Taxi Driver Online

Commuters warned of disruption as 12,000 cabbies plan strike against private hire firm Uber



Londoners were today warned to avoid driving in central London on Wednesday when thousands of taxi drivers take part in a Europe-wide protest against controversial cab firm Uber.

Up to 12,000 drivers will participate in the action starting at 2pm which is intended to bring traffic in roads around Trafalgar Square to a standstill.

The protest has been sparked after Transport for London last month confirmed its decision of 2012 to grant a private hire license to the web-based firm Uber.

Passengers can hail an Uber taxi using a smart phone app to locate the nearest available vehicle, and the fare is calculated by distance and time.

TfL has insisted this is not tantamount to a taximeter - which only black cabs are legally entitled to use in London - but has referred the case to the High Court.

A judge will consider whether or not Uber is in breach of the Private Hire Vehicles Act 1998 with a ruling not due for several months.

Uber, which is backed by Google and Goldman Sachs, has 3,000 registered drivers in London.

It also operates in New York, Sydney, Toronto, Berlin, Brussels and Paris where its arrival has prompted protests over cabbies’ rights.

Steve McNamara, of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “We want to create the maximum publicity for the minimum disruption and have deliberately avoided two days next week when the Queen is hosting garden parties. We have nothing against competition but we feel that Transport for London has failed Londoners.”

The LTDA is also pursuing private prosecutions against six individual Uber drivers.

Jo Bertram, Uber general manager for UK and Ireland, said: “We fully understand that this action will cause a huge economic impact to London and we will send a message to our drivers in advance to encourage them onto the road. As we did during the Tube strike, we are able to make sure that there is the most efficient use of cars on the road by price-splitting (sharing a cab with other Uber subscribers nearby). We are very confident of the outcome of the High Court case.”

In a rare show of unity with the black cabs, London’s 3,000 private hire firms also object to Uber although they are not taking part in Wednesday's blockade.

Private hire vehicles are not permitted to tout for trade but they must employ a controller working out of a licensed office.

Uber customers book their driver direct through the web although TfL has insisted that they comply with the rules as the company “has a base within the territory”.

Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “The process for securing a High Court ruling on the issue of taximeters is now underway. We hope that London’s taxi drivers and private hire drivers and operators recognise that this is the sensible approach and will work with us. We welcome developments that make life easier for passengers. As in many other areas of transport and retail services apps can offer passengers the potential of better and more convenient services, but their use must be legal and on the issue of taximeters the law is unclear. We have taken a provisional view, and a binding High Court ruling will bring clarity on this issue for all parties.”

London has 25,500 black cab drivers - those who have passed the “knowledge” exam - and a further 66,000 private hire drivers working for 3,000 private hire firms.

The London Assembly today announced an investigation into the London cab industry. The transport committee will report in the autumn.

Chair of the Transport Committee Caroline Pidgeon said: “New technologies have the potential to improve passenger services but also present a challenge to the existing regulation of London’s Taxi and Private Hire trades.

”Our investigation will focus on how both sectors can improve on all aspects of passenger service, including the vital issue of safety. We will want to see how the Mayor and Transport for London are responding to this changing environment and how they can improve their regulation of and services to the industries.”

source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transpor ... 10179.html

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

LTDA fekking tossers " we have deliberately avoided 2 days when the Queen is having garden partys" hes a complete parasite so hes mob ffs

When the teutonic slut is having a grovel session thats exactly the time to shut the gaff down

UBER is good for your average PH Driver ....................he can NOW AVOID BEING LIED TOO SWINDLED CHEATED ABUSED BY THE AVERAGE PH PROPRETOR 90% OF WHOM ARE FEKKING SCUM


CAROLINE PIGEON ....................AINT TOO BAD DEFO BETTER THAN THE TORY VERMIN

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All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

LTDA fekking tossers " we have deliberately avoided 2 days when the Queen is having garden partys" hes a complete parasite so hes mob ffs

When the teutonic slut is havinfg a grovel session thats exactly the time to shut the gaff down

UBER is good for your average PH Driver ....................he can NOW AVOID BEING LIED TOO SWINDLED CHEATED ABUSED BY THE AVERAGE PH PROPRETOR 90% OF WHOM ARE FEKKING SCUM


CAROLINE PIGEON ....................AINT TOO BAD DEFO BETTER THAN THE TORY VERMIN

iIGNORE REPORTS OF THE GMB BEING AGAINST UBER THEIR BRANCH HAS NOT DISCUSSED IT YET REPORTEDLY.....................NO DOUBT THE BRANCH PRESIDENT A PROPRIETOR IS HAVING FITS ABOUT IT.......................

_________________
All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

The demo has little to do with the American tax avoiders, it's to do with TFLs incompetence in licensing organisations who don't meet the requirements of the licensing regimes. Uber just happens to be the company involved, it could have been many.

Terry, if your happy to watch the yanks siphon off even more money to other countries, I suspect you'll be against the majority if your own union, and what's great for driver on uber when they do rock bottom fares and uber take 20%?

Perhaps if other licensing areas had more demos, action and viable representative bodies, many wouldn't be in the c.rap state I keep reading about on here.

Legally why shouldn't TfL license Uber?

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IDFIMH

Because they don't currently meet the conditions set down in the London PH act.

Even TFL seem now to doubt this.

It's quite simple really, set up a licensed centre that dispatches jobs, give prices like 65000 other minicabs do, stop using a device / meter to calculate fares.

Paying taxes in the uk could be a bonus too . . .

QCs are if the opinion they're not complying, I suspect they know the interpretations if the ph act.

No point in reasoning with that belmer GBC.

But part of the Judicial look at is to see how they can, if indeed they are not, act within the act.

Not sure costs will be an issue, so not convinced exactly what the taxi trade are fighting for.

I understand why the cab trade have the hump, and well done for fighting the fight, but I'm not sure exactly they know what they are doing.

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IDFIMH

It's about the total incompetence of TFL from uber through to license renewals.

It's the press that's turned it into an Uber thing. Frankly I couldn't care about yet another Ph firm fighting it out with AddisonnLee over minicab punters and drivers, it's the fact TFL refuse to uphold the rules on this and dozens of other breaches of licensing conditions that go on daily.

It made the main news, that'll do me.

See you on the other side if the sec 14 doesn't get me

I've just has a copy of the LPHCA press release about the matter which they are also supporting the protest and legal action.

LPHCA PRESS NOTICE Issued Tue 10/06/2014
MINICAB, CHAUFFEUR & EXECUTIVE OPERATORS ASSOCIATION BACKS TAXI DEMO
The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) has issued the following press notice.
The LPHCA fully supports the London Taxi Industry's protest on Wednesday 11th June against Transport for London’s (TfL’s) failure to enforce Taxi & Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) regulations against Uber and similar apps operating in London.
The LPHCA agrees with the LTDA that Uber vehicles are equipped with taxi metering devices in breach of the law and also shares the LTDA's wider concerns about Uber's business.
The private hire regulations require that private hire operators deal with passengers through a licensed entity and that journey bookings are accepted at a licensed operating centre. Those rules are designed to protect public safety and all mini-cab, chauffeur & executive companies must comply with them.
The LPHCA believes that Uber is breaking the law because:
•Uber is engaging with passengers through an unlicensed Dutch entity Uber B.V. (for the purpose we believe of minimising its tax liability in the UK)
•Uber journey bookings are being accepted by drivers in their vehicles and not at a licensed operating centre
The LPHCA is a party to the legal proceedings commenced by TFL and will raise all these issues in those proceedings.
The LPHCA also has evidence of Drivers engaged by ‘Uber’, using vehicles for transporting the travelling public without appropriate insurance or the consent of the vehicle owners.
Steve Wright MBE (Chairman of the LPHCA) says “London’s Taxi, Minicab, Chauffeur & Executive Industries have the reputation for being the best ‘fully regulated’ service providers in the world.
All operators, no matter how big or small, must comply with the regulations, which are designed to protect public safety. Uber has a reputation for ignoring regulation elsewhere in the world and they must not be allowed to do the same here.”
END
Steve Wright campaigned for the licensing of Minicabs in London for 25 years. The safety group the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, entered the campaign in the early 90’s and London joined the rest of the UK by introducing licensing for all PHV's (Minicabs, Chauffeur & Executive) from 1998.

I just heard 12,000 minicab drivers will be joining the event - sadly they wont be using sat nav and congestion is expected in Bristol

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I would be amazed if TfL didn't take legal advice in respect of Uber's activities, and as they are happy with the status quo I'm guessing that advice said Uber were not acting outside of the law.

Therefore I'm not sure what TfL have done wrong.

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IDFIMH

I suspect TfL and their legal eagles are just s baffled as the rest of us and it will take a high court case to set the law on this one.

Maybe we should have a demo at Leeds Castle, see how many London minicabs head up the M1!

Oh ye of little faith.

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Grandad,