21 YEARS LATER

TEMPUS FUGIT

In 1897 the Blackwall Tunnel opened, and the first conviction for 'drink driving' was given, to London Taxi driver George Smith.

21 years later we emerged victorious from the muck'n'bullets, to a promise-land fit for heroes.

21 years later the Bosch are at it again.

We bravely fight to free Europe from tyranny and again emerge victorious from the rubble.

21 years later the Germans are having another go.

This time in the World Cup - as Victory is ours once again.

21 years later I become a homeowner, after earning my Green Badge the previous year.

21 years later Boris Johnson becomes Mayor of London, and destroys all we have fought and worked for.

21 years time I shall be 80, and Londoners will be asking, 'Why did those in high office appease Uber to such an extent, they allowed a plague of unknown, unqualified drivers to wreak havoc on the streets of London?'

21 years is too long to wait for the truth to emerge. Act now!

Be lucky.

THE BADGE AND TAXI ON DDD DEMO

NICE TO SEE DADS DEFENDING DAUGHTERS EFFORTS ACKNOWLEDGED IN THE TRADE PRESS

From 'The Badge' - LCDC

From 'Taxi' - LTDA

A big 'thank you' from Dads Defending Daughters, to both trade papers for the coverage. of our efforts.

TAXI APPG

LETTER TEMPLATE TO YOUR MP

Instigated by the London Cab Drivers Club

Email or post this to your local MP.
Simply fill in the name of your MP at the top, and your name at the bottom.
_____________________________________

Dear,

I am writing to you as one of your constituents and a Licensed London Taxi driver.
As you are aware, we have been experiencing major difficulties with our regulator, TFL, on a huge range of issues such as licensing, enforcement and compliance, to name but a few.
In fact the Greater London Assembly (GLA) produced an excellent document on TFL's inadequate management of the Licensed Taxi and Private Hire trades, called 'Future Proof' - where the GLA called TfL's performance "Woefully inadequate."

On the back of this and other major concerns, such as safety and the right to ply for hire, there has now been an 'All Party Parliamentary Group', set up in Parliament, for Taxis:
This has cross party support of many MPs and Lords, who are keen to support the trade and help secure its future.
The two key strands to the APPG would be:

1. Holding the GLA and Sadiq Khan to account for promises made in the Mayor's manifesto.

2. Applying pressure on our Government for fair and positive changes in the law, whilst also addressing Existing laws that are not being enforced.

On this basis, may I request you consider supporting the Licensed Taxi trade, and respectfully ask you to join the APPG, along with your fellow MPs and colleagues from the House of Lords.

I thank you for your time, and look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

REPLY FROM THE MAYOR OF LONDON

DON'T PISS UP MY BACK AND TELL ME IT'S RAINING

Dear Mayor Khan,

I would like to thank you for your reply to my email, dated 19 Jul 2016, but I cannot.

I felt your letter, an insult to my intelligence, was a fob.

You did not answer any of my questions or engage with any of my suggestions.

Did you actually read my email?

In your reply you suggest I may be aware of the introduction of more stringent regulations.

Are any of these regulations new?

Or is TfL finally enforcing those already in place, but never previously policed?

Correct Hire & Reward insurance has always been a requirement. TfL decided not to enforce it.

In fact, Leon Daniels lied to the GLA, that Uber had 'on/off' insurance. They did not.

Leon Daniels also lied to the GLA, stating he was in possession of Uber's landline. The landline he offered Ms Shawcross was Jo Bertram's personal number.

So these "more stringent regulations" are nothing more than TfL finally doing their job.

Do Uber now comply with all the specifications laid out by TfL, regarding landline and offices?

And taking into account that Uber have sworn on oath, that they do not receive or handle customer bookings in any way, worldwide; do they still comply to your 'stringent regulations'?

In my email, I proffered three points toward preventing rape and sexual assault in TfL Licensed Minicabs.

1. Scrapping onscreen locations.

2. Banning blacked out windows.

3. A minimum of five years residency.

You acknowledged none of them.

Your reply was like an automated TfL response on Twitter; stating all Private Hire applicants go through an enhanced DBS. "Have a nice day." "You're welcome."

The Licensed London Taxi trade has had enough political sidestepping and untrue truths from your predecessor.

Refugees and asylum seekers are afforded certain exemptions, if the DBS cannot check the applicants' background.

This is unacceptable. Do you expect someone's daughter to get into a car with a stranger?

Are our daughters not as important as yours?

You, along with most MPs and the media, refuse to acknowledge the glaring problem this trade is facing from unchecked predators.

I watched you answer the 'Uber rape' question. You were quick to qualify yourself by saying one rape is one too many. But went on to say that Uber is (only) 32 of 154.

Surely you understand that the rise in sexual assaults since 2012 is because TfL relaxed their regulations to the point of deregulation, to appease Uber.

That deregulation went across the Private Hire board.

No it is not just Uber drivers who have raped and sexually assaulted women during a twelve month period, but because of their influence over TfL, deregulation has been allowed to happen.

Now we all know that serious crime, such as murder, rape and sexual assault can happen to any profession.

Doctors, teachers, politicians, policemen, TV presenters, even Taxi drivers bring shame to their trade - but not on the scale of Uber.

And Uber's safety record is hardly enviable, is it?

It seems a Prius is crashing somewhere in London, daily.

I personally cannot remember one single day where I did not witness an imbecile with a roundel doing something dangerous.

Dads Defending Daughters is concerned about safety.

One of our members knows only too well the horror of being the father of a rape victim.

Rape can destroy lives and families.

You know that it is widely recognised that only ten percent of victims come forward.

TfL or police need to legally enter Uber's premises and view all previous complaints against Uber drivers, and make sure that all have been forwarded on to the correct authorities.

A young woman recently tweeted a complaint to Uber, against a driver for masturbating whilst driving. Did that, and similar complaints ever get reported to the police?

You promote yourself as a family man, who loves his wife and daughters. I do not doubt your sincerity for a second; it's the most natural thing in the world.

What about my daughters? What about everyone else's daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, aunts?

What about our sons? Rape is not gender specific.

If you consciously keep Londoners in the dark, then you are culpable; much the same way as the BBC are with Jimmy Savile.

An informed population may make informed decisions.

We are not going away. In fact the less you do to check this rise in rape and sexual assault, the bigger and stronger we become.

If you are going to reply to this email, please do so having read it.

Kind regards,

Leonard H. Etheridge

Dads Defending Daughters.