DRIVE A2B July 2018

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NEWS FROM around the World TURKEY - Istanbul Uber will no longer be in use in Turkey’s metropolis, Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, weighing in to a month-long heated dispute between the yellow taxi and Uber drivers. “Something called Uber or Muber has arisen, that business is over now. There is no such thing anymore ... We already have a taxi system. Where has that arisen out of? It exists in Europe, I do not care,” he said at an iftar (fast breaking) dinner organized by the private public bus association in Istanbul on June 1. “The governor has all the authority on this issue. Our Interior Minister has given the order ... The traffic police will have a crackdown on them, they will do what is necessary. We will not let the taxi drivers to be exploited,” he added. On May 25, the government changed the Road Transport Law to increase the fines applied to contract-based transport certificate holders who illegally serve as taxis. According to the new rules, a certificate holder company caught carrying passengers illegally will be fined 3,006 liras. If the offence reoccurs then the certificates related to all of the company vehicles will be revoked and the company will be put on a blacklist for two years, making it unable to apply for a certificate. More than 6,200 Uber drivers have been fined a total of 18.9 million liras so far this year, while 3,613 transport certificates have been revoked, according to traffic control data compiled by daily Hürriyet. Uber passengers have also been fined a total of 2.1 million liras. Istanbul Mayor Mevlüt Uysal voiced support for the government’s new regulation to restrict ridesharing. “Individuals and firms that have got tourism certificates can only transport their tourist customers between certain points, or they can show their customers around Istanbul. We will not permit the misuse of documents that we have issued,” Uysal said. “We advise taxi drivers to renew themselves on a system that would be a complete substitute to Uber,” he added, promising to support regular yellow taxi drivers if they subscribe to a mobile application developed by the municipality, called “iTaksi.” The average price of a taxicab license plate in Istanbul has increased 6.6 percent to 1.6 million liras between May 29 and June 1, amid expectations for a clampdown on Uber. 40 DRIVE A2B magazine · July 2018
JAPAN Toyota Motor Corp. is considering a plan to turn self-driving vehicles into unmanned mobile convenience stores in cooperation with Seven- Eleven Japan Co. Under the plan, the autonomous electric vehicles would carry Seven-Eleven products to bring self-service convenience to underpopulated areas where it is less profitable to run convenience store outlets. Toyota could also team up with Yamato Holdings Co. on door-to-door delivery using driverless vehicles. The leading automaker is also looking to offer similar services, such as mobile cafes, to sell Starbucks coffee. IRELAND - Dublin A man who accepted €25 to give a lift to five people who mistakenly thought he was a taxi driver could face a fine of up to €5,000. On May 5 2018, Det Garda Kevin Heffernan spotted a Honda Civic and its rear was very low to the road. He stopped the vehicle and found three males seated in the back seat with a fourth male across them - none wearing seatbelts. Baig was driving and another person was in the front seat. “It transpired they did not know the driver,” Det Garda Heffernan said. “They thought the car was a taxi. They had paid him €25 to take them to Ballinhassig from Kinsale.” Mirza Baig faces a number of charges, including two under section 22 of the Taxi Regulation Act relating to not having a licensed PSV and not having a licence to operate a PSV. Anyone found guilty of those offences can face a fine of not less than €4,000 and not more than €5,000. “He was not advertising as a taxi driver,” said Mr Taaffe (Baig’s solicitor), adding there had been no signs or paraphernalia”. “There was nothing to indicate [it might have been a taxi] other than the type of car it was.” “These regulations are there to deal with people setting up an enterprise,” he continued, “and it’s a classic case of legislation being drafted in Dublin with no idea how it applies in the rest of the country. ENGLAND - Canterbury by Joe Wright Sex offenders, arsonists and burglars are being handed licences to drive taxis in Canterbury. Canterbury City Council admits cabbies with convictions and cautions for serious offences - many of them for violence - have been granted permits to operate in the district. Shocked Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has now called for an immediate review of the authority’s taxi licensing policy. ”To learn that the people we trust to professionally escort us to our destinations have such convictions and cautions is deeply worrying,” she said. ”The council must act immediately to review and rectify their licensing policy to ensure that everyone is safe. As a parent, I am particularly worried that children, young adults and vulnerable people are being put in harm’s way on their way to school, on their way home after a night out, or on their way to work.” The list of offences, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, covers new and renewed licences handed out to taxi and private hire vehicle drivers since 2015. Fifteen of the 38 drivers who admitted past discretions owned up to violent offences, ranging from common assault, to affray and causing grievous bodily harm. Three were convicted or cautioned for possessing drugs, two for burglary, plying illegally for trade, and driving off without paying for fuel. ”I am further disgusted to learn that individuals convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs are permitted to hold a licence,” Ms Duffield said. Her call for a review by the authority has been echoed by Canterbury and District Taxi Association chairman Heather Sewell. ”Even a minor sexual assault is still serious - they should not have got a licence at all,” she said. DRIVE A2B magazine · July 2018 41
Page 1 and 2: DRIVE Voice of the Victorian Point-
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS WHAT’S INSIDE 6 Times th
Page 5 and 6: 1 July 2018, there are many questio
Page 7 and 8: TAXI DRIVERS WANTED CALL 13 22 22 Z
Page 9 and 10: fitted with a safety camera while e
Page 11 and 12: COMMERCIAL PASSENGER WANT A VOICE W
Page 13 and 14: From 1 July 2018 a $1 trip levy app
Page 15 and 16: COMMENCEMENT OF REGULATIONS The com
Page 17 and 18: New taxi tolls From 1 July 2018 the
Page 19 and 20: An increase could make passengers w
Page 21 and 22: INDUSTRY STATISTICS The statistical
Page 23 and 24: EXCLUSIVE CPVAA MEMBER OFFER EXPERI
Page 25 and 26: fraudulent claims, and it was reaso
Page 27 and 28: HAVE YOUR SAY Send your thoughts to
Page 29 and 30: INFRASTRUCTURE Want to participate
Page 31 and 32: THINK LONG You should also remember
Page 33 and 34: ACCIDENT COVER FOR THE VICTORIAN CO
Page 35 and 36: WHAT WE HEAR ! The $1 trip levy is
Page 37 and 38: SOUTH AUSTRALIA A driverless public
Page 39: What’s On in Melbourne Skating at
Page 43 and 44: Police are seeking to identify thes

DRIVE A2B July 2018

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