IN THE NEWS
DUNDEE ROBBERWHO USED ‘TIN FOIL KNIFE’ JAILED
A robber who held up two taxi drivers while armed with a television remote control wrapped in tin foil has been jailed. Scott Taylor admit- ted targeting two cabbies and de- manding cash after being picked up by the drivers. As
reported in
PHTM last month, in the first robbery Taylor managed to make off with £30 – but was stopped in
the second when his female victim told him to “f*** off”. Fiscal depute Saima Rasheed told Dun- dee Sheriff Court: “He said it was never his intention to harm anyone.” According to the Evening Telegraph, Taylor, 33, a prisoner at Perth, pleaded guilty to robbing David McManus on May 31 and attempt- ing to rob Lynne Cowan on June 2 in Charleston.
Solicitor Mike Short said: “Taylor is em- barrassed by his behaviour and has managed to rid him- self of his drug addiction in custody.” Sheriff Alastair Car- michael jailed Taylor for 20 months. He said: “They didn’t know you were holding a remote control adapted to look like a knife. They simply knew it was a weapon and they were being threatened with it.”
CLEVELAND POLICE TO CRACK DOWN ON UNPAID TAXI FARES
Taxi drivers lose up to £55 per week through customers failing to pay fares, according to an ini- tiative designed to combat the problem. According to the Northerrn
Echo,
more than 400 instances of non- payment have been reported to Cleve- land Police over the last 12 months. On average,
taxi
drivers lose bet- ween £30 and £55 per week, with most fares lost on week- ends when dealing with drunk or abu- sive customers. Cleveland Police is now launching an initiative whereby passengers pay in advance for their journey. The force’s Assistant Chief
Constable
Jason Harwin said: “We’ve been work- ing with our part- ners across
the 58 Cleveland Police
area and identified that taxi drivers are victims of crime, including assault, racial abuse and making off without payment. “We will treat all investigations
of
crime seriously and we have been talking to local taxi firms to minimise disputes and altercations. “Taxi drivers from across our area have been encouraged to take payment up front and there will be information in- side their vehicles to highlight Cleveland Police fully supports this – if you don’t want to pay up front, don’t be surprised if your journey doesn’t start. “Under Operation Deal, we will also deliver training to our officers, so they can deal with of- fences against taxi
drivers or compa- nies.” For more informa- tion on the scheme, contact council taxi licensing teams. Mmmm… Now we’re getting someplace. Youmay recall in last month’s PHTM the FAQs feature was all about bilking, and the legal
tions of whether the passenger
implica- never
intends to pay the fare -v- not having enough money or disputing the fare etc. But the main issue that raised the question in the first place was lack of police action; that cannot be said about Cleveland police, who are being pro- active in working with the trade to try to reduce the num- ber of fare-related crimes. Thank you, Cleveland Police, for taking the matter seriously – Ed.
LEICESTER DRIVER DRAGGED FROM HIS CAB AND BEATEN UP
A taxi driver has been taken to hospi- tal with head injuries after being dragged out of his cab and attacked. LeicestershireLive reports that the two attackers drove off in his taxi but fled on foot after crashing into a bus stop in West End, Leicester. Police said the taxi driver was assaulted and injured just min- utes
after the
attackers had stolen a mobile phone
fromaman sitting in his parked car in nearby Narborough Road. A spokesman for L e i c e s t e r s h i r e Police said: “A taxi driver on the corner of Hinckley Road and Cranmer Street was approached by two men offering him a mobile phone. “When he refused to buy it they dragged him out of his taxi, assaulted him and drove off in his vehi-
cle. “The vehicle was later found aban- doned after it had been driven into a bus stop on Hinck- ley Road. “The taxi driver was taken to the Leices- ter Royal Infirmary where he is being treated for a head injury but his injuries are not thought to be life threatening.” Police are appealing for
information
about the two inci- dents.
OLA IS NOWHEADING TO WOLVERHAMPTON
Indian ride-sharing giant Ola has been given a licence to operate in Wolver- hampton in a move that threatens to spark a fresh row with frustrated taxi drivers in the city. Furious taxi firms have already hit out at council bosses over cheap licences which have led to drivers flooding to the city. City council bosses said the company had met conditions for
acquiring a
licence but there are fears the move could lead to yetmore taxis heading into the city centre, impacting on local firms. The company which was founded in 2010 is considered to be one of themain rivals to Uber. A Wolverhampton Council spokesman told the Express and Star: “The chair of
licensing committee and the Licensing Manager met with Ola and stipulated the standards and requirements
City of Wolverhamp- ton Council ex- pects of its licensed operators. “Ola submitted an application for a pri- vate hire operator’s licence which was considered in accor- dance with our guidelines and the application was sub- sequently granted for an initial one-year period.” Steven Toy, a driver with Chase Cars and former chairman of the Private Hire Association, said: “It could lead to an increase in competi- tion in the market and if Ola function anything like Uber it won’t necessarily just be Wolverhampton they are working in but also elsewhere in
the West Midlands conurbation. “The
that competition
could also drive down fares andmean drivers working even longer hours.” It follows concerns from Staffordshire County Council that Wolverhampton’s lax policy on taxi
li-
cences could potent- ially be putting pas- sengers at risk. Licence applications in the city have soared by more than ten times to 9,000 due to lower charges. Ola launched its first overseas operation earlier this year when it hit the streets of Perth, Australia, with further plans
to
launch in Sydney and also Melbourne. Itthen launched its first UK service in South Wales
in
August and has been granted a licence to operate in Manch- ester.
OCTOBER 2018
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