London Taxi Driver Dean Richardson returns for his 7th Professional fight

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London taxi driver, Dean Richardson, returns to the ring at York Hall, Bethnal Green for his seventh pro fight.

Having won his first five fights by way of knockout, he was taken the distance for the first time in his last outing where he won by unanimous decision against Jan Balog.

Richardson’s next fight, which is on 19th May, will be a step up as he is scheduled to fight in his first 8-round bout.  Due to the early stoppages, he has only gone a maximum of four rounds, despite one bout being scheduled for six.

Winning this bout will take Dean another step closer to a fight for the Southern Area Light-Middleweight Title, which he hopes will be within his next two fights.

Tickets are priced at £40 Unreserved Seating, £65 Ringside and £100 VIP and are available on 07702 887088 or if you wish to pay by credit/debit card, please go to bit.ly/IBT-DRichardson

2018 – Classic Truck and Commercial Vehicle shows for your diary

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As we enter 2018 it is time to open up your new diaries and book some important dates for the year’s Classic Truck and Van shows.

Classic Truck shows are a great way to buy parts that you have been unable to get hold of, admire other people’s restorations, share stories and have a good time.

Further details for all of these shows can be found online and we always recommend giving the organisers a call as the details may change from time of going to press.

 

Classic and Commercial Vintage Show

Date: 9th June and 10th June 2018

Location:

British Motor Museum

Gaydon

Warwickshire

CV3J 0BJ

Details: Two day event featuring over 400 vehicles, pre commercial, majority being pre 1990. Large Autojumble selling spares, photos, models etc.

 

Cornwall Truck Show

Date: 21st and 22nd July 2018

Location: Stithian’s Showground

Stithians

Truro

Cornwall

TR3 7DP

Details: Large number of HGV Vehicles including; Old, New Custom, Vintage and Show Trucks.

There are also a number of trade stands and evening entertainment.

 

Classic Van and Pick-Up Show

Date: 5th August 2018 10:00 to 16:00

Location:

British Motor Museum

Gaydon

Warwickshire

CV3J 0BJ

Details: Been running for 4 years with a wide range of light commercial vehicles including; Pick-up trucks, Vans, Police Cars, Vintage Vans and more.

 

Barnard Castle Truck Show

Date: 4th and 5th August 2018

Location:

Streatlam Farm

Barnard Castle

County Durham

DL12 8TZ

Details: Event Includes; Vintege Trucks, Auto Jumble, Camping, Commercial Stands, Show trucks and more.

Dean Richardson Hears the Final Bell for the First Time in Career

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London taxi driver, Dean Richardson, 22, was taken the full four-rounds by notoriously tough Jan Balog at York Hall, Bethnal Green on 16th February, where the South Ruislip boxer won by a score of 40-36. He now has a record of 6 fights with 6 wins, 5 of which coming by way of knockout.

Dean was in control for the whole contest over his Czech opponent and upped the pace in the final round, landing punishing body shots, to secure the win.

Also on the card, Light-heavyweight amateur world champion Willy Hutchinson got his 3rd win as a professional with a 6 rounder decision win and Olympic silver medallist Joe Joyce scored a first-round knockout to improve his record to 2-0 with 2 knockouts on the show which was promoted by David Haye’s Hayemaker Promotions.

Richardson is looking at boxing again on May 19th with further information to come.

Dean Richardson 6th fight to be at York Hall 16th February

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London taxi Driver, Dean Richardson, is returning to the ring on Friday16th February at York Hall, Bethnal Green. This will be 22 year old Richardson’s 6th professional contest which will be on a show promoted by David Haye’s Hayemaker Promotions.

He faces the highly experienced Kevin McCauley who beat the home fighter Jamie Carley on the same show as Richardson’s last outing at Wembley arena last October.

Aiming for another win, Dean is undefeated in all 5 of his professional fights with all victories coming by way of knockout and is working his way towards a shot at the Southern Area light-middleweight title.

If you’d like to support Richardson, tickets are priced at £40 for Unreserved Seating, £70 Ringside Seating and £150 for VIP (Ringside table with table service food and drink) and available via 07702 887088 or iboxingtickets.com.  Doors open at 5pm with boxing commencing at 6pm.

Hybrid Black Cabs

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New plans revealed by the new Mayor of London state that the Capital will be cutting down on the toxic smog in the City and the owner of the London Taxi Company confirms they have raised $400 million to fund a project that will electrify is ever growing fleet of black cabs.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company managed to raise the funds through a green bond sale. The secured funds will finance the development of the hybrid TX5 which will be a battery powered version of the classic 1958 FX4. The new model was unveiled in October by the Chinese President XI Jinping on a state visit to the UK.

Geely has now moved into their new factory in Coventry, England and have been working on the final prototype of the TX5. The factory is expected to produce 36,000 electric cabs’ a year which exceeds the current figure of 23,000 general cabs. The new model is set for commercial sale in the fourth quarter of 2017 which is in time for the zero-emission cap that will begin in January 2018.

Classic 1958 FX4

Classic 1958 FX4

Pre-booked Taxis and Private Hire PCO Licencing

Pre-booked Taxis and Private Hire PCO Licencing

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Pre-booked Taxis and Private Hire PCO Licencing

Over the last few weeks we have taken a number of calls asking about Licensing restrictions, particularly whether London Green Badge holders can pick up pre-booked fares outside London.

We have sought clarification from TFL and one of the Policy Officers has sent us the following Licence limitations:

Taxis

Taxis are permitted to accept pre-bookings, and can do so by taking bookings directly; through a taxi radio circuit or app; or through a private hire vehicle operator.

Taxi drivers are able to accept a pre-booked journey that starts or finishes outside of London, though if the journey is accepted by a Suburban (yellow badge) driver they must be in the sector (s) they are licensed for, when accepting the booking.

Private Hire Vehicles (PHV’s)

There are no constraints on where private hire journeys can start and / or finish and PHVs are free to undertake journeys anywhere in England and Wales provided :-

  • The vehicle, driver and operator are licensed by the same licensing authority
  • The booking is accepted by the operator at their specified operating centre within that authority

The above is commonly referred to as the ‘triple licensing requirement

Undefeated Dean Richardson, The Boxing Cabbie fights again on the 10th June

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Following the disappointment of having to pull out of his fight in March due to illness, London taxi driver turned professional boxer, Dean Richardson, steps into the ring for the fourth time at York Hall, Bethnal Green on Saturday 10th June.

The undefeated 21 year old, from South Ruislip, turned pro in November 2015 and has won all his fights by KO.  His last fight was in November last year when he fought on the undercard of George Groves vs Eduard Gutknecht at Wembley Arena.

If you would like to go along to York Hall and support Dean, tickets are available on 07512 542168 and are priced at £35 (Unreserved Seating), £65 (Ringside) and £100 (VIP which includes a free bar and food from 5-7pm).

 

Equal treatment for disabled taxi users

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A change in the law now means that it is illegal for taxi drivers to discriminate against wheelchair users.

As of the 6th April 2017, taxi drivers will face a fine of up to £1,000 in the event they refuse to transport wheelchair users or if they attempt to charge the passengers any extra for the same.

By law taxi and private hire vehicle drivers will be obliged to;

  • Transport wheelchair users in their wheelchair
  • Provide wheelchair passengers with appropriate assistance
  • Charge wheelchair users the same as non-wheelchair users

Transport Minister Andrew Jones commented:

“We are building a country that works for everyone, and part of that is ensuring disabled people have the same access to services and opportunities as anyone else – including when it comes to travel. People who use wheelchairs are often heavily reliant on taxis and private hire vehicles and this change to the law will mean fair and equal treatment for all”

The law changes apply to England, Wales and Scotland and will affect vehicles that are wheelchair accessible.

Not only will drivers be faced with the fine of up to £1,000, they could also face having their taxi or Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) license suspended or revoked by the licencing authority. Drivers that are unable to provide assistance for medical reasons will be able to apply for an exemption from the new law.

Robert Meadowcroft, Chief Executive of Muscular Dystrophy UK, said:

“Today’s change in legislation is positive news, as we know that disabled people often have to rely on taxis where accessible public transport isn’t an option.

Taxi drivers can provide a vital service in getting wheelchair users from A to B so they are able to maintain their livelihoods and play an active part in society. Today creates a level playing field for both drivers and passengers.

The law now makes clear the rights for wheelchair users and the responsibilities of taxi drivers, including the penalties that will occur if they aren’t observed. Wheelchair users are frequent customers of taxi services, so instead of being apprehensive of these new rules, taxi companies should promote their accessibility credentials.”

MyTaxi to take on Uber as they merge with Hailo

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The taxi-hailing app Hailo has launched today as MyTaxi and it is forecasted to give Uber some stiff competition.

Daimler took over Hailo back in July of last year and oversaw the merge of the app with its MyTaxi subsidiary which has formed Europe’s largest taxi app.

Hailo’s chief executive Andrew Pinnington feels that the German car company will build up its credentials against their rival Uber.

He also went on to say that MyTaxi is a new brand to London however it is currently the market leader is over half of the countries it operates in.

The new app has incorporated the features of Hailo along with some added additions. One of the additions will allow customers the option to save a favourite driver in order to make it more likely for them to be allocated on their next journey.

For all customers that hold a Hailo account, they will be redirected to download the MyTaxi app from the download store which will automatically log them in without the need to register or sign in.

Around 17,000 of Hailo’s London cabbies have signed up for MyTaxi along with a further 700 joining the app.

Uber has not received the warmest of welcomes by London Cabbies since they launched in the capital back in 2012. Many protests have been held over the company’s operation however with little effect to the running and success of Uber.

That being said TFL has been setting out plans to have a shakeup of the private hire industry in order to boost standards across the board.

Uber has recently lost a legal claim against TFL for their plans to introduce a written English language test for all private hire drivers. Uber claim that the plans will result in “tens of thousands  of drivers” losing their livelihoods.

London’s new black cabs being secretly tested

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The brand new iconic taxi is currently being secretly tested out in the Arctic Circle.

The vehicles being tested have a black and white camouflage at this stage so that competitors cannot take accurate photos as it hides the contours, however the cab will still be the traditional shape and colour.

One noticeable feature is the fact that it is ‘virtually silent’

The new cab is almost zero-emission as it has an electric engine however it sports a small petrol engine which charges the battery in order to help extend its range.

So why the Article circle? The main reason for this is that the manufacturer tests all new vehicles in extreme temperatures to see how they perform and also the target audience for sales will be polluted cities all over the world, including Moscow which can be a little on the cold side in the winter.

All black cabs currently have diesel engines which has been classed the new ‘villain’ in the war on air pollution within the capital.

Figures from TFL (2013) – estimate that black cabs are responsible for 15% of poisonous gases called nitrogen oxides produced by traffic in Central London.

It’s is also noted that they generate a high percentage of more harmful, larger particles such as PM10’S and PM2.5s.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is on a mission to reduce the pollution in the City and states that by 2018 every newly licensed taxi MUST be “zero-emissions capable”

This would mean that a vehicle would need to travel 30 miles without generating any air pollution, which is a goal that can be met by the new cabs.

With the introduction of these vehicles, plans have been put in place for 150 rapid charging points by 2018, with the aim to increase it to 300 by 2020.

The new cabs will come with a price tag of over £40,000 per vehicle.