London UKIP Assembly Member David Kurten, has been listening to the London Taxi trades complaints on the way TfL has been dishing out Private Hire licenses like confetti.
Reports of TfL licensed #Uber vehicles operating all over Britain Abound.
"I have put several questions to the Mayor this month about private hire vehicles and cross-border hiring.
"This month's answers should be given by next Monday and published here: > https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/london-assembly/questions-mayor < "
Below is a list of the questions David has put to Mayor Khan.
In particular, Keith also asks what measures TfL will be putting in place to stop drivers licensed by TfL, solely working outside their licensed area.
His second question is in response to reports of drivers (whose council licences had been revoked due to criminal activities) subsequently found to be working in Southend and Liegh on Sea, using the Uber Platform and licensed by TfL as London Private Hire drivers.
His third question appertains to loop holes in the operators planning application regulation.
See Keith's questions below.
EXTRA COMMENT :
Whispers from Addison Lee, that the big American tech company has put pressure on TFL. Saying the English language tests are not fair on their drivers.
So TFL have suspended the requirements for six months!
As Steve Mc says, "you couldn't make this up...."
8 comments:
If that's as strong as the questioning gets to the Mayor,then we've got problems that will have to be resolved in other ways.
Look forward to this session of questions.
When those in the trade say the orgs are doing nothing, I know for a fact the phv diesel issue,as an example, only came to my attention via an org meeting.
Not by one driver on the street!
Potentially, if this one small victory was had,we could see good numbers of phv's leaving the streets.
Would love to see the joint taxi trades nationally forging links to put pressure on Tfl, utilising their separate licensing bodies for added pressure.
Here's hoping!
And they say we are behind the times lol
Most minicabs using hybrids like the Prius
Typical rubbish from the LTDA who are not out there on the street, so don't know what's going on
Minicab diesels are about as common as Khans wood burners
As for the London orgs joining a nation movement, that's the funniest thing I've heard for months
They want to go it alone, they don't even want to join together
Their bigger picture is "we want all the glory, we don't want to share the kudos"
You say most phv's are hybrids but look at the figures for zero emission models right across the board, Mercedes saloons, people carriers then all the other brands ?
It's not about prius's
As for where I heard the info, I can tell you where I didn't hear it.
Wasn't Ltda, gmb, rmt, unite or lcdc.
It was at a meeting where all attending were wearing their badges, with cabs parked up outside.
Is that "Cabbie" enough for you?
As for a national effort to put pressure on Tfl, if everyone just complained locally about cross border hiring , Tfl would feel no effect and would only have to consider, or not as the case may be, London licensees!
Too easy for them.
And if the techies destroy the trade what is there to glorify over?
Anyway, just a few thoughts as one driver.
What do others propose to rescue our way of earning a living?
I suspect, in answering, Khan will just read a prepared statement like a zombie, as usual, he rarely seems to look up from what he's reading, giving the impression he's reading for the first time something someone else has written.
The tortured cliché ridden nature of the language used, which resembles the equally badly written tautological notices in our cabs is a clue to the origin of his script writers.
Could we get the CVs of senior TFL staff published to reassure us all that we are actually regulated by people with relevant education, skills and experience?
One more question, how many compliance officers do you send accross the country to regulate tfl phv drivers and do you consider this to be on a pro rata basis in comparison to the London taxis
If they ban Phv diesels, it will mean the end for most of the old school Phv drivers, we all drive old oil burners, that's what they want, get rid of us, the local firms close down and uber / TFL win the war, I think we will all be gone in 2 years,
The financial clout of Uber (and its Corporate backers) indicates that Licensing Authorities are now virtually being controlled by Uber as any changes that they deem are necessary in the public interest will be challenged in Court by Uber. This threat means that the Licensing Authorities in London and around the world are not being left to carry out their duties without the threat of legal action. It’s arguable that they are now ineffectual in their statutory role.
It seems Uber policy is to intimidate Licensing Authorities into submission with this method and mayor Khan has already recently hinted that this is the case in London once Uber had been granted a licence. It’s a case of the tail wagging the dog.
It is not the business of local Licensing Authorities to keep running off to the Courts to defend what they see as their public duty as this can be beyond their financial resources in prolonged litigation, so just find it easier to give in and make no changes at all. They’re bureaucrats after all and not fighting for their own business. What kind of Authority is this when a predatory company seems to be in control?
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