All Entries in the "Xtra Categories" Category

Discord over taxi drivers’ music rights

PLAYING a little background music during a journey with a passenger, could mean taxi drivers hitting a sour note with the law.
Cabbies in Kirklees are to be reminded that they need a licence to have recorded music in their cars or taxi offices. And this would set firms back up to £99.

Council limits number of taxis:South Tyneside

TAXI drivers in South Tyneside are unlikely to have more competition as cabbies face up to a large drop in trade.

South Tyneside Council is likely to peg taxi numbers in the borough at 239 today after hearing that customer numbers have fallen significantly in the last decade……..

The Law & You: Bilking (or runners)

This one might be worth printing off and carrying in the cab with you.
We have run this particular Law & You several times, but we keep getting asked to clarify the legal position, mainly because the response of the police is patchy to say the least “Itʼs a civil matter mate take them to the small claims”. The problem is that there are varying degrees of non-payment; on one hand there is the ʻgentlemanʼ and sometimes lady that opens the door and takes off like Usian Bolt……..

Newcastle Council take six taxi drivers off city roads

SIX taxi drivers have been suspended amid concerns about the risk they pose to the public.

Newcastle City Council has taken four of the cabbies off the roads after receiving information from police about alleged criminal activity….

Pink Ladies loses taxi licence appeal

PINK Ladies have likened the company’s battle for women’s rights to the work of suffragette Emily Pankurst. Andrea Winders, co-director of the non-profit making business, said the staff feel a little like the woman’s activist after fighting for the rights of women in an ‘archaic legal framework’………

Taxis at New Street station could be rationed, TooManyTaxis?

Taxi access to Birmingham’s New Street Station could be rationed in an attempt to relieve traffic chaos.

Council highways chiefs are talking to the police and Network Rail about restricting the number of black cabs able to enter the station at peak times.

Government ‘minded’ to amend sec 16 and allow unrestricted numbers of taxi WAVs

Following a Lords debate on the government’s flagship Equality Bill it has become clear that in restricted areas that don’t have a 100% WAV taxi fleet, an unlimited amount of new WAV plates will have to be issued on demand. The current law that allows councils to restrict will no-longer apply to applicants that produce a WAV for plating.

Amendments relating to PH WAV provision were withdrawn following government concern that it ‘would be incredibly burdensome to the private hire industry‘.

London black cab market set to go green

The prospect of electric taxis appearing on the streets of London has moved closer to reality after one of the leading cab makers launched a new model.

2010 Ford Transit Connect Taxi: 2010 Chicago Auto Show

CHICAGO — Today Ford unveiled a taxi version of its 2010 Transit Connect utility van that will go on sale in late 2010. In addition to its reconfigured interior, the Transit Connect Taxi will also offer fleet operators the option of running the vehicle on compressed natural gas or propane.

No Hands-Free Devices for Cabbies – Video

Strict new rules went into effect for New York City cab drivers on Friday that ban drivers from using electronic devices while driving. The ban includes hands-free Bluetooth devices…..

Taxi Driver gets parking ticket in taxi rank

A TAXI driver has been given a parking ticket in Lancing while helping an elderly passenger with her shopping.
Sean Ridley parked his ABCA taxi at the rank in……….

Taxi driver licence applications… in BRAILLE

Local governments have in the recent past made admirable attempts to be more culturally inclusive by printing official documents in various languages……..However, one city council might have let its enthusiasm run away with itself

Northumberland Consultation on Draft Policy

The council has started a formal consultation on a draft policy for hackney carriage and private hire licensing which was considered and endorsed by the Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee on 4th December 2009……

Driverless Taxi?

‘Taxi on demand’
One of the highlights of the World Future Energy Summit was the ‘cyber taxi’, which will be a key feature of the zero-carbon Masdar City being built in Abu Dhabi.

Labour Peer proposes amendment to scrap (in part) sec 16 of the 1985 Transport Act

A late amendment to the 2010 Equality Bill was added by Baroness Wilkins on Tuesday 19th January 2010. This amendment, if enacted, could end the discretion that local licensing authorities have in restricting the number of hackney carriages they license.