Pd Website News Herts Cars Mg 1

Herts Cars adds first two electric MG5 estate cars as start of transition to all-EV fleet

Radlett-based Herts Cars has taken delivery of two all-electric MG5 estate cars as the start of a transition to a fully zero-emissions fleet. Managing director Muhammad Qureshi said the company had a pre-Covid fleet of 150 cars, and by the time business returns to…

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Autocab CMA

Competition watchdog confirms investigation into Uber takeover of Autocab will run until March 26

Uber’s planned takeover of dispatch systems supplier Autocab is to be investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority over concerns about its possible impact on the UK taxi market. As expected, the CMA will examine whether the deal could result in a “substantial lessening…

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Premier MG5

Blackpool’s Premier Taxis replaces hybrids with MG 5 electric estates, taking EV fleet over 100 cars

Blackpool-based Premier Taxis has added five new MG 5 electric cars to its fleet. Premier is one of the largest EV taxi operators in the UK, with more than 100 electric cars, mainly Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 models.  The Chinese-made MG5 is capable of…

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Bubble Merc

Driver Bubble Mercedes-Benz E-Class partition screen being readied for February launch

Leading partition screen maker Driver Bubble is planning to have a Transport for London-approved screen for the Mercedes-Benz E-Class on the market by the end of February. And the company is diversifying its product offerings in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic with the…

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Uber claim

Uber rejects London cabbies’ proposed class action claim for lost earnings as ‘completely unfounded’

Uber has dismissed as “completely unfounded” reports that a group of London taxi drivers are planning a class action lawsuit against the ride hailing giant, claiming that Uber’s practices resulted in a loss of earnings. In a press release, litigation specialist RGL Management and…

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Lincoln tuk tuk

Lincoln council gives green light to new-start Holla’s electric tuk-tuk service

A proposed tuk-tuk taxi scheme in Lincoln will now use electric three-wheelers rather than high-polluting petrol-engined scooter-based vehicles, the company behind the scheme has announced. The city council’s licensing committee voted to allow new-start service Holla to run tuk-tuks in the city last August.…

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Addison Vaccine

Addison Lee to offer £200,000 worth of ride discounts to support London vaccination effort

Addison Lee is offering discounted rides worth more than £200,000 to and from major vaccination hubs in and around London. The Vaccination Drive scheme is expected to last until Easter. The offer will benefit Londoners travelling to receive their vaccinations, as well as vaccine…

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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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