Courtesy of Jamie Hawes we once more have news of alleged skulduggery and shady goings on at TFL.
Jamie had uncovered an advertising campaign giving £16 off the first journey in an Uber car. The advert is for Worldpay Benefits Club, who's CEO Ron Kalifa is on the TFL Board of Directors.
I'm no legal brain but this can't be right.
A board member of a transport regulator advertising his credit card payment company, offering discounts to customers who use a transport provider unfairly competing with us, that he's supposed to (in part) regulate himself.
Add the fact that the transport provider in question is Uber, and along with all the recent associated damaging press and media attention, I can't understand how this isn't unethical or illegal if not both.
Surely it's a breach of law, or at the very least a clear conflict of interest.
He can't make clear, impartial decisions regarding our industry without obvious favoritism towards Uber knowing Worldpay benefit from board decisions.
Their's also the moral issue surrounding the ad campaign.
In the ad picture a young lady is seen smiling in the back of a car. How many rape and sexual assault allegations have been made against Uber drivers worldwide?
How many accidents, assaults, attacks, abusive outbursts?
The list goes on, yet a newly appointed member of the Transport for London Board of Directors is happy to advocate the use of this dreadful company in order to grow his business knowing the dangers attributed to it.
I wonder if Khan knows?
I wonder if Khan cares?
It's also been pointed out that TfL's Managing Director for surface transport, Leon Daniels, is a regular user of Uber
Jamie also discovered Kalifa apparently sold 1,858,000 Worldpay shares valued at a peak of £2.87p per share on the 17/10/2016 amounting to £5.4m, two weeks before mandatory acceptance.
Once again I'm no legal brain but it seems strange to me, then again it could all be completely legal and common practice but the two together puts me on edge.
It makes me wonder who else on the board is "at it"?
Then their's the new mobile use rules that have come into effect this week.
Why now?
I question the timing of these new rules along with the structure of them. We all use mobiles or tablets to do our job so why now?
I love a good conspiracy and I'm wondering if this is all part of an elaborate ruse TFL and the Mayor have come up with to weasel out of getting rid of Uber themselves, having realised they messed up big time and are slowly heading for the cliff.
They can't refuse the second license for fear of litigation, they can't sit back and do nothing anymore because the shits finally hitting the fan so TFL have to be seen to do something.
At the same time they can't be seen to backtrack as that would be a sign of weakness and an admission of guilt, they got it wrong and Uber shouldn't have been licensed in the first place which would result in compensation claims from now until doomsday and in terms of TFLs bank balance, the cost probably would be. Not to mention claims for damages caused by malfeasance, misfeasance and possibly nonfeasance that could be filed against famous TfL staff such as Daniels, Emerson, Chapman, Blake and let's not forget the rogue brass bonking Peter Hendy.
The thought of that lot in prison makes me weak at the knees.
So I'm wondering if the Mayor has had a chat with his bitch Hogan and his heroes and between them constructed a cunning get out plan where everyone wins a bit. Starting in Essex and spreading nationwide it soon becomes clear Uber's operating model is not only at odds with the law it's also illegal which makes it unlawful therefore not able to fulfill the criteria for a second license.
Doing it sneaky this way, it's the law that denies Uber the second license and not TFL which in turn stops any litigation in its tracks, stops any compensation claims firing into TFL from us and removes any chance of getting those slimy rat bastards into court, lined up next to each other like a Nuremberg trial, my constant day dream. We, however win because we get our livelihood back.
I doubt very much whether any of this is true but nothing would surprise me about Khan or TFL but at least it gives me hope.
No amount of devious, sneaky, underhanded moves would make me sit up in amazement with these leeches.
The hatred I feel for these parasites is beyond measure.
What they've done to us is beyond forgiveness but I view their actions as a personal attack on my wife and kids.
And for that I won't rest until I see justice done in court. Everything they do to us impacts on our families.
The extra hours in the cab for less money, the compulsory weekends needed to make ends meet, the constant money worries where they never existed, the strain on your health, home life, reduction in living standards, the depression etc,etc, all brought on by TFL for other people's financial gain.
I know I keep bashing on the same old line but somewhere along this road we have to draw a line and say ENOUGH!
Negotiations can only go so far before they become redundant and pointless. In my opinion they're entered into with trained negotiators who have complete control of them.
They make it very difficult to gain any ground at all, they make you fight tooth and nail for something they intended to give you all along and when they finally give in it seems like a victory, but it's not, it's negotiation management.
Bank Junction is already ongoing so that must play out to its natural end but after that we must resume a course of direct action unseen before in London.
I would also urge all the orgs to pursue any possibility of joining forces with trade associations from around the country to form a national movement in order to bring TFL and whoever else is responsible for this terrible period in our trades history to book.
Our collective lack of physical force and apathy that has given TFL the hold and grip over us they now have, I personally consider a stain on our great trade.
It must be put right, it must be wiped off and must be done now.
The clocks still ticking but only we can decide if it's too late.
It doesn't have to be.
Credit to Jamie Hawes for his discovery.
Be lucky.
