, outside the Thistle Piccadilly Hotel, has been revoked.

The council proposed a number of changes in Wardour Street and Whitcomb Street including removing the Whitcomb Street taxi rank, extending the Blue Badge parking bays and relocating some residents parking. The taxi rank ceased operation on Monday 8 April 2013 and drivers should not park where the rank was located.

Hornchurch taxi rank trial

The Hornchurch taxi rank trial is continuing and the feedback so far has been positive. Since the trial started there have been some small changes and the taxi rank is now in three portions:
- 1st portion is still in Hornchurch High Street and is for 4 taxis only
- 2nd portion is in Billet Lane but the front of the 2nd portion has been moved closer to Hornchurch High Street and extended to 8 spaces
- 3rd portion is in Billet Lane and is for 10 taxis

There are temporary taxi rank stops at both of the portions in Billet Lane to tell drivers where to rank.

The trial will continue to be monitored and drivers are reminded that they must not:
- Rank outside of the agreed taxi rank portions
- Overrank or cause any obstructions
- Block buses or any other vehicles

Overranking

Complaints have continued to be received about taxis overranking at the Selfridges taxi rank, parking on the pavement and also parking in the bus stop. Drivers must not overrank or obstruct the bus stop otherwise they will be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) by the borough.

Complaints have also been received about taxis queuing on the corner of Hans Road/Basil Street/near Walton Place.
This is obstructing other vehicles and causing problems for local residents and businesses. If the taxi ranks serving Harrods are full then drivers must not queue in the road and should move on.

Richmond Station

The new taxi rank serving Richmond Station is now operational and marked out on the road. The rank is in four portions which are set out as follows:
- 1st portion, this is for 4 taxis and operates 24 hours a day
- 2nd portion, this is for 17 taxis and operates 24 hours a day
- 3rd portion, this is in the shared loading bay, is for 4 taxis and operates between 19:00-07:00
- 4th portion, this is in the shared loading bay, is for 6 taxis and operates between 19:00-07:00

There have been reports that a small minority of taxi drivers have been ranking in drop-off area on The Quadrant but this area is not designated as a taxi rank and drivers must not park in or ply for hire from this space. This area has been designated as a drop-off area only, if taxis rank here then it prevents taxi drivers and other motorists from being able to safely drop-off passengers for the station.

Muswell Hill Broadway rank
The Muswell Hill Broadway taxi rank has been moved to Dukes Avenue. The relocated taxi rank is for two taxis, operates 24 hours a day and a new taxi pole has recently been installed at the rank.

News release: 9 April 2013

Law Commission sets out early thinking on reforms for the taxi and private hire trades

Following an extensive consultation on the regulations governing taxis and mini-cabs (private hire vehicles), the Law Commission has announced, in an interim statement, a change of direction on two key proposals: setting restrictions on local taxi numbers, and licensing for wedding cars.
The Commission initially proposed abolishing the right of licensing authorities to restrict the number of taxis permitted to operate in an area. But it has been convinced that the benefits of change are outweighed by the advantages of continuing to allow restrictions. On the one hand, the Commission accepts that restrictions can have a place in combating congestion and over-ranking, and supporting a viable taxi trade to maintain high standards. On the other, there is no compelling evidence that de-restriction reduces fares or has a significant effect on waiting times. It will also recommend that areas where numbers of taxis are now limited should be able to retain their traditional “plate value” systems. If new areas regulate numbers, however, licenses would not be transferrable, preventing plate values from accruing.
The proposal to bring wedding and funeral cars into the same regulatory framework as mini-cabs has also been revisited, and the Commission will be recommending that they retain their statutory exemption from licensing, rather than relying on the Secretary of State or Welsh Ministers to exempt them.
The Commission has restated its commitment to keeping the two-tier system that distinguishes taxis from mini-cabs. It will recommend retaining the local nature of the hackney trade, with only taxis being able to pick up passengers from a rank or on the street (“ply for hire”). Mini-cabs should continue to be restricted to offering a pre-booked service.
Frances Patterson QC, the Law Commissioner leading the project, says: “The legal framework governing the taxi and private hire trades is complex and inconsistent. The purpose of our review is to improve and simplify it, and ensure it is fit for purpose.
“We listened to a great many people during our consultation – drivers, operators, licencing authorities and passengers. They confirmed what we have always believed, that the two-tier system distinguishing taxis and mini-cabs should stay. And they convinced us that the trade and its passengers will benefit if licensing authorities continue to have the power to limit taxi numbers.”
The Commission is half way through its review and expects to make final recommendations for reform to Government at the end of the year. In light of the consultation, which brought in more than 3,000 responses, it has reached a number of other early decisions on what it will recommend, including:
· Applying a national set of standards for mini-cabs.
· Introducing compulsory disability discrimination training for all drivers, and making it a licence condition that drivers should not discriminate against disabled passengers.
The interim statement and responses to the Commission’s consultation can be found on http://www.lawcom.gov.uk. The final report, with a draft Bill, will be published at the end of 2013.

TPH NOTICE

This notice provides the taxi and private hire trades with very important information on the processing of credit and debit cards.

On Saturday 6 April 2013 ‘The Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012’ come into effect. The regulations ban traders from “charging consumers more than the cost borne by them for accepting a given means of payment” which includes processing card payments.
The regulations cover taxi and private hire passengers who pay by card and are being introduced following a consultation by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. A copy of the consultation outcome, the regulations and guidance on the regulations are available on the Inside Government website here.

New businesses and micro-businesses will be exempt from the regulations until 12 June 2014 but from this date the regulations will also apply to them. Broadly speaking a micro-business is one with fewer than 10 employees, this includes all self employed London taxi and private hire vehicle drivers. A new business is one which began trading between 6 April 2013 and 12 June 2014.

If you accept card payments it is vital that you are aware of these changes and ensure that you comply with them. From the appropriate date you must not charge passengers more than it costs to accept and process a card payment.

Taxi services

We currently set the maximum extra charge for card payments for taxi journeys at £1.00 or 12.5% of the metered fare and we have no intention to immediately change this prior to any formal consultation. This “extra” sets a maximum amount that can be charged when a passenger pays by card. However, taxi drivers and taxi booking companies can charge less than £1.00 or 12.5% of the metered fare and many already do so.

Taxi drivers and taxi booking companies that accept card payments should be aware of how much it costs them to accept and process a card payment and from the appropriate date must not charge a passenger more than this amount.

Enforcement
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and trading standards officers have the powers to enforce these regulations. Complaints about being overcharged when paying by card, including for taxi and private hire services, will be considered by the OFT or local council trading standards officers. Where we are made aware that drivers or operators are charging more than the cost for processing the payment we may review their fitness to be license

Corporations press release about Stonecutter Street

After thorough investigations – and consultation with local businesses, residents and key stakeholders – it was concluded that the new scheme delivered vital environmental (inc air quality and noise) and road safety improvements through a reduction in through traffic. The scheme also accommodates the predicted cycle and pedestrian growth for the area – without unreasonable journey time increases being incurred by vehicles servicing local businesses and taxis picking up and setting down in the area.

As part of the feasibility studies for this scheme, vehicle journey times were calculated for various destinations within the City of London to Shoe Lane. It was concluded that journey times to the north and west would remain unchanged, with only journeys to the east and south being affected. From the designated decision-point at the Shoe Lane roundel, the distance to Farringdon Street southbound is approximate 95m using Stonecutter Street whereas the same journey via Holborn Circus and Charterhouse Street is approximately 735m, ie an additional 640m. Given that the average speed vehicles travel in the City is approx. 10mph we judged that the impact that the closure of Stonecutter Street would have on journey times would be minimal and in no way unreasonable.

The City of London Corporation and TfL are aware that the Shoe Lane area is currently going through a difficult time, due to Thameslink, Crossrail, and works to the Holborn Viaduct Bridge. However, as each phase of works is completed it is envisaged that journey times will fall back to normal patterns and in turn improve overall in the longer term. In addition, improvements to the Holborn Circus junction are planned for later in 2013. Both TfL and we believe this will greatly improve traffic flows and safety in the area once completed.

Key elements of the regulations will be:
• Only two-wheeled motorcycles will be licensed, with a minimum engine size (to ensure a large, stable vehicle), anti-lock brakes and capability to carry passengers with luggage. Three-wheeled or four-wheeled motorcycles will not be licensed;
• Motorcycle PHVs must be no more than two years old at first licensing and will not be re-licensed when they are over five years old, to ensure that the vehicles are modern and in good condition;
• Riders must have an advanced rider qualification and experience in riding motorcycles;
• Operators will be required to provide suitable safety equipment for the passenger including a properly-fitting helmet with intercom between driver and passenger, and hygienic liners if necessary;
• Operators and riders must ensure there is no reason why the passenger cannot be safety carried (because of impairments, age, weight, luggage, use of alcohol or drugs, or any other reason), and offer alternative transport if needed;
• Motorcycle PHVs, like other PHVs, must be booked before the journey commences and cannot ply for hire.
Other licensing requirements and processes will be similar to those for PHV cars and the fees applied will reflect the cost of establishing and delivering licensing.
Existing licensed drivers or operators that want to use motorcycle PHVs will have to meet the additional criteria for motorcycle operators or riders and apply for variations to their licences.
It is intended to have the licensing regime and associated processes in place by early 2014. TfL will now engage with relevant stakeholders and work to introduce the new licensing regime.
Current transitional provisions will remain in force for a short period after licensing is introduced to allow existing operators and riders to make the necessary changes to comply with the new regulations.

In March 2013, TfL will commence issuing replacement licences and area identifiers to all licensed London taxi drivers. The new licences and area identifiers will be of a similar design to existing ones but will contain a number of new security features.

In addition, following feedback from the trade, the new suburban area identifiers will have a larger space to show the areas for which a driver is licensed to ply for hire.
One of the key reasons for replacing all taxi driver licences and area identifiers is to combat fraudulent licences.

The introduction of the area identifiers has highlighted issues that have existed within the trade for a number of years. Between March and December 2012 some 27 arrests have been made by the police for the use of fraudulent documentation. Of these, a number were completely unlicensed drivers that had received no character and medical checks or undertaken the Knowledge of London. These drivers are putting the public at risk and also damaging the earnings and reputation of legitimate taxi drivers.

Accompanying the new documents will be instructions advising how to return existing documents to TfL.
Any driver who has not received his or her replacement licence and area identifiers by 31 March 2013 should contact us via support@tph.tfl.gov.uk or 0845 602 7000.

In order to facilitate this change a number of drivers were recently asked to submit passport size photographs which will allow a digital version to be reproduced on their licence. Any driver who has not yet responded to this request is urged to do so without further delay.

Until a new photograph is provided we will be unable to issue the replacement licence and identifiers. Photographs can be emailed to TPHphotos@tfl.gov.uk or posted to:
Taxi Driver Photographs 4th Floor, Green Zone Palestra
197 Blackfriars Road London SE1 8NJ
After 31 March 2013

any driver not displaying new style identifiers will be liable to compliance action therefore it is imperative that drivers provide a photograph as requested.

Through the issue of the new licences and area identifiers which contain additional security features, along with continuing to undertake regular compliance checks, we will be able to safeguard the public from rogue drivers and protect the reputation and the earnings of the taxi trade