Taxi Driver Online

Oh, this is interesting - Veezu getting together with Uber and Bolt

And it seems Veezu is a 'ride-hailing app' now. So just about every operation of any size in the country must be a ride-hailing app. Which is what I've been saying for years now - if ABC Cars starts taking app bookings, does that make it a ride-hailing firm?

Well, according to the terminology used here, they would be...

But I wonder why Delta haven't come to the party?


Uber and Bolt warn of 15% fare increase from ‘taxi tax’ plan

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar ... -p23m3tpl3

The firms have asked Rachel Reeves not to impose VAT on private hire journeys, saying it would hit vulnerable passengers and put women’s safety at risk

The cost of Uber and other cab services could increase by more than 15 per cent if the chancellor pushes ahead with plans for a “taxi tax”.

The Treasury is mulling whether to levy 20 per cent VAT on all private hire vehicle journeys in the budget on November 26.

Executives at Uber, Bolt and Veezu — the three biggest ride-hailing apps in the UK — have written to Rachel Reeves urging her not to impose the tax. The industry claims this would represent a five-fold increase in tax.

Private hire operators do not pay VAT as the individual drivers are classed as independent, self-employed contractors and do not meet the required earnings threshold of £90,000 a year.

However, in a legal battle involving Uber, the High Court ruled that taxi firms, rather than drivers, held the contracts with passengers. This would mean that the taxi company, or app-based booking platform, would be liable for VAT.

In the letter to Reeves, which was sent last week, the bosses of the three companies write: “We are united in urging you not to impose an inflationary VAT increase that would hit vulnerable passengers by driving up the cost of fares for transport services which are an essential lifeline.”

The companies have argued that the tax should only be applied to a business’s cut of fares, which is between 15 per cent and 25 per cent, while HM Revenue & Customs has previously argued it should be the entire fare.

https://d9pqr17z0xv7rw.archive.is/DDup4 ... f9ced.webp
Image: Alamy/The Times/Archive.is

Most black cab journeys are not subject to VAT because the drivers are self-employed and remain under the VAT threshold. The ride-hailing apps are considered booking platforms and have revenues that vastly exceed it.

The letter from the platform executives said: “Fares would rise dramatically to cover the cost of a VAT hike. The impacts of this would be felt acutely by those who rely on minicabs and private hire vehicles in their daily lives.

“People with mobility issues and the elderly will become more isolated from their communities and find it harder to get to the shops and essential appointments, as they struggle with rising costs. Women’s groups, such as the Survivors Trust, have sounded the alarm too, warning the taxi tax would cause more people, especially women, to take risks with their safety.”

https://d9pqr17z0xv7rw.archive.is/DDup4 ... b89d3.webp
Image: Alamy/The Times/Archive.is

The letter was signed by Andrew Brem, the UK general manager at Uber; Kimberly Hurd, the UK senior general manager of Bolt; and Nathan Bowles, the chief executive of Veezu.

HMRC launched a consultation on the issue in the summer last year and has said it will respond at the budget. The Treasury said: “We are reviewing feedback from our recent consultation and will publish our detailed response shortly.”

HMRC has stopped collecting VAT from Uber after Bolt won a legal victory against the tax authority in March. However, the chancellor could still use her budget to levy the tax on private hire journeys.

The ride-hailing app bosses argue that a taxi tax would have a “significant and long-lasting impact” on local economies “reducing footfall to hospitality and retail businesses and seriously impacting the night-time economy, all of whom are already struggling”.

They wrote: “We urge you to keep your party’s manifesto promise and resolve this issue by confirming you will not impose VAT on passenger fares, in order to protect the drivers that rely on the industry for their livelihoods and to prevent unaffordable fare hikes for passengers.”

Of course, the big question here is why are Uber getting together with Veezu, if Uber is paying VAT and Veezu isn't, correct me if I'm wrong? You'd think Uber would be in favour of the rest of them paying VAT to level the playing field

Well it's presumably because because Uber want to revert to paying VAT only on the commission element of the fares, as the legacy trade does at present.


So I suppose it all means that Uber does want to level the playing field, but by being treated the same as the rest of them. Or something like that

I spy a Brighton & Hove PHV in the top photo (you can just make out the council logo on the bottom half of the rear door sticker) - confirmed by the wee roof light.

The second photo is Edinburgh - I'd know those door stickers anywhere

And also the sticker rather than a conventional plate

https://c7.alamy.com/comp/PEKCM3/uber-t ... PEKCM3.jpg

Love the caption for that one - "Uber taxi cab minicab on a UK street"

Stuart please tell me your hobby isn't collecting PHV door stickers

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

Folks don't pay tax in Merseyside.

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IDFIMH

This is only the case under the 1998 Act (London), and doesn't apply to those licensed under the 1976 Act (England and Wales).

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IDFIMH

We don't have door stickers locally, so the only ones I see regularly are the Edinburgh ones - and, oddly, more often than Dundee's, which are very distinctive because they have the council logo on it, and also probably the most vacuous council PR slogan in history - 'CHANGING FOR THE FUTURE'

I mean, imagine having that on the doors of your shiny new motor

In fact I quite liked the original logo, but the council totally ruined it with that daft slogan. It was a lot better without it



(And the huge white border round that reminds me of a certain someone's posts on here )

Come to think of it, it's a while since I've noticed one on a Dundee PHC, and for some reason just can't find an image online showing one - maybe they're not quite as prominent and ugly as they used to be, or maybe it's just one of those things you stop noticing over 20 years or more.

The only other one I think I'd recognise offhand is the Glasgow PH sticker, because of how often I've seen it used in press articles etc, and maybe see the odd one here in NE Fife (but not nearly so often as Edinburgh's) - it's reasonably distinctive, even from a distance, and the Glasgow City Council lettering is reasonably prominent:


Hi-res version:
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/resource ... s/12688314

I also vaguely recognised the Edinburgh landscape from the photo - that's the corner of Princes Street where Lothian Road starts, and you can see the Caledonian Hotel to the left, where there's a wee HC rank, and the HCs are visible in Google StreetView

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lothi ... FQAw%3D%3D

In fact you can just about see that same Edinburgh door sticker on the maroon PHC waiting at the junction there, confirmed by zooming in a bit:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lothi ... FQAw%3D%3D

Oh, aye, Edders, also meant to say that I'd know that Brighton & Hove Council logo anywhere




And although it's not that clear on the photo of the PHV, it's easy enough to google the name of the shopping centre - Imperial Arcade - to confirm it's in Brighton

Click on the link below and it's possible to click on the photo there for a slightly higher-res version showing the PHV, and it's just about possible to read the lettering 'Brighton & Hove City Council', or at least it's obvious enough to confirm that it is B&H:

https://www.alamy.com/man-takes-uber-ta ... 56655.html


Also came across this one, which is a tad odd, and I'd certainly not know that sticker or logo if it wasn't easy enough to read in the photo.

But it's a Portsmouth-plated PHV parked on a loading area outside the B&H City Cabs office. And it's got an Uber sticker on it

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-an-ub ... 47439.html


Had a nosey on Streetview as well, and it's amazing what you see on there. And I thought Dundee was dodgy and downmarket

https://www.google.com/maps/place/63+Qu ... FQAw%3D%3D

I thought it was supposed to be a representation of the Brighton pavilion but am not an anorak researcher



on the 3 occasions I have driven in Brighton it never ceased to amaze me the amount of graffiti about

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

It's world famous for it.

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IDFIMH

Er, I think it's called 'street art'

Or, at least, it's 'street art' if it's at someone else's door, but if it's at the door of someone living in Brighton Kemptown (say) then it's probably graffiti - it's OK if it's someone else's problem. Or if it's a Banksy, and it's worth tens of thousands

Not that I know much about Brighton Kemptown, but was just reading this on the Speccie website by teenage punk turned 66-year-old right wing journalist and commentator Julie Burchill, with the line:

"I don’t know if you’re familiar with Brighton Kemptown, but you’ve never seen a neighbourhood so chocka with poodle-grooming parlours and vegan cafes."

But the piece is about the posho former Brighton Kemptown MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, and it seems to be trending on the Speccie's website, although the article is nearly 18-months old now

But I suspect the reason it's trending today is because Russel-Moyle has just announced he's defected to the Green Party - who'd have expected that?

Anyway, this is the piece, if anyone's interested. In fact I may have posted it on here previously, but can't be bothered looking back:


The glorious downfall of Lloyd Russell-Moyle

https://archive.is/R3ER5

from memory I seem to remember lots of "tagging" but nothing that looked like an actual artwork

As for doorsigns the majority have a coat of arms or some sort of squigle symbol which unless you're local are not easy to recognise. I saw one last tuesday and had to walk almost right up to the car to work out what council it was (South Cambridgeshire).

and in 3 days time we'll actually be able to return this thread to topic !

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

The Chancellor has just announced the Uber etc coach tour tax exemption is being removed.

So the likes of Uber will be paying VAT on the full amount of the fare, not just their profit margin.

I’m guessing that will apply to all operators that charge direct, but pretty sure it won’t apply to one man bands.

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IDFIMH

it sounds great in principle but can it be made to work in practice.

How do you prove someone working off Uber or Bolt are not the same as a black cab driver simply paying for the provision of fares as a cost to their business ?

I can see this being the next big court case

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