IN THE NEWS
DERBY FIRM OFFERS TO CHAUFFEUR DERBY MAYOR IF OFFICE IS AXED
A taxi firm has declared an interest in chauffeuring the Mayor of Derby after plans to axe the role’s office and driver caused alarm. The Derby Telegraph reports that Derby Carz - which was offi- cially launched by the city’s Mayor in August - said it was saddened to learn the Mayor’s Office faces the axe. If the proposal goes ahead, the Mayor’s staff and chauffeur would be made redun- dant and the role would no longer involve attending pub- lic functions or engagements. The city
‘TAXI’ ADDS TO AN ARRESTING EVENING IN DONCASTER
Derby’s mayoral chain
council said the move could help offset Gov- ernment-enforced cuts.
In announcing the pro- posal, leader Paul Bayliss said he hoped
a taxi firm would offer to chauffeur the Mayor as part of a sponsor- ship deal, so the councillor in the role could carry on attend- ing public functions.
SHREWSBURY CHAUFFEUR COMPANY CELEBRATES AWARD
Chauffeuring compa- ny White 7 has landed a national industry award. The firm, which was launched last year, took first place in the national awards ceremony after com- peting with companies from across the UK. This is the first year that the Professional Driver body has held
its national Quality, Service and Inno- vation Awards, which are sponsored by BMW, Mercedes and Audi, and Shrewsbury- based White 7 won the Gold Award for mar- keting.
QSi Awards spokes- person Paul Webb told the Shrophire Star: “The marketing award
recognises ideas and innovations in promot- ing and publicising a business and White 7 are very worthy win- ners in this category.” Company joint manag- ing director Anthony Randall attended the glitzy ceremony in London last month- which was hosted by racing driver and motoring journalist Amanda Stretton from Channel 4 television. Mr Randall said: “Over 300 guests attended the awards and we were flanked by sever- al worldwide opera- tions so it is especially gratifying to bring this tremendous accolade back home to Shrop- shire.”
White 7’s Alan Bowyer celebrates with Stuart Bickerton of MATM
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White 7, which is also also a finalist in the Chauffeur of the Year awards, has been working with local firm Marketing at the Mill, based in Jackfield, whose director Stuart Bickerton said: “It’s been great for us to be involved in another Shropshire success story.”
A man has been arrested on suspicion of burglary after he climbed into an unmarked police car thinking it was his taxi. The Yorkshire Press reports that North Yorkshire Police offi- cers were alerted at about 10pm on a recent Sunday to reports of a man behaving suspiciously on a BT site at Askham Fields Lane, Askham Bryan.
Officers and a police dog went to the scene
and conducted a search of the site, where they found a Vauxhall Astra with false number plates loaded up with copper cable which was seized by police. As the search contin- ued around the village, officers checked with local taxi firms and discovered a man had ordered a cab to take him from the Royal Oak in Copmanthorpe to Doncaster. Police officers in an unmarked car arrived
at the pub and arrest- ed a 29-year-old man from Doncaster on suspicion of burglary with intent to steal, after he got into the vehicle believing it was his taxi.
He has been released on police bail as inquiries continue. Anyone with any infor- mation about this incident should con- tact North Yorkshire Police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
COLCHESTER CABBIES FINED FOR USING PERMITTED BUS LANES
Taxi drivers have been fined for using Colch- ester’s new bus lanes - even though they are allowed to.
NPHA member Five Sevens received dozens of fines after its cabbies used the High Street bus lane to turn into Queen Street. Private cars are banned from the lane, covered by automatic number plate recogni- tion cameras, but buses, taxis, cyclists and motorcyclists are permitted.
The £90 penalties apply to a number of cars and a minibus that are clearly marked with the firm’s logo. Boss Clive Woolgar told the Colchester Daily Gazette: “This is ridiculous. There’s no way I will pay them. “I’m expecting to get hundreds of tickets because the drivers use that road all the time.”
The tickets were all issued on October 30. Mr Woolgar said he had begun to appeal the tickets, but was told he must pay the fines before trying to recoup his money. Meanwhile, a taxi driv- er for Five and Five
Picture courtesy Colchester Daily Gazette
Clive and Graham Woolgar with penalty notices in Colchester High Street
Fours, in Osborne Street, Colchester, received two incor- rectly issued fines - and expects up to 30 more. He got the tick- ets for also using the High Street bus lane turning into Queen Street on the same day. He said when he spoke to the county council he was told to appeal each ticket individually. He claimed Colchester Council had not sent the county council a list of authorised taxis. The cabbie said: “What a waste of money. I will take a week to go through the forms and appeal them, but if I don’t contact them each time, the cost will go up. There must be
many drivers affected by this.”
An Essex County Council spokesman said: “Taxis and pri- vate hire vehicles are permitted to use the bus lanes and should not have received penalty charge notices. We apologise for this error and appreciates motorists’ patience while we try to establish the rea- son. The taxi company is advised to follow the appeals process to ensure this mistake is addressed.”
The bus lanes came into force on Monday, October 14, but the county council refused to say when it started to enforce the rules or how many tickets have been issued so far.
PHTM JANUARY 2014
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