From March 1st 2013 the new taxi inspection regime comes into force. The new taxi licensing regime will require all vehicle owners to ensure their vehicles have passed two standard (class 4) MOT’s per year. You will be required to have an MOT which will be no more than 14 days old at the time of licensing. The only exception will be for new taxi vehicles which are exempt from the requirement to carry out an MOT for the first 12 months from the date of first registration. A new taxi inspection manual has been published and can be obtained from TfL.
NSL INSPECTION CENTRES
Heston: 20A Airlinks Industrial Estate, Spitfire Way, Heston TW5 9NR
Enfield: Unit 2, Watermill Centre, Edison Road, Enfield EN3 7XF
Crayford: Unit 01, Acorn Business Park, Crayford, Kent DA1 4AL
Coulsdon: Unit B5 Redlands, Ullswater Crescent, Coulsdon, CR5 2HT
Canning Town: 1 North Crescent, Canning Town, E16 4TL
Staples Corner: Unit 2 Aquarius, Staples Corner, Priestly Way, NW2 7AN
For further information contact TfL
Courtesy of TaxiCabnews
Passenger rule number one is always tip your cab driver
/in Taxi NewsOne unfortunate San Francisco passenger learned that rule the hard way after a fateful decision not to tip the driver landed him in the hospital.
The victim hailed in a cab and headed to the Ashbury Heights neighbourhood of San Francisco. When the cab arrived at the destination, the passenger paid the driver, but asked for all of his change back, meaning there would be no tip. Unsurprisingly, according to the San Francisco Police Department this led to an argument because zero dollars is well below the industry standard of 15 to 20 per cent. The passenger got out of the cab and started walking away however the driver gave chase on foot and allegedly began strangling the victim. After allegedly assaulting and robbing the passenger, the driver got back in his cab and drove off. The victim was taken hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. He told police that he didn’t catch what cab company the taxi belonged to, but he believed the cab was white with red lettering and described the driver as white, balding man in his wearing a polo shirt and jeans.
Taxicabnews
Terrorist ‘escapes’ in London Taxi
/in Taxi NewsMPS counter terrorism detectives are continuing to appeal to cab drivers for help in tracing a 28-year-old man believed to have absconded from a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures notice. It is believed that Ibrahim Magag may have used a London taxi in the vicinity of Osnaburgh Street and Triton Street, NW1, at around 17:20 hours on Wednesday 26th December. On Wednesday 2nd January officers spoke with cab drivers at King Cross and Euston Railway Stations in an attempt to identify the driver.
The taxi is described as a classic shaped London taxi, which had its fog lights on. Police were alerted on the evening of Wednesday 26th December when Ibrahim Magag failed to meet his overnight residence condition. The Counter Terrorism Command immediately launched inquiries to trace the man. Ibrahim Magag is not considered at this time to represent a direct threat to the British public. Public safety remains our priority. At the request of the police an anonymity order imposed by a court was lifted on Monday 31st December to allow a public appeal. Ibrahim Magag is described as a black man of Somali origin, 6ft 2ins tall, of slim to medium build, with a beard, although it is possible that he may try to change his appearance. The last possible sighting of Ibrahim Magag was in the Camden area at 17:20hrs on Wednesday 26th December. He was wearing a khaki robe, a black Berghaus windcheater and navy Converse trainers.
The most honest cab driver in America
/in Taxi NewsA Las Vegas cabbie is being called the most honest man in America after turning in a brief case he found full of money in his taxi. The man who has been a cab driver for seven years found a black laptop case on the back seat of his cab. He said: “I opened the case, I looked in the case and it was money. I was surprised, so I immediately went to the cab office.” He turned the case and money in to the cab company owner’s lost-and-found department – all $221,510.
An hour after the driver turned in the cash he got a big thank you hug from the owner – and a reward of $2,000. The owner of the cash reportedly won the money at the Wynn casino but left it in the cab on the way to the airport. When he realized he had forgotten the money, he called the cab company, which informed him they had his money
London Cab drivers still the best
/in Taxi NewsNew York taxis are world’s 2nd best, but London ranked number 1 according to a ‘Hotels.com’ survey.
In the recent Hotels.com survey New York City was given a No. 2 ranking among the world’s best taxis. 1,600 participants were polled across 28 countries and London taxis were found to be the best of the best, with the top five filled out by New York (2), Tokyo (3), Shanghai (4) and Bangkok (5). Of the seven categories people voted on, NYC did beat all others for Best Availability. London, however, took top honors for Cleanliness, Knowledge of the Area and Friendliness. American participants were also questioned about the most unusual item they had left in a cab. Responses included a blowup doll
New Taxi Inspection Centres Adresses
/in Taxi NewsFrom March 1st 2013 the new taxi inspection regime comes into force. The new taxi licensing regime will require all vehicle owners to ensure their vehicles have passed two standard (class 4) MOT’s per year. You will be required to have an MOT which will be no more than 14 days old at the time of licensing. The only exception will be for new taxi vehicles which are exempt from the requirement to carry out an MOT for the first 12 months from the date of first registration. A new taxi inspection manual has been published and can be obtained from TfL.
NSL INSPECTION CENTRES
Heston: 20A Airlinks Industrial Estate, Spitfire Way, Heston TW5 9NR
Enfield: Unit 2, Watermill Centre, Edison Road, Enfield EN3 7XF
Crayford: Unit 01, Acorn Business Park, Crayford, Kent DA1 4AL
Coulsdon: Unit B5 Redlands, Ullswater Crescent, Coulsdon, CR5 2HT
Canning Town: 1 North Crescent, Canning Town, E16 4TL
Staples Corner: Unit 2 Aquarius, Staples Corner, Priestly Way, NW2 7AN
For further information contact TfL
Courtesy of TaxiCabnews
Unlicensed touting Minicab driver jailed
/in Taxi NewsA touting minicab driver has been jailed for raping a woman he picked up from a west end street. Mohamed Hacene-Chaouch, aged 46 from Catford, was sentenced to seven years and three months imprisonment at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of rape.
The judge also issued him with a sexual offences prevention order which prevents Hacene-Chaouch from working as a private hire or taxi driver for hire or reward; he must also sign the sex offenders register for life. He picked up his 24-year-old victim in the early hours of 27 January 2013. She had been enjoying a night out with friends in Soho, but became separated from her friends at just after midnight and hailed a minicab in Charing Cross Road.
Hacene-Chaouch, an unlicenced minicab driver who was touting that night, picked her up. After she withdrew cash to pay for her journey, she drifted in and out of sleep in the car. When the car arrived at her home address in Hackney, the woman woke up to discover she was being sexually assaulted by Hacene-Chaouch. She managed to get out the car and go home where she later told her friend. Police were contacted the following day and statements taken from the victim.
Police officers used CCTV footage from the petrol station near Shoreditch, where the victim stopped to withdraw money out of ATM, to trace the car. The footage showed the registration number of Hacene-Chaouch’s car, which police traced, leading to his arrest and subsequent charge.
Law Commission Consultation publishing date extended
/in Taxi NewsThe LAW COMMISSION CONSULTATION ON TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE SERVICES consultation closed on 10 September 2012; earlier this year the Law Commission published an interim statement and the project had a deadline of December 2013. This deadline has now been extended for what is said to be administrative reasons and the report, together with the draft Bill, will now not be published until the end of April 2014.
TaxiCabNews
Transgender Taxi driver one step closer to Mars voyage
/in General News, Taxi NewsA transgender taxi driver from Hull is one step closer to relocating on Mars, after being shortlisted for a reality TV programme which will chart the preparations for a permanent move to space.
Melissa Ede made it through to the final 705 candidates for the Mars One project, which plans to build the first human colony on Mars in 11 in years time. More than 200,000 from about 140 countries applied. The winners will get seven years of specialist training which will be filmed for a reality show by the makers of Big Brother. Transgender Melissa (pictured centre) says she would use the experience to promote diversity.
Founders’ Day Charity Luncheon
/in Taxi NewsOn 21st June, in the magnificent surroundings of Trinity House, Trinity Square, The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers held their Founders’ Day celebration lunch. Master of WCHCD, Brenda Bartlett, together with her Wardens greeted guests to this superb hall, to enjoy a champagne reception before the lunch. The principal guest and speaker was Camila Batmangheldijh, CBE founder and director of Kids Company and an advocate for vulnerable children.
Camila is an inspirational charity leader who spoke of the work her charity carries out and the difficulties faced by those using the service. The Founders’ Day is celebrated to commemorate the original Fellowship of the WCHCD, set up in 1654, but then disbanded by Oliver Cromwell three years later. However, by an act of Parliament in 1694 the first Hackney Carriages were licensed, so now the taxi trade celebrates 319 years of continuous licensing. The WCHCD have combined this celebration with the opportunity to raise funds for their Charitable Trust during the past few years.
This fund helps support those drivers who face financial difficulties due to long term illness or their families at a time of bereavement. It was with delight that Master Brenda Bartlett announced at the lunch that The Company had been granted a Royal Charter. Since the Middle Ages, tradesmen who have acted as suppliers of goods and services to the Sovereign have received formal recognition. In the beginning, this patronage took the form of Royal Charters given collectively to various guilds in trades and crafts which later became known as livery companies.
Brenda said: “This is the last of my official lunches for the WCHCD as in September our new Master Elect, Graham Woodhouse, will be installed. It is therefore with great pleasure that I am able to announce that the Privy Council has informed our Company that we are to be granted a Royal Charter by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.” The news was greeted with delight by all those present, particularly the Liverymen and Freemen of the Company. The Founders’ Day celebration lunch was sponsored by Proximo Ltd and Com Cab, for which the WCHCD is grateful.
Taxicabnews
Taxis as Ambulances
/in Taxi NewsOwner of Allied Vehicles and Cab Direct, Gerry Facenna is campaigning for a £1 million scheme to use taxis as ambulances in a bid to cut high death rates among Scottish heart-attack victims. Gerry Facenna wants to equip 1000 Scottish cabs serving the Glasgow and Edinburgh areas with defibrillators.
Glasgow is home to the factory which produces the E7 taxis, amongst many other vehicles. Gerry has reportedly approached Health Secretary Alex Neil and a meeting has been organised with the Scottish Ambulance Service. He said: “I believe we can save thousands of lives with this initiative. I got a real warm reception from Alex Neil on it. Scottish Ambulance seemed pretty excited about it all. They’ve just got to put a whole proposal together because it’s going to cost around £1m to fund these defibrillators.
We’re prepared to put the Cardio Cabs name in the participating taxis and help them get the whole thing off the ground, and tie the taxi companies up with the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish Government.” Last year, a family friend, Craig Hodgkinson, 24, died of heart problems while playing rugby. Gerry Facenna consequently bought six defibrillators to install in his manufacturing facility where around 400 people work.