 |
| Balham Station Rank. |
This is absolute proof that Westminster's Parking Wardens are turning a blind eye in the late evening to lines of illegally parked, illegally ranking, illegally touting minicabs. The code 45 contravention is being enforced quite successfully in many other central London boroughs.
So what makes Westminster different from other boroughs?
Click here to see how the code 45 is handled by Wandsworth council
Could it be that they are in league with the Metropolitan Police, the Safer Travel at Night team, and the TPH Cab enforcement unit, who are turning a blind eye to these contraventions just to clear the streets of potential drunken trouble makers.
This agenda has only come about since the new licensing laws heralding 24 hour licensing in clubs pubs and bars. What makes this so utterly unpalatable, is the fact that Westminster City Council are targeting Licensed Taxis who are unfortunate enough to take longer than two minutes to pick up or drop off on restricted streets.
TfL and TPH are just as immoral.
After releasing figures for the instances of serious sexual assault including rapes, which rose by 54% last year, they seem quite happy to let this situation spiral out of control.
They have also taken to victimising Licensed Taxi drivers with on street stop and search and badge and bill checks. Sometime just yards away from illegally touting minicabs. John Mason Head of TPH says they can do nothing as "it depends on how you interpret the law".
(read the comment from Semtex at the bottom of the article published on the new UCG website)
This agenda has now spread to the City of London.
Taxis are being targeted by City Police officers, while minicabs, both licensed and unlicensed , are allowed to rank in plain sight outside the night clubs and bars all over the financial capital of Europe.
Most rapes and sexual assaults have taken place on victims picked up illegally outside clubs and bars. They are approached by clipboard men in Hi Vis jackets with the words Mini Cab emblazoned on the back. Some even have satellite office licenses taped to the back of the clip board to give them an air of respectability. Lone females who've had too much to drink are at most risk.
Passion Wagons!
Most of the illegally ranked vehicles have blacked out rear windows and central locking.
When the victims are inside, the doors can be locked and they are at the mercy of the drivers.
Many of these late night minicab drivers are here as asylum seekers and there is little or no way their records can be checked by the licensing authorities CRO checks. Many have criminal records in their indigenous home lands.
But what the heck... as long as the streets are cleared and there are no drunks laying in the road!
Safer travel at night or STaN for short, is a complete farce.
As long as the authorities turn a blind eye these rapes will continue to escalate.
I think no matter how much we urge these cretins for answers,they will just ignore us,the problem is on the whole we are hated by the public,who just see us as overpaid morons,They dont think or care about how much we have to pay out just to run a cab,they just think every penny we take goes in our pockets,listen to any radio show we are always shown as greedy overpaid nobodys,and i believe thats exactly how TFL want us to be seen,So any genuine concern we have,we are just whingeing again,I bet we can all name the 2 black cab drivers that have been accused of rape,WORBOYS guilty,WELTON wrongly accused but convicted none of the less,Now try to think of the name of one minicab rapist,should not be hard as theres been over a 100,this year alone,Its obvious to see that TFL dont want them to be known,because it will show just how incompetant they are,We are going to soon be the OLYMPIC CITY,and yes they are putting out warnings,saying dont use unlicensed cabs,But tell me how many of us would know what a taxi looks like in say POLAND,and if leaving a bar you were met by an official looking guy in a high vis jacket offering you a cab,Watched on by a POLICE OFFICER,most of us would take that as being kosher,Now in your mind any car with a silly green roundel,that cant be seen to the naked eye,that is ranked up becomes to the tourist a TAXI,you cant blame the unsuspecting tourist,as the authorities are happy to let this go,I mean they have probaly seen so many of these picking up at the hotels they are staying in,What is needed is people to be informed before they arrive in this country the risk they are putting themselves in by getting into anything other than a real TAXI with a hire light and a meter,And that can only be done by the tourist board,I suggest we write to themand get the LAMPLUGH TRUST to back us up,These figures cant be denied,although as we know TFL will try,Now the OLYMPICS are going to be country wide,and this problem is a country wide scenario anyway,it would be intresting to see what the countrywide figure is,As BORIS seems to be the main spokesman for the Olympics lets see him come up with the answers,Will he tell the truth,that we have a POLICE force that cant act,because we tell them not to,Will he say well actually Londons a pretty dangerous place,and none of my office has a clue,I doubt it,out of 25,000 black cab drivers you will only get say a 1,000 that actually demand answers to this question,yeah in a way its easy to see why they are put down as whingers,until your wife or daughter becomes a victim,to be hidden away
ReplyDeleteI was caught by a newly installed but unsignposted camera filming motorists committing a new but unadvertised offence of stopping for three seconds in the minicab rank outside the station.(copied from Standard article)
ReplyDeleteITS A TAXI RANK NOT A MINI CAB RANK !!!
Semtex has it in a nutshell. His assessment is 100% accurate and the finest 500 words I have read in a long time. Their agenda now exposed certainly would not hold water in any court, and high court judges don't like kangaroo courts and jumped up bureaucrats interpreting the the law to fit their own agenda's!
ReplyDeleteIf rumours are to be believed,it is said mercedes,are soon to start leasing to the taxi trade,the figure being bandied around is £100,a week,alledgely they already have everything in place,Now if this is true,and I see no reason why not,they will soon dominate the trade,I dont know if leasing will be to the individual,or just to fleets,But either way it would be the way forward we have all been praying for,There would be no need for RAC/AA. coverage as Mercedes supply thier own,also you can go to any of thier main dealers for your work to be done,So fleet owners would only need a skeleton staff for minor repairs,London for once would have a fleet of brand new taxis,every 3 years,And that cant be bad.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the link on this article to the UCG website, I am flabbergasted at John Mason's comments regarding interpreting the law. You can pick any venue in London you like that has a satellite office and as you exit, firstly, you will have to run the gauntlet of being mobbed by the drivers of the illegally ranked vehicles asking you if you require a Taxi, mini-cab. At this point they are breaking two laws. If you were to accept their services they would be breaking three laws. Even on leaving nearly all venues the operator "clipboard Johnnie" will be outside the venue on the pavement illegally booking and putting passengers into un-insured vehicles that makes four contraventions. Even if the operator takes the booking inside the venue, the waiting car is still plying for hire, because it is waiting to be hired. It does appear John Mason doesn't understand the basic fundamentals of his job. So how can he possibly be qualified to interpret the laws pertaining to his office. The only other explanation I can think of, He's a bare faced liar!
ReplyDelete