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The Taxi News for Wednesday May 22, 2013
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Man
pleads not guilty in stabbing of taxi driver
The Salina Journal - (Salina, Kansas) By the Salina Journal | Monday, May 20, 2013 1:35 PM One of two men accused of multiple charges in connection with the stabbing of a Salina cab driver pleaded not guilty Monday morning, and his trial was set for August. Robert A.M. Simmons, 24, was set for trial at 9 a.m. Aug. 6 in Saline County District Court. A pretrial conference was set for 1:30 p.m. July 31. Jason Kenneth, 28, entered a plea of not guilty to the same five felony charges and one misdemeanor as Simmons and was scheduled for trial beginning at 9 a.m. July 30. He is set for a pretrial conference at 4 p.m. July 22. Kenneth and Simmons are charged in connection with a March 21 attack on former Sunflower Taxi driver Jay Waiton. They face felony charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, attempted aggravated criminal robbery, conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to commit robbery, and a misdemeanor charge of criminal restraint. Second man pleads not guilty in connection with stabbing of cab driver The Salina Journal - (Salina, Kansas) Tuesday, May 21, 2013 2:59 AM Man pleads not guilty in stabbing One of two men accused of multiple charges in connection with the stabbing of a Salina cab driver pleaded not guilty Monday morning, and his trial was set for August. Robert A.M. Simmons, 24, was set for trial at 9 a.m. Aug. 6 in Saline County District Court. A pretrial conference was set for 1:30 p.m. July 31. Jason Kenneth, 28, entered a plea of not guilty to the same five felony charges and one misdemeanor as Simmons and was scheduled for trial beginning at 9 a.m. July 30. He is set for a pretrial conference at 4 p.m. July 22. Kenneth and Simmons are charged in connection with a March 21 attack on former Sunflower Taxi driver Jay Waiton. They face felony charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, attempted aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit robbery, and a misdemeanor charge of criminal restraint. - more.... Oliver Koppell killed his own bill requiring all taxis handle wheelchairs New York Daily News - (New York City, New York) After years of waiting, Bronx councilman buckled under pressure NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 4:05 AM Councilman Oliver Koppell wasted everyone’s time by yanking his taxicab wheelchair access bill. Two and a half years ago, Bronx City Councilman Oliver Koppell introduced a bill aimed at providing full taxi service to New Yorkers who use wheelchairs. With robust support from advocates for people with disabilities, Koppell stood up to the powerful yellow-taxi industry by calling for a phase-in of cabs capable of transporting wheelchairs. He rounded up 37 co-sponsors, seeming to ensure passage with a veto-proof majority. But then Speaker Christine Quinn bottled up the legislation, blocking a vote that would have shown whether all those co-sponsors truly had the courage of their convictions. Finally, showing unusual spine, Koppell invoked a rarely used sponsor’s privilege that forced Quinn to convene a committee hearing and a vote. Then, Koppell folded under Quinn’s pressure like a cheap suit hours before his long-sought vote. After all those months and years of standing as a champion of people with disabilities, he announced that his legislation was riddled with bad ideas that needed amendments. Those were duly supplied by the taxi industry and got Quinn’s full support. Key among the terms: The Taxi and Limousine Commission would waive the accessibility requirement if the cost of operating wheelchair cabs was more than 5% higher than the expense of regular taxis. - more.... Company Offers Financially Friendlier Alternative To Taxi Cabs In LA KNX-1070 AM - (Los Angeles, California) May 20, 2013 10:56 PM LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Many Los Angeles residents are starting to notice cars, driving around the city with pink mustaches on the front of their hoods. The cars are part of a new car-sharing service called Lyft, which is helping people who don’t have cars of their own to get around LA for cheaper than the price of a taxi cab. The company, which started it’s service in San Francisco, has a mobile device application that allows people to look up location of participating vehicles, which are driven by local people in the community, and select to get a lift to wherever they need to go. Erin Thayer is a driver for Lyft, when she is on the road. Thayer also works as an aspiring actress, and says that the service takes place whenever she is on the road. “I can go to my audition,” Thayer said. “And then I can hop right in the car and continue to ‘lyft’.” The company offers lifts at rates that are around 30 percent cheaper than a taxi. - more.... Proposed regulations put Uber taxi service in jeopardy in DC WTTG-TV Channel 5 - (Washington D.C.) Posted: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 12:19 AM EST By Lauren DeMarco WASHINGTON - About 7,000 supporters have signed an online petition aimed at saving UberTaxi and avoiding other proposed regulations that would impact the company's popular black car service. The D.C. Taxicab Commission has passed new regulations to streamline how digital payments are processed when it comes to e-hailing. It's all part of the "Modern Taxi Meter System" and it goes into effect June 1. Uber says that may mean the end of Uber Taxi because the system would have to work with payment providers who are integrated with taxi hardware. "There's no other city or technology company that has successfully integrated in the way D.C. is asking," says Uber D.C. General Manager Rachel Holt. "We've never seen it done and we're not sure it's possible." - more.... Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of May 21, 2013 Exit 133 - (Tacoma, Washington) Exit133 May 20, 2013 at 10:22 am Taxi Cab Cameras The main item on this week’s City Council study session agenda is a discussion of amendments to the code regulating taxi cabs in Tacoma. We heard about the amendments last summer when the City would have begun enforcing changes to the code passed in 2006, requiring the installation of video cameras in Tacoma taxi cabs. Cab drivers successfully lobbied to have the 2012 enforcement deadline delayed, pending conversations about their concerns regarding the legislation passed six years earlier. Those concerns included objections to the cost of purchasing and installing the cameras, questions about access to the footage (originally limited to law enforcement only), and about the type of cameras required. - more.... |
| Europe, Africa, and the Middle East |
| Oxford
set to scrap plan to put CCTV in taxis Oxford Mail - (Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) 11:00am Tuesday 21st May 2013 By Damian Fantato OXFORD’S licensing bosses are set to shelve plans to install CCTV in cabs, admitting it would be against the law. Following a ruling against a similar scheme proposed in Southampton, Oxford City Council is proposing to agree not to implement the plans “at the current time” or carry out any further consultation. In a report, put to the committee tomorrow, officers state that “until such time as the law in this area changes or public safety issues significantly worsen, it is likely Oxford’s scheme would be found to be similarly unlawful if implemented”. In 2011 the council announced it was hoping to make audio-visual recording compulsory in the 681 licensed taxis and private hire vehicles by 2015. While this was supported by many drivers and the City of Oxford Taxi Cab Association (Colta) it was met with a barrage of criticism, including from privacy campaigners. The council put the scheme on hold last May for more consultation and now a ruling by a national tribunal for similar proposals in Southampton looks to have scuppered the plans. - more.... |
| Asia and the Pacific |
| Murder:
Taxicab driver shot dead The Express Tribune - (Pakistan) By Our Correspondent Published: May 21, 2013 A cab driver was shot dead by an unknown assailant at Thalla on Chakbeli Khan Road on Monday. According to Sub Inspector (SI) Shamim Shehzad of Chauntra Police Station, Muhammad Nazir, a 60-year-old private taxi cab driver (LXJ 2910), picked up a passenger on Sunday night and dropped him at his destination. Shehzad added that Nazir was returning back when an unknown man signaled him to stop. The man embarked in the vehicle and later shot Muhammad Nazir dead and escaped, SI said. According to him, the heirs found the dead body of Nazir laying in his Suzuki carry van near Thalla on Chaki Road and informed police that rushed to the scene, took up the body into custody and sent it to hospital for postmortem. A murder case has been registered against the unknown killer on the application of Muhammad Rashid, victim’s son and further investigation is under way. The suspects are still at large, he added. - more.... Taxi protest disrupts Sydney Airport The Australian - (Sydney, Australia) by: Simon Black From: The Daily Telegraph May 21, 2013 8:35PM A GROUP of disgruntled taxi drivers wreaked havoc on Sydney Airport when they decided to conduct a spontaneous demonstration. Angry passengers took to radio and social media to complain of a “massive delay” after drivers blockaded the gateway out of the airport. “Why are there no taxis at Sydney Airport?” Dan Schubert said. “There was a massive delay of some sort (but) it seems to have started moving again now.” “ I was just there, there were 10 taxis come (sic) through on a 30 minute period.” The drivers were conducting an impromptu industrial action over the short fare system at the airport, which allows drivers who depart for a time of less than 20 minutes to skip the queue and return to the front of the line. “It was a spontaneous outburst,” President of the Australian Taxi Drivers Association, Michael Jools, said. “The system out there is not working well.” Digital Pass $1 for first 28 Days “Either the staff out there are letting their mates jump the queue or people are doing it anyway. “There is a lot of anger from people who have been waiting out there for an hour and then someone jumps the queue on them.” Taxi drivers said police had spoken with drivers and asked them to clear the blockade and traffic has returned to normal. Neither Mr Jools nor the Australian Taxi Drivers Association were involved in the demonstration. |
Ender Wiggin
Updated may 21 @ 19:31 GMT
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