{"id":1577,"date":"2014-09-25T16:38:12","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T15:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=1577"},"modified":"2014-09-25T16:38:12","modified_gmt":"2014-09-25T15:38:12","slug":"cabbie-demo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=1577","title":{"rendered":"Cabbie demo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blaring horns and taxi-congested roads greeted tourists and passers-by at Trafalgar Square, as Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s London cab section supported a demonstration on Wednesday (September 24) over Mayor Boris Johnson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s failure to protect the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s iconic black cab trade against unregulated competition.<\/p>\n

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Thousands of black cab taxi drivers, cheered on by Unite, the RMT and the London Taxi Drivers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Association, slowly circled Trafalgar and Parliament Square, grinding traffic to a standstill, in an effort to bring to light their struggles.<\/p>\n

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From unfair competition against tax-dodging companies such as Uber to \u00e2\u20ac\u015blicence and forget\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 satellite offices to increasingly hazardous electric rickshaws and an unclear emissions policy, the impediments cab drivers face have decimated their ability to make a decent living and best serve London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s passengers.<\/p>\n

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The taxi trade\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s troubles with Uber, a software company that uses GPS mapping to connect registered drivers with passengers, have been well-publicised before. But Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cab members feel that their position on taxi apps has been misconstrued.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a problem with competition,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite cab section branch officer Peter Rose.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe compete with private hire companies all the time, and we have our own apps like Hailo.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the way these apps have been licensed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Rose explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTransport for London has licenced Uber as a private hire company, when it meets none of the criteria for private hire.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe booking is not made in this country, let alone in this city. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made in Holland. Uber doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pay tax here; it pays it in Holland. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make advance bookings. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s simply not a private hire company.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite senior rep Peter Bond says that unregulated apps present dangers for passengers. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese regulations have been built over years and years to protect the safety of passengers\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwomen who are out on their own at night, people with disabilities who need extra help,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Bond noted.<\/p>\n

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Bond also explained the way in which Boris Johnson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s policy of \u00e2\u20ac\u015blicence and forget\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 satellite offices has allowed such offices to spring up everywhere in place of properly regulated taxi ranks.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBoris Johnson made many promises to us cab drivers before his election. Instead of cutting back on satellite offices, where minicabs are booked on the street, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expanded them,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Bond said.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thousands more. If you have a sweet shop, you can have a satellite office. If you own a restaurant, you can have a satellite office.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite branch secretary at Heathrow, Michael Samroo, comments on the problems cabbies face at the airport.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have a big issue at Heathrow with people pricing jobs and using Uber,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have no record of who the drivers are, we have no control, and neither does Boris Johnson. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a complete free for all at Heathrow.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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More than anything, Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cab drivers feel their commitment to their trade is a tradition worth preserving.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have a group of drivers who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spent two to five years learning the streets of London, so they can navigate the city without the aid of a SatNav or any other aid, quickly and effectively,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Rose.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe drive vehicles that are fully wheelchair-accessible. And 98 per cent of the people of London can travel in a black cab. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no other form of transport in the entire city that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so inclusive.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Samroo added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had black cabs since Oliver Cromwell. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re part of our history. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the most iconic vehicle in the world. Why would you not want to preserve that?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blaring horns and taxi-congested roads greeted tourists and passers-by at Trafalgar Square, as Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s London cab section supported a demonstration on Wednesday (September 24) over Mayor Boris Johnson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s failure to protect the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s iconic black cab trade against unregulated competition.   Thousands of black cab taxi drivers, cheered on by Unite, the RMT and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[114,115],"wps_subtitle":"Unite drivers fight to save iconic taxis ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1577"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1580,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1577\/revisions\/1580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}