Taxi Driver Online

Nice wee video from the BBC about a 'lift sharing' group in Bournemouth. It's just five minutes or so long, so worth viewing, if only for a look at Bournemouth's yellow HC saloon fleet, which arguably makes the Guildford 'teal' blue or whatever seem relatively attractive

For what it's worth there was also a piece on the Mirror website recently about the same thing. Link below for anyone interested.


Social media 'lifts' are becoming an 'illegal industry'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-englan ... l-industry

"Doing lifts" is the phenomena of using social media to buy and sell car journeys in an online illegal "taxi" service.

More than 7,000 people are members of a closed group in Bournemouth, Dorset, the equivalent of a third of the town's student population.

Once people are accepted into the group they can use their own cars to make money by charging for lifts in what taxi drivers in the town are calling an "illegal industry".

Drivers and passengers in the group do not have background checks or training, pay no fees and are likely to be unlicensed and uninsured.

Bournemouth Borough Council said it was aware of the group and is taking the situation "very seriously".

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https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/h ... s-13524186

I suspect this is quite widespread.

But action to stop it will only happen following a nasty accident where the insurance doesn't pay out.

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IDFIMH

The insurance "test case" is already listed on here in the Court Cases database. someone gave a workmate regular lifts for "petrol money", his mate got killed in an RTA, insurer refused pay-out and judge agreed, regular lifts were more than just "social kindness". Can't remember the name of the case, but it involved the MIB.

Albert v MIB

it would be a very tricky problem to crack unless someone sets up a task force targeting the practise followed by a couple of hundred court cases and lots of publicity about drivers losing their licenses

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Don't the government encourage car sharing?

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Grandad,

especially if it's through their paymasters uber

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Yes, the government and county councils encourage car sharing, but conveniently ignore the insurance ramifications , much like they choose to ignore the illegality of the s19 minibuses and hospital car services for 45p a mile.