TAXI FOCUS
The first rickshaw went to Kohinoor, a 33-year old single mother of two. In September 2012, she became Delhi’s first female elec- tric rickshaw driver. But Singh isn’t stopping there. If women could drive rickshaws, why not taxis? Why not buses? Ummeed select- ed and trained five women to receive their driver’s licences; four of them are now licensed
among other issues. The disgruntled ATA drivers assembled outside the airport's corporate office to push their cause, saying their hunger strike would continue until their demands are met.
The members have been insisting on several concerns that are apparent- ly hindering them from earning decent profit.
Kohinoor, Delhi’s first woman e-rickshaw driver, shown with her son
to drive on Delhi’s congested streets and Ummeed is in the process of set- ting them up as taxi drivers. In a city where female transit drivers are rare, Ummeed, which means “hope” in Hindi, is carving out a space for female mobility. The program gives women an opportunity for economic inde- pendence and allows them to reclaim space in the public sphere. Singh even earned the attention of India’s Minister of New and Renewable Ener- gy, Farooq Abdullah, who endorsed the program because electric rickshaws are environmentally friendly.
from New York SIAN GREEN SUES OVER
NEW YORK TAXI ACCIDENT
In a story we first featured in September’s issue and updated for you last month, we now report on the latest news surrounding British holiday maker Sian Green. She was the lady who was hit by at cab at New York’s Rocke- feller Center and is now launching a claim for damages against the city. As previously reported in PHTM, Ms Green lost part of her leg when a taxi jumped a kerb and hit her in New York. She has now launched a $27.5m (£16.7m) damages claim against the city. Her lawyer, Daniel Marchese, said other parties could also face lawsuits. Sky News reports that Ms Green’s city claim says the taxi driver’s yellow cab licence should have been suspended before the August 20 accident because he had prior driving violations. New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission has claimed a computer problem, which has since been fixed, was to blame. Doctors had to amputate the lower part of Ms Green’s left leg after she was hit while sightseeing with a friend. She spent four weeks in a New York hospital following her accident, also sustaining cuts to her right leg.
Immediately after the crash, quick-thinking plumber David Justino used his belt as a tourniquet, tying it around Ms Green’s leg, earning praise from medics. In November, Ms Green was “incredibly dismayed” to learn that cabbie Mohammed Fasyal Himon, who has said the accident was not his fault, would not be facing criminal charges.
The city’s Law Department said it would review her damages claim. from New Zealand
AUCKLAND AIRPORT TAXI DRIVERS GO ON HUNGER STRIKE
Members of the Auck- land Taxi Association are on a hunger strike. Around 180 taxi drivers at the Auckland Inter- national Airport are demanding better working conditions and taxi-rank positions
Hunger-striking drivers at Auckland International Airport
JANUARY 2014 PHTM from Germany
GERMAN DRIVER TAKES PASSENGER TO THE WRONG COUNTRY
A German taxi driver who misheard his drunken passenger asking to be taken home, ended up taking him to Belgium by mistake. According to the Mail Online, the nightclub reveller had stumbled into the taxi in the town of Aachen, Germany, demanding to be taken 'nach hause', (home) to the nearby district of Herzogenrath.
But instead the cabbie took him to 'Hauset' a small village several miles across the border into Belgium. It was not until they arrived that the drunk- en passenger realised he was actually in the wrong country and far from home.
When they eventually made it to the right destination, the reveller was slapped with a bill for 70 Euros (£60).
But he didn't have the money to cover the fare and simply stumbled into his house without paying.
The man has now been told he faces fraud charges after the furious taxi driver reported the matter to the police.
and penultimately...
A Shanghai taxi driver has received a thank-you letter from an 11-year-old girl after ensuring she was safely returned to her parents in a recent visit to the city. She got separated from her mother en route to a hospital and if the taxi driver had not intervened, she could easily have slipped into great danger. He refused a reward from the grateful mother, saying it was “no big deal”.
and finally...
It helps if you are a senior citizen on a weekend in Canada as you could easily get free taxi rides from Canadian taxi driver Saiful Malook, who donates his time to help that age group to assist them with their living expenses.
Originally from Pakistan, Mr Malook looks upon these charitable acts as making him feel worthwhile. Nice one Saiful!
PAGE 63
They want to relocate premium taxi rank away from the arrivals hall, raise the minimum fare from $20 to $35, and discourage discriminatory and racist behaviour from the security contractors of the airport. Representatives of the ATA and the airport met in November to negotiate terms. According to the airport, the ATA reps walked out of negotiations when the airport did not agree on relocating the taxi ranks at the interna- tional terminal used by ATA rivals Green Cabs and Auckland Co-Op taxis. Auckland Airport retail and commercial general manager Richard Barker accused ATA of trying to reduce the competition by demanding that the rival taxi rank be moved from the international arrivals hall. “That is the core issue for them. They have promised all of the problems will go away if the dedicated taxi rank goes back to its old, hidden space,” Mr Barker told the Fairfax NZ News. Another concern that the ATA wants resolved is the increase of the mini- mum fare from $20 to $35, but the airport would not allow them to do so. ATA spokesman Manmohan Singh claims that other taxi associations are already charging the proposed $35 minimum fee, which is denied by the airport.
“Main-rank drivers are surviving on as little as $4 an hour,” Mr Singh said, adding that their drivers are also being discriminated against. “The airport company is lying and putting out untruths in the media and we are sick of being treated so badly. We are treated like rubbish and slaves by ADT Security.” Richard Barker said the ATA was refusing to participate in more negotiations.
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