Stamp Out Illegal Mini-Cabs: RMT London taxi branch puts forward a simple solution

RMT is demanding that Transport for London stamp out illegal taxi touting in London.

The union has demanded that every Private Hire Operator must have an IT booking system approved by TfL that receives bookings with details of the driver, passenger, destination and any other key details.

TfL can bring this about very swiftly by making it a condition of licensing without any legislation and it end fictional scribbled ‘instant’ pre bookings outside venues that flout the law

and in effect ensure the passengers are uninsured and vulnerable travellers and road users put at risk.

It will also break the links between corrupt door security staff, predatory drivers, organised crime, drug dealing, money laundering and much else.

The union is insisting that private hire businesses operate within the law and enforcement authorities have a clear ‘audit trail’ of all bookings made in advance available in real time.

This would protect legitimate operators and preserves the Taxi

trades hard won right to ‘Ply for Hire’.

It also ensures that all licensed PH drivers are working for an operator and those not so liable for the congestion charge etc., as all work must come through an operator, they can’t be working legitimately.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that RMT London taxi branch had put forward a simple solution to end the dangerous scourge of illegal private hire activity and it can happen now without waiting for the long- delayed Law Commission Draft

bill.

“There is everything to gain

for the law abiding citizens and visitors to this great city of stamping out these dangerous practices by adopting RMT’s proposals.

“The only losers are those with criminal intent.

“The question has to be asked why those with the power are resisting moves to clean up the trade and clamp down and what we know is happening out there on London’s streets night after night in the West End and beyond,” he said.

Latest issue of the RMT news is now online at :  http://goo.gl/yyROo

RMT Call For Action Over Taxi Age Limit.

After the release of the damning Defra report confirming the failed Emissions strategies of Mayor Boris Johnson, drivers who have had their livelihood taken away by the removal of perfectly good vehicles under the Taxi Age Limit program, have called for action. 

The RMT have requested that interested parties (Owner drivers, Fleet owners etc.) should contact them and register now.

As this Mayoral edict has thrown many drivers into financial hardship, the RMT are calling for an immediate suspension of the 15 year Age a limit, which has been proven beyond any doubt to have no effect on cleaning up the poor air quality of Central London. 

The RMT have also requested the Mayor (and others) be called in to face a Parliamentary Transport Committee, to account for their actions in regards to this issue.  

 

  

RMT call for all trade group Law Commission Meeting...

The RMT has convened a meeting to discuss the threat of the Law Commission and invitations have been sent to all the trade organisations.

We await responses.

We welcome the response we have received from the General Sec. Steve McNamara of the LTDA that although their view is that the Law Commission is not the threat we identify it as and therefore won't attend this time, we differ on that analysis but respect their right to hold that opinion.

He also stated that further meetings between all trade groups should be possible. This is a very welcome development and of course there will always be differences between us but the key in defending the trade is of course UNITY, without it we are done for!

No doubt alarm bells are ringing in Palestra, Windsor House and various PH enterprises, we are all aware of the facetious comment of Mr Leon Daniels of TfL and Olympic Lanes Tzar who stated that the cab trade 'needs to get its act together'.

Well Leon looks like your wish could become your nightmare as TfL's carefully constructed strategy of divide and conquer begins to fall apart as the cab trade looks at what unifies them rather than divides them and that TfL are the root cause of many of our issues.

So at last something 100% positive to report, time to put the past aside and move the cab trade onwards to a bright future, after all that's  where we are going to spend the rest of our lives.

Well done Steve McNamara, we look forward to a constructive dialogue.

Statement on Rank Suspension London Hilton Park Lane

The branch was informed late yesterday afternoon that the rank across the road from the Hilton hotel was suspended between the hours of 2pm and 3am the following morning.

Enquiries were made to TfL as to the rationale to this decision, TfL stated that they received many such requests and had allowed this one.

Our concerns are:
Taxi Ranks are our place of work, they should only be suspended by essential maintenance works and then suitable alternative arrangements need to be in place.

Suspending ranks for the purposes of marketing and sales activity is completely unacceptable, it places the licensing authority in a position where they have to decide on the merits of each case and leaves them open to allegations of improper conduct when they say yes to one and no to another. The only policy must be not to allow any such activity.

In the case of the Hilton, there was ample road space that could have been used without the need to close a very busy rank that led to frustrations both for drivers and the travelling public. Indeed a 'flash mob' of drivers gathered to participate in effective peaceful direct action.

Due to the intervention by drivers, the vehicle was removed ahead a of time and even the crew who placed it on site saw no god reason why it had to be placed on the rank.

All negotiations were carried out in a cordial and friendly manner, no one wants to inconvenience the public, we just want to go to work and expect the licensing authority to facilitate that above all else.

Once again LTPH has put a third parties commercial interests above those whose licence fees pay the LTPH wage bill, be assured that the RMT will continue to campaign on this and many other issues to defend its members.

Appeal to find cabby whose knowledge saved my sick baby.

A mother whose baby suffered an extreme allergic reaction today asked for help tracing the black cab driver who helped save the boy’s life and refused to take a fare.

Kate Moore said the driver used the Knowledge to navigate back streets she never knew existed to get her boy Algie to A&E within minutes.

Mrs Moore said his actions “restored my faith in mankind”. It happened as she fed Algie, eight months, his first piece of egg and he went into potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. His face swelled and he came out in hives.

Mrs Moore, 38, an advertising executive, said: “The entire left-hand side of his face and his lips had swollen up, he was red and blotchy, had a rash around his mouth and was rasping for breath.

“We live very close to St Thomas’s paediatric A&E on the South Bank so I reckoned it was faster to grab a cab than wait for an ambulance. I put him in his buggy and ran into Lupus Street to find help, I was in a bit of a tizzy.” Mrs Moore saw a black cab driver chatting outside a shop. She said: “I dashed over and he did not see me as his back was to us. I asked him if he was working, he said, ‘Sorry love I’m off home’ then he properly turned around, seeing me burst into tears and my son with hives all over his face. Within seconds he had bundled me, Algie and the buggy into the back of his cab.

“We didn’t break any laws but he took little side roads that I didn’t know existed.”

The streets around Mrs Moore’s house are known among cabbies as the “Pimlico Triangle”.

Mrs Moore said: “He nipped in and out and we were at the hospital in no time and the driver was calm and amazing throughout. “I had a £20 note in the buggy, which I shoved through the window and he shoved it back at me and said, ‘Go!’ He hadn’t even turned the meter on. When we got into A&E, Algie was seen straight away by an amazing team. Within 15 minutes of being given the medication he was better.” 

Do you know the cabbie? Call the Standard newsdesk on 020 3615 2500.

Source: The Evening Standard. 

Bob Crows May Day Message

Bob Crows May Day Message



RMT General Secretary Bob Crow delivers his 2013 May Day message to RMT members and trade unionists internationally.

Venue Change: Next Branch Meeting, 7th May, Lucas Arms Grays Inn Road.

Dear Colleague,

The next Branch Meeting, will be held on Tuesday 7th May 2013, at the "Lucas Arms" 245A Grays Inn Rd, London, Greater London WC1X 8Q, kick off 19:00hrs.

Please make every effort to attend.

Membership Cards will be checked on the night.

Kind regards,

Mike Tinnion.

Branch Secretary
London Taxi Drivers Branch 0930.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers.
Unity House
39 Chalton street
London,
NW1 1JD.

RMT London Taxi Driver Branch Sets Out Demands On Law Commission Review

We note the interim statement from the Law Commission on its consideration of taxi and private hire
legislation.

We welcome the indication that the Commission will recommend retaining the distinction between taxis and
private hire vehicles (PHVs). We are concerned, however, that the replacement of the concept of ‘plying for hire’ with the concept of ‘pre-booking’ may dilute this distinction and allow private hire vehicles to encroach on taxi drivers’ work. (paragraph 5)

We welcome the Commission’s withdrawal of its previous recommendation to abolish quantity controls, which explicitly recognises that the ‘market’ ie. unfettered competition between drivers, is not appropriate. (paragraph 6)

We do not accept the discrimination inherent in the proposal that local authorities should be able to impose local standards additional to national standards on taxis but not on private hire services. (paragraphs 11 and 12)

We are concerned about the Commission’s support for ‘freeing up cross-border working for private hire
services’. (paragraph 13)

We support our London Taxi Drivers branch’s demands for:

Plying for hire to be defined both in our favour and in statute.
PHVs to not be permitted to wait in advance of bookings or form ranks outside venues.
Taxi Ranks overhaul and a fit-for-purpose strategy developed throughout London
STaN initiative planning permission for satellite offices - No rank = No satellite office
Vehicle distinction to be paramount: the ‘black cab’ is our unique selling point.
A PHV should always be a PHV and should only be driven by a PHV driver whether working or not.
Pedicabs and alike not to have the right to ply for hire or operate on the highway.
Crime statistics and plying for hire offences to be broken down into categories such as Taxi, PHV and
Unlicensed.
Robust enforcement of plying for hire legislation: funding to be set at a level capable of dealing with
the size of both the taxi and private hire trades.
A managed growth of BOTH taxi and private hire trades in the interest of maintaining standards.
We instruct the General Secretary to ensure the prompt publication of a good-quality RMT newsletter for
London Taxi Drivers reporting our stance on these and other issues and including a membership form; and a similar newsletter for other areas should the lead officer request it.

£1m payback to victims of Drayton Park road layout bungle

THE Town Hall will have to find up to £1m to repay almost 10,000 illegal fines handed out at a bungled traffic scheme which has caused countless accidents.

Calls have now been made to scrap the road-narrowing lorry restriction in Drayton Park, Holloway, which Lib Dem opposition councillors say has caused nothing but “mayhem” since its introduction last May.

Pedestrians and cyclists have been critical of the layout, which they argue is dangerous.

So far, the entire scheme has cost about £110,000 to introduce and then modify twice. At least three cars have flipped over trying to negotiate the narrowing and there has been constant criticism by drivers of the number of fines they were receiving.

They argued that signs at the junction were not clear. At a full council meeting earlier this year Labour councillor James Murray said the number of fines was tailing off as drivers learned the layout.

But one driver who challenged his fine has won his case at the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service. Adjudicators ruled that signs were not clear and that the fine was illegal.

This means that every fine issued between November and February could have to be repaid.

The council says 10,974 fines were issued in that period. Fines are £130, reduced to £65 if paid within 14 days. It is likely that most drivers would pay the lesser fee, bringing the total cost to the Town Hall to around £800,000.

Lib Dem ward councillor Julie Horton has now called for the road scheme to be scrapped, saying it had inspired a huge number of complaints.

“They have got this scheme wrong right from the beginning,” she said. “They should admit it, rip it up and go back to the drawing board.

“This Labour council just don’t seem to be listening to people. If they had they wouldn’t have redesigned the scheme twice and still got it wrong. A couple of weeks ago a car landed on its roof.”

Cllr Horton said that if all the parking fines were wrong then people should be refunded.

“I know they can appeal and I hope people do,” she added. “But perhaps as a gesture the council should consider returning people’s fines rather than waiting for them to appeal.”

A council spokesman said: “The lorry-ban width restriction in Drayton Park was put in at residents’ request for safer streets.

“When the width restriction was modified late last year, a technical mistake was made and the Traffic Management Order was not changed as it should have been.

“The order is now being changed. We’re very sorry for the confusion and disruption.

“If drivers believe they have been issued with an incorrect penalty charge notice, they should get in touch with us and we will refund any incorrect tickets.”

Source: Islington Tribune

The General Grades Committee have passed a resolution, in response to the Law Commissions Interim Report

NATIONAL UNION OF RAIL, MARITIME & TRANSPORT WORKERS GENERAL GRADES COMMITTEE.

Corres.Ref: Subject NP/P/14 LAW COMMISSION – DEFINITION OF PLYING FOR HIRE Resolution (or) Amendment Moved by Janine Booth Seconded by Sean Hoyle.

 We note the interim statement from the Law Commission on its consideration of taxi and private hire legislation.

 We welcome the indication that the Commission will recommend retaining the distinction between taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs).

We are concerned, however, that the replacement of the concept of ‘plying for hire’ with the concept of ‘pre-booking’ may dilute this distinction and allow private hire vehicles to encroach on taxi drivers’ work.

(paragraph 5) We welcome the Commission’s withdrawal of its previous recommendation to abolish quantity controls, which explicitly recognises that the ‘market’ ie. unfettered competition between drivers, is not appropriate.

(paragraph 6) We do not accept the discrimination inherent in the proposal that local authorities should be able to impose local standards additional to national standards on taxis but not on private hire services.

(paragraphs 11 and 12) We are concerned about the Commission’s support for ‘freeing up cross-border working for private hire services’.

(paragraph 13) We support our London Taxi Drivers branch’s demands for:
• Plying for hire to be defined both in our favour and in statute.
• PHVs to not be permitted to wait in advance of bookings or form ranks outside venues.
• Taxi Ranks overhaul and a fit-for-purpose strategy developed throughout London
• STaN initiative planning permission for satellite offices - No rank = No satellite office
• Vehicle distinction to be paramount: the ‘black cab’ is our unique selling point.
• A PHV should always be a PHV and should only be driven by a PHV driver whether working or not.
• Pedicabs and alike not to have the right to ply for hire or operate on the highway.
• Crime statistics and plying for hire offences to be broken down into categories such as Taxi, PHV and Unlicensed.
• Robust enforcement of plying for hire legislation: funding to be set at a level capable of dealing with the size of both the taxi and private hire trades.
• A managed growth of BOTH taxi and private hire trades in the interest of maintaining standards.

 We instruct the General Secretary to ensure the prompt publication of a good-quality RMT newsletter for London Taxi Drivers reporting our stance on these and other issues and including a membership form; and a similar newsletter for other areas should the lead officer request it. We rename this file LAW COMMISSION REVIEW – TAXIS AND PRIVATE HIRE SERVICES.

 Reports and developments are to be placed in front of us. Regional Councils branches to be advised. Date Decision Absentees 24/04/13