WORLDWIDE TAXI FOCUS from Ireland
IRISH DRIVER WHO USED REMOTE CONTROL TO INCREASE FARES GETS LICENCE BACK
A taxi driver, who scammed passengers 270 times over a six- month period by secretly using a remote control to add €9 to fares, has been allowed have his licence back and work again. Raymond Pidgeon, 65, from Dublin, will be allowed to resume driving his taxi, despite pleading guilty last year to over-charging customers contrary to the Taxi Regulation Act. He used a concealed remote control device to increase fares on his meter, which he did 15 times a week from February until June, 2019. His prosecution at Dublin District Court in January 2020 followed a massive probe by the National Transport Authority (NTA) into widespread use of a device to rip off unsuspecting taxi passengers. The offence can result in a fine of up to €4,000. As a result of mitigating factors, however, he was handed a nominal fine of €200 and was ordered to pay €400 in prosecution costs. After the prosecution, gardaí revoked his taxi licence. How- ever, Mr Pidgeon came back to the district court on 13 September to appeal the licence revocation, which was opposed by gardaí from the carriage office. Judge John Brennan noted the evidence from NTA inspector Liam Kavanagh, who investigated reports that taxis were over-charging by covertly using a remote device with certain meters. Following a complaint by a tourist, Mr Pidgeon had been interviewed by the NTA in mid-June 2019 about a €20 over- charge on a fare. The inspector became suspicious by Mr Pidgeon’s explanation and €9 could not be accounted for, the court heard. He learned the taxi driver used an Aguila meter, the type that was being used with the remote control. He cautioned Mr Pidgeon again and told him he was also investigating the use of remote devices to over-charge taxi passengers. At that point the taxi man “broke down”. He admitted he was one of the drivers and that he had bought one of the remote controls. As a result of the NTA investigation, 260 taxi meters were recalled and recalibrated. Mr Pidgeon, who had no prior convictions, was co-operative, the appeal heard. Pleading for the restoration of the driver’s taxi licence, Matthew Holmes BL described it as a “slip-up” by the driver in his 20-year career. Judge Brennan remarked that slip-up lasted six months. He took into account testimonials on Mr Pidgeon’s good, hard-working character and that he had pleaded guilty when the prosecution came to court last year, after which he had suffered from the publicity.
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He noted Mr Pidgeon had been a taxi driver for a long time and that his co-operation assisted the NTA’s large scale investigation. He has been off the road since March last year and “colloquially speaking he has done his time”. That tipped the balance in his favour, said Judge Brennan as he allowed the appeal.
from France
PARIS INTRODUCES STRICT SPEED LIMIT OF 30KM/H ON NEARLY ALL ITS STREETS
A speed limit of 30kmh (18mph) has come into force across Paris in a bid to cut accidents, and reduce noise and pollution. According to BBC News, a poll suggests 59% of Parisians are in favour of the measure, but some businesses are among those opposed. Two-thirds of the city was already subject to the limit before the change on Monday 30 August which has been pushed through by Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Several key routes will remain exempt though. These include the Champs Elysées (50km/h) and the main ring road, the Boulevard Périphérique (70 km/h). Similar limits are already in force in Grenoble and Lille, as well as Bilbao in Spain, and the Belgian capital, Brussels. It’s one of several policies proposed by Ms Hidalgo, who was re-elected last year, to wean Parisians off their cars. The number of street parking bays is being halved and most vehicles are expected to be banned from the city centre next year. Cycle lanes have increased and streets are being redesigned to make districts more pedestrian friendly. Ms Hidalgo, a Socialist, wants a greener city as Paris prepares to host the Olympic Games in 2024. Opponents include Pierre Chasseray, from campaign group 40 Million Motorists, who disputes the idea that pollution and noise are reduced by such measures. “A speed aware- ness campaign would have been more effective”, he said. Another campaign group, SaccageParis, or Trash Paris, accuses the authorities of allowing Paris to deteriorate through unkempt streets and what it sees as ugly cycle lanes. A central London speed limit of 20mph was introduced on all roads managed by TfL in March 2020. Mr Khan’s strategy is to reduce all deaths and serious injuries on London roads by 65 per cent by next year, compared with the 2005-9 average. However progress towards the 2041 “vision zero” target has slowed, in part because of the high number of motorcycle/scooter deaths. TfL said in February that road deaths were lower than the 125 in 2019, but the reduction was “not expected to continue” when traffic returned to pre-pandemic levels.
OCTOBER 2021
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