streetspace

Mayor Khan and TFL acted unlawfully over London Bishopsgate Streetspace scheme, high court rules

Transport for London and London Mayor Sadiq Khan acted unlawfully when they announced that taxis would be banned from parts of Bishopsgate under the Streetspace for London plan, the High Court has ruled. The plan called for taxis to be banned from two sections…

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Free now electric

Free Now plans to switch all taxis and PHVs to zero emissions capable by 2024-25

Drivers signing up to the Free Now ride-hailing app ​will have to switch to zero-emissions capable cars in the next three or four years. The jointly Daimler and BMW-owned service has announced that all UK taxis must be electrified by 2024 and all private…

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Jamie Hepburn

Union pressure forces Scottish Government to close benefits loophole, so poorest drivers will get £1,500 grant payments

The Scottish Government has moved to close a loophole that would have excluded the poorest taxi and private hire drivers from receiving payments of £1,500 to help cover costs such as licence fees and insurance payments for taxis not on the road. The grants…

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Scotland Covid fund

Scottish operators can access new Energy Savings Trust fund to equip vehicles with Covid-beating devices

Private hire and taxi operators in Scotland will have access to a new fund that will help them fit their vehicles with Covid-19-beating equipment such as screens and PPE, as well as air filtration and sterilisation devices and UV cleaning systems. The new fund,…

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Covid jabs

Taxi and private hire industry responds again to Covid-19 crisis with free trips to vaccination centres for over-80s

The taxi and private hire industry has once again stepped up to the plate to provide a critical service to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.  Operators large and small are offering free rides to take elderly and vulnerable people to get coronavirus vaccinations – despite…

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Phoenix eVito

Phoenix adds all-electric eight-seater Mercedes-Benz eVito Tourer to handles school run work

Northumberland-based electric taxi pioneer Phoenix Taxis has added its first all-electric Mercedes-Benz eVito hackney taxi to its fleet. The long L2 Tourer Pro variant offers flexible seating for up to eight passengers. Supplied by north-east dealer Bell Truck and Van, it is the subject…

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Bolt vaccine

Bolt offers to help get Londoners to vaccine appointments in the capital

Ride-hailing operator Bolt is calling on the UK Government to take up its offer of free rides to Londoners who need to get to Covid-19 vaccination appointments safely. Bolt has pledged an initial £250,000 worth of rides to the government and said its 50,000…

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Covid vaccine

Taxi and PHV trade bodies unite in call to ministers to prioritise drivers for Covid-19 vaccine

Taxi and private hire trade bodies across the UK have written to the Government demanding that professional drivers are given priority access to Covid-19 vaccinations. The joint call, which includes the LPHCA, LTDA and Private Hire Board, has written to ministers in the Transport,…

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David Bruce Chabe

Former Tristar MD Bruce takes the helm as French chauffeur firm Chabé moves into London

Former Tristar managing director David Bruce is setting up a major new London chauffeuring operation owned by major French luxury transport brand Chabé. The company will target high-end business including hotels, financial road shows and events, with an initial fleet of 10 cars. In…

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Edinburgh protest

Scottish taxi drivers protest at lack of government support and demand tailored support package

Taxi and private hire drivers took to the streets in Edinburgh in protest at a lack of promised financial support from the Scottish government. The protest outside the Scottish Parliament was organised by trade union Unite Scotland to coincide with a meeting of the…

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VGT

MBH Corporation adds Victoria Gosden Travel to growing taxi portfolio

Acquisitive investment company MBH Corporation has acquired a second UK taxi operation. The group has bought Victoria Gosden Travel Limited (VGT) for a price between £1.3million and £2m. VGT joins ADT Taxis within the group’s transport division, which is aiming to build a national…

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Wakefield

Wakefield drivers claim ‘moral victory’ as Council agrees to delay new car rules until September 2022

Taxi and private hire drivers in Wakefield are claiming a moral victory after the local council backed down over plans to force drivers to buy newer, cleaner cars. Drivers had earlier called off a planned strike in protest against the proposals, which stipulated that…

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TfL Helen Chapman

TfL offers free face coverings and hand sanitiser to London taxi and private hire drivers

Transport for London is this week offering free face masks and bottles of hand sanitiser to London’s taxi and private hire drivers. A total of 1.5 million masks and 30,000 bottles of Dettol sanitiser are being distributed to drivers from sites including London Underground…

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Bolt Sam Raciti

Bolt teams up with Splend and Ubitricity to expand electric car use and charging networks for London minicab drivers

Ride-hailing app Bolt has launched two new partnerships aimed at boosting electric car use within its London operations. Bolt has set up a partnership with PCO car hire company Splend to offer discounted prices on EV rentals. And the company is spending £250,000 to…

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York Cars

York Cars’ licence revoked by council over multiple offences

York Cars has had his licence revoked by York city council after a four-hour council meeting found owner Mohammed Iqbal unfit to hold a private hire operator’s licence. And at a four-hour licensing & regulatory committee meeting last night, members unanimously voted to revoke…

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Wystle

New ride hailing app Wystle opens up rewards programme to supports drivers during lockdown

New London ride-hailing app Wystle is offering drivers the chance to unlock access to the app’s bespoke Wystle Rewards programme, before it launches in the capital in December. The move is a direct response to the latest Covid-19 lockdown and aims to help support…

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Qsi 2021 Image 1 1200 Pix

We’ll be back! Professional Driver QSi Awards will return in 2021

Tonight’s the night we should have been getting together for the industry’s favourite party – the Professional Driver QSi Awards.  Of course, the Coronavirus lockdown means the 2020 event can’t happen right now, and that’s a massive disappointment, both for us and for our…

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Autocab LPHCA

LPHCA members vote to end partnership with Autocab as Uber takeover fallout continues

An Extraordinary General Meeting of the LPHCA has resulted in members voting to will terminate commercial relations with Autocab, following the takeover of the dispatch systems supplier by ride-hailing giant Uber. The termination will happen “upon the conclusion of existing contractual agreements” before the…

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