THEY DO NOT CARE

IT IS ALL ABOUT GREED

Is political correctness or financial expediency to blame for the rape of our children in Rotherham and Rochdale?

It is accepted by most journalists that the reason Social Services and the South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester police forces refused to answer our children's cry for help, was a political one.

That mindset fits neatly into an acknowledged acceptance of extreme political bias.

But I believe the true reason was financial.

The government and local authorities refused to finance any means of support for those young victims.

Victims who were vulnerable, homeless and in care.

'Care' is a political oxymoron. Those in charge do not 'care'.

There is not enough money filtering its way down to children in 'care' to actually care for them.

Since Rochdale and Rotherham, we are hoping with bated breath that is the end of it. That similar horror stories do not erupt from Birmingham, West Midlands, Oxford, Reading, Nottingham, Sheffield or London.

And if our nightmares do come true, they will be hijacked and blamed on Political Correctness, by bigots and apologists alike.

Allowing those who hold the financial purse strings off the hook once again.

In London people are being raped and sexually assaulted at an alarming rate by unvetted and under-policed minicab drivers.

In Rotherham and Rochdale, licensed minicab drivers were heavily steeped in the abhorrent abuse carried out by gangs of depraved rapists.

Nationally eighty percent of all 'stranger' rape is committed by minicab drivers.

In London rape and sexual abuse of women and men is being allowed to continue, by the authorities, due again to financial reasons.

Our daughters are being auctioned off to aid the highest bidder.

Transport for London purports to be a non profit organisation, but like many non profit organisations the people at the top are doing extremely well thank you.

TfL have, on the orders of Number 10 and its owners Goldman Sachs, turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to rape and sexual abuse in licensed and unlicensed minicabs in London.

Uber came to London as the pathfinder for TTIP.

They seduced their way into obtaining an Operators License from an easily bought TfL, with the aid of feted, cajoled and lobbied MPs, including David Camerom PM, and Chancellor George Osborne.

Buying one of Her Majesty's MPs nowadays is sadly all too easy.

Since Uber rode into Dodge, in 2012, licensing regulations have been diluted and changed to meet Uber's requirements, not TfL's.

A lot of money has been invested in Uber, and bankers are not going to let ten rapes and sexual assaults every week get in the way of profits.

It may well be a case of Political Correctness, because the victims are mainly working class; but do not doubt that it is allowed to continue because of huge financial investments.

Most of the people playing God with our lives get a Licensed London Taxi or their chauffeur to take them to their Gentlemen's Club.

The bottom line for the financial elite is money.

The rich and powerful are sacrificing our daughters on the alter of greed.

If you read the argument in favour of the abolition of Cross Border Control by Baroness Kramer, its insignificant and self indulgent rhetoric plays only to a captive audience of careless people who have no grasp on the ramifications of their actions.

The likes of Addison Lee might have found the abolition of CBC to have been fortuitous, but those whose job it is to police minicabs in London have found it an impediment.

The abolition of CBC is an important aid to the would-be minicab rapist.

We in London have a relatively new Mayor and a new Prime Minister.

The Mayor has acknowledged the problem of London's unacceptable rate of rape and sexual abuse in minicabs, but apart from promises that adhere to no time-scale, we have seen no action to tackle this.

The Prime Minister seems, to the outside world, to have little or no concern for the plight of those ordinary people whom she supposedly serves.

Institutionalised rape is one of those categories, like child abuse and hate crime, where it is allowed to go unchecked until those who own the News can disregard it no longer and finally 'exclusively' inform the public.

Then nothing is done, except we are told that they (the authorities) will learn from this ... until the next time.

A Freedom of Information request has been tendered to the Metropolitan Police and Transport for London, asking how many rapes and sexual assaults have been perpetrated by Taxis, Private Hire minicabs, Uber and minicab touts.

Londoners are now being put in extreme danger, because TfL have refused to abide by the request, rescheduling the deadline for the FOI release each time the date for publication is imminent.

The Mayor of London seems to be complicit in this fiasco. And Number 10 seems to be selectively oblivious.

THEY DO NOT CARE!

Her Majesty's government, the Mayor of London's office, the Greater London Authority, the Metropolitan and City Police, most Members of Parliament and Lords, and your local authorities DO NOT CARE!

If anyone cared, really cared, they would have done something about this travesty.

Her Majesty's Government, local government, and police knew about Rotherham and Rochdale.

They are far too busy looking good, to be doing good.

They simply DID NOT AND DO NOT CARE!

We know that Her Majesty's Government, TfL, the Mayor's Office, the GLA, the Metropolitan and City Police know first hand about minicab rape in London.

They simply DO NOT CARE!

These figures are from only 6 of London's 32 boroughs

BULLSHIT!

THE BULLSHIT MAYOR

AND CORRUPT REGULATOR

Whilst Uber cry crocodile tears for the media, complaining that Sadiq Khan is making it impossible for their drivers to meet the financial requirements needed to become successful Private Hire applicants. And whilst the Taxi Orgs are accepting every empty promise emerging from the Bullshit Mayor's mouth to be gospel.
Think on this; who is really going to be priced out of the market?

We have a £60,000 taxicab being forced upon us in just over a year's time.

Thanks to an LTDA-TfL initiative, the Taxi Trade will be taking a hit of up to 5% on every Credit Card transaction.

Talks of a decrease of Rate 4 or Rate 3 are actually being tabled.

And we are supposed to be breathing a sigh of relief because some part-time Uber drivers might be forced to dish out one off payments of hundreds of pounds for English and Driving tests?

The Bullshit Mayor promised access to more bus lanes.
So far we have had access to the London Bridge bus lane reneged upon.

Have you seen the proposed bus lane package? 20 bus lanes being made accessible? Like the two in Kidbrooke Park Road? They are not bus lanes. They are width restrictions, that buses are allowed to go around.

Taxis do not need to go around width restrictions, we are advanced drivers.

We need access to places like Tottenham Court Road, not chicanes!

The Bullshit Mayor spouts on about "Improving engagement with TfL." TfL will not release our FOI request.
They refuse to get back to Taxi Organisations.

TfL email addresses and Twitter accounts are for show only.

The Bullshit Mayor vomits crap like "New initiatives for the trade." New? I was taking credit cards twenty years ago!

We have been issued stickers to place on and in our cabs, purporting we 'now' accept credit cards.

I am a staunch believer in the freedom of choice.

Although I agree every taxi should have the facility to accept card payments; I believe it is illegal for TfL to demand that a driver must relinquish his or her right to refuse to give credit on every occasion.

TfL and the Bullshit Mayor care less about the safety of Taxi drivers, than they do about the Public. And we know they do not give a rat's arse about Public Safety.

The same mob who send vulnerable travellers into Private Hire cars driven by unvetted drivers, are forcing vulnerable Taxi drivers into the back of their cabs with unvetted passengers.

Rear mounted card machines are a danger. No driver, male or female, should be forced to choose between waiving the fare or being compromised in the back of a taxi.

The Bullshit Mayor promised proper demarcation between Taxi Cabs and Private Hire minicars.

Within days TfL allow AddLee to use the term Taxi for their app.

So you think the Mayor will protect the two-tier system?

Bullshit!

Meanwhile 600 new PH drivers are hitting our roads every week, without proper vetting.

THE BELLY IS A RASCAL

ITA HAVE POSTPONED

MONDAY'S DEMO

The ITA have advised me that their decision is based upon the current state of trade reticence.
The trade seems to take comfort in the fact that the Mayor of London is trying his utmost to combat Uber and its powerful friends, to save our three hundred and fifty year old iconic trade.
That may or may not be true - only time will tell.

He is also trying his best to placate a huge number of dissatisfied Taxi drivers, who feel they have been thrown overboard in favour of a rich American conglomerate who pays nothing into our economy, but relies upon UK government subsidies to pay their impoverished 'employees'.
The Mayor's promises have allowed the more apathetic amongst us to plead for a respite while we wait ... wait for what exactly?
Wait until May comes and goes, and Uber renew their license?

The majority of the Taxi trade never Demo.
The majority of the Taxi trade are only too willing to let the minority speak up for them, while they carry on regardless.
The majority of the Taxi trade like to moan about work or the lack of it, or about the roads, or Uber, or TfL, or official statistics that other proactive drivers have uncovered for them - but moaning is about as far as they are prepared to go.
The majority of the trade will not fight, and are not worth fighting for.

Think of the drivers with huge housing costs, children to keep and an overpriced taxi to maintain, who cannot make ends meet; who are pulling their hair out in sheer frustration, caused not by their incompetence, but by TfL's criminality.

Our fight is not against the Mayor.
Our fight is not against the ineffective GLA.
Our fight is against injustice. It is against the deregulation and destruction of our trade.
Our fight is against Cameron, Osborne, Johnson, Anderson, Kramer, Javid and all the other corrupt officials with a vested interest in overseeing our demise.
Our fight is against Daniels, Bertram, Hendy, Mason, Emmerson and all those who seek to destroy our trade for their own personal gain.

SO WHAT HAS THE MAYOR PROMISED?

Hire and reward insurance.
This is already the law.
The fact that it has not been enforced, says more about Transport for London (TfL), than it does the Mayor.

Extra ranks.
For who? Minicabs to sit on, whilst Compliance Officers lounge in some burger bar, out of sight?
What good are extra ranks if they are not policed?
I bet the fog-lit minicabs are jumping for joy though.

Access to more bus lanes.
Why are we not allowed into all bus lanes anyway?
Cycles use them - and they slow buses up far more than Taxis ever could.
And what about Tottenham Court Road?
We know all about the 'Great Bus Scam', but how many buses need the whole of Tottenham Court Road to themselves?

Agreed fare in advance for Private Hire customers.
Another rule that TfL have not enforced.
Private Hire (minicabs) have always been required to quote a fare in advance of the journey.

Phone contact with Customer Service.
TfL are rewriting the rules to accommodate Uber.
Landlines may become a requirement of the past.
What is the point of having any rules or regulations, if they are changed to accommodate the highest bidder?

More Compliance Officers.
Are any of these new officers going to come out after dark?
The lot we have at the moment seem anything but nocturnal.
They drive around during the day, jumping out of vans to nick Taxi drivers fouling ranks, but once the sun goes down they are nowhere to be seen, except a handful huddled in McDonald's, whilst minicabs rank up outside clubs and restaurants with impunity.

Private Hire paying their way on compliance costs.
This is a common sense piece of husbandry.
And a good reason to lower the extortionate price of the Taxi license. I say extortionate, because the trade gets nothing back in return.

Minimum 3 year UK DBS.
A huge step in the right direction.
Dads Defending Daughters called for five years minimum citizenship - but at least three years citizenship is better than a letter of good conduct from an embassy who has little to no knowledge of the applicant.
These new measures might save a person from being raped or murdered.
As our Mayor stated, "Even one is one too many."
Unfortunately, this decision is not in the hands of Sadiq Khan.
This is new legislation we are seeking.
Do not underestimate the bought and paid for MPs and journalists, who will oppose this legislation in favour of thirty pieces of silver. For them, rape is merely collateral damage.
This legislation must be implemented in every workplace, where any applicant is left in charge of children and the vulnerable.
Dads Defending Daughters would like to see DNA tests brought in for all applicants.

The Mayor's intention for minicab proprietors to have Fleet Insurance.
How will this affect Uber? Uber claim they do not have a fleet. They are an IT company.
Finance for fleet insurance will be levied upon the individual driver by the employer.
This is just political rhetoric.

Reviewing ride-sharing with DfT.
Another rule change that our Mayor has no jurisdiction over.
Except those who directly benefit financially, who on God's green earth thinks sharing a minicab with strangers is a good thing?
It is bad enough that the minicab driver may be an unchecked stranger. Now the greedy bastards want our daughters and sons to get into a minicab with strange passengers too!

Topographical tests.
Who cares about Mickey Mouse topographical tests?
It is not the Knowledge of London.
The public will be led to believe minicab drivers actually know what they are doing.
Great public relations for the likes of Uber.

Driving tests.
This is something that is not feasible, and leads me to question the Mayor's motivation.
There are not enough examination centres available to take on an extra hundred thousand advanced driving tests over three years.
Nor is there enough time to allocate and carry out all these tests. Let alone the driving lessons needed to achieve a high enough level of competence.
The Mayor is anything but stupid. He knows this cannot be achieved. Yet he promises it. Why?
It is simpler for TfL to insist that every minicab applicant must have a DVLA pass certificate before applying for a minicab license. And has not merely exchanged their foreign license for a UK one.

Transparency and demarcation for cab related criminal offences and KSI statistics.
Already we are seeing that these are nothing more than meaningless words printed in a quaint little pamphlet, to appease a few worried Taxi drivers.
Where are the Freedom of Information statistics, which were due to be published on 20th September 2016?

Our trade organisations cannot get an acknowledgement, let alone any answers.

Reviewing in-venue minicab operators.
Reviewing what exactly?
Do you believe this dangerous practice will be rectified?
On what grounds?
TfL gave an Operators License to an IT company, for crying out loud!
They sell roundels to absolutely anyone!
They allow unchecked drivers to ferry the vunerable around!
They are never going to change this lucrative activity because of public safety issues.

WHAT ARE OUR DEMANDS?

A full Public Enquiry into Transport for London's corrupt relationship with Uber.
Are we just going to get on with our lives, like this never happened?
Are we supposed to forget those innocent victims of rape and sexual assault?
Are we supposed to forget those drivers who lost their homes?
Forget those drivers who suffered divorce?
Forget those drivers who suffered bankruptcy?
Forget those drivers who are so behind with mortgage payments it will be five or even ten years before they are back on track?
Forget those drivers who had to seek employment elsewhere?
Forget those drivers who suffered a nervous breakdown?
Are we supposed to forget the people who instigated this misery, and let them ride off into the sunset with a golden handshake and a brand new promotion?
Not bloody likely!

No more ineffectual enforcement.
We demand that Compliance Officers do the job they are paid to do.
Are we supposed to sit idly by while minicabs shit all over compliance loopholes, basking on our Taxi ranks, plying for hire in Mayfair and the City?
Is our 'right to work' not worth fighting for?

Capping of minicab licenses.
The government's own transport committee has spoken out against the complete and utter chaos caused by TfL's chaotic road strategy.
The transport committee are fed up with TfL issuing six hundred minicabs every week onto our roads, condoned by the Secretary of State for Business (BIS) and Department for Transport (DfT), and exacerbated by TfL's disastrous Cycle Superhighway.
Day-long congestion and rising levels of pollution is literally choking the life out of 9,500 Londoners every year.
BIS's solution to finding jobs for the unemployable, via mini-cabbing, is ruining Londoners lives.
Big and small businesses are moving away from this purpose built madness, every month.
London is not open - London is locked shut!
This is another problem that is outside the remit of Mayor Khan.
We demand that DfT and BIS curtail this ludicrous situation, promoted by Uber-loving Sajid Javid before he was banished to the political underworld by Theresa May PM.

Greed got us into this mess, and greed will keep us there.
The greed of an uncaring government, who would see us go the same way as the miners, printers and shipbuilders, so they could line their own pockets.
The greed of TfL management under orders from Cameron and Osborne, who in turn were under orders from 'Government' Sachs and other unctuous investors.
These obscene gluttons see rape and sexual assault as acceptable collateral damage, in their grubby quest for a bigger return on their investment.
These gannets are prepared to destroy the lives of good men and women, so they can gorge themselves on the profit of our misery.
Greedy self interested Taxi drivers would rather work on, than fight to stop this unprecedented rise of rape and sexual abuse in minicabs.
Greedy blinkered Taxi drivers with their heads buried in their lolly-bags, would rather let someone else take the time and effort to fight for their jobs.

We will not Demo for the sake of Demoing.
We will not Demo simply because we are angry.
We will not Demo against a fair and proper Mayor.
We will Demo against an unfit and improper regulator.
We will Demo against an unjust government.
We will Demo when they refuse to listen.
We will Demo when they refuse to answer.
We will Demo when they refuse to be accountable.
We will Demo to reverse unfair decisions made by unjust officials.
We will Demo to be heard!

"The belly is a rascal, it doesn't remember how well you treated it yesterday, it'll cry out for more tomorrow." — Alexander Solzhenitsyn

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

CEASE FIRE!

On Tuesday, the Director of Service Operations TfL, Peter Blake handed me the 'Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan 2016', saying "It's all in here. All your demands are being met."

I thought, 'Yeah, right.'

But to be honest, they all are ... almost.

Mayor Khan and Transport for London have put an excellent package together.

The Mayor and Transport for London promise:

• Stringent Hire and reward insurance measures for Private Hire..
• Agreed fare in advance of journey for all Private Hire customers.
• Phone contact for passengers, with all Private Hire customer services.
• More Compliance Officers.
• Private Hire to pay their way, on compliance costs.
• A minimum 3 year UK DBS.
• An intention to revue Fleet Insurance for Private Hire companies.
• A revue on ride-sharing, with the Department for Transport.
• Basic topographical tests for Private Hire applicants.
• Rudimentary driving tests for Private Hire applicants.
• Transparency for cab related criminal offences.
• Transparency for cab related KSI.
• A revue of in-venue Private Hire operators.
• Opening up more Bus Lanes for Taxis.
• Card payment options.
• An increase in Taxi ranks.
• Establishing The Knowledge as a formal qualification.
• Regulating pedicabs and rickshaws.
• Improving engagement between TfL and all Taxi organisations.
• Lobbying for control over cross-border hiring - quite a biggy.
• And the big one, lobbying for a statutory definition of Plying for Hire - the RMT Taxi branch will be pleased.

So is the fight over?

"It's never over, till it's over."

We still need to get the Department for Transport  and Theresa May to set a cap for Private Hire vehicle licenses.

London is a massive choking car park:

600 Private Hire licenses issued every week;
Huge fleets of empty buses;

Massive cycle superhighways;

Works on every road, exacerbated by the lack of cohesion between local councils and TfL;

Most of London's roads frustratingly closed on weekends.

The previous administrations of TfL and the DfT, and Cameron's government are the guilty parties to this madness - which is still ongoing.

Rapes are still happening at an alarming rate in London.

The Government's attitude towards DBS checks must be highlighted.

At least our Mayor agrees with us.

Virtual ply-for-hire will be tested once the Mayor gets the Government revue.

Great news, but hey, let us not forget who sanctioned it.

Although we have been promised more Compliance Officers, they still need to do their job properly.

If they continue to swan around doing nothing, we will have no choice but to close Mayfair and the City.

A Public Enquiry into Transport for London's unhealthy relationship with a huge, well known American IT company, is essential.

Cameron and Osborne, Goldman Sachs, Johnson and Dedring, Mason and Hendy, Daniels and Emmerson, Jo Bertram and Rachel Whetstone, are all suspects.

So it looks as though we have no argument with Mayor Khan, or the present TfL administration.

But our fight continues on a governmental level.

I know we have come off of a decent week, with the help of Eid, but let's not bury our heads in our lolly-bags.
We have won nothing yet.

I would like to thank Mayor Sadiq Khan and Deputy Mayor Valerie Shawcross for their initiative.

SHALL WE DESIST, OR INSIST?

IS THAT IT?

Is that what we have been fighting for?

A few bus lanes that should be ours anyway, and minicabs obeying an existing law on insurance?

Maybe this Mayor is genuine, maybe not; we shall see.

Londoners desperately need a cap on Private Hire licenses, from the Department for Transport, and the Government.

I am told, Theresa May is far from satisfied with Transport for London's performance so far.

Maybe TfL are fighting for their existence too?

Rapes are still happening at an alarming rate in London - because the DBS is still being watered down with letters of good conduct and a failure to find out the truth from foreign applicants.

Many EU countries quash records of sex offenders, after only a few years.

Embassies who furnish TfL with a letter of good conduct for Private Hire applicants, may not be aware that the applicant in question resided in another country for many years, committing heinous crimes.

We need a minimum UK residency (5 years, in my opinion) for applicant, so proper UK checks can be made.

I could not care less about the English language tests.

I care even less if applicants have to sit a 'quickie' knowledge test.

I believe an 'advanced' driving test is unnecessary. Every Private Hire applicant should pass a DVLA test - not swap their foreign license for a UK one.

A minicab driver's lack of basic English and topographical knowledge is of no concern to me.

These are Taxi requirements - an Advanced Driving test, and the Knowledge of London..

Do not hand the likes of Uber the PR gift of claiming minicabs are like Taxis. They are not!!

At the moment there is nowhere these driving tests can be administered - so how is the Mayor going to pull that unworkable rabbit from his hat?

Uber could fund drivers' tests; most likely to be repaid over a loan period - shackling drivers to Uber financially, and adding prestige to Uber's damaged reputation.

Be careful of what you wish for.

The Government's 'blind eye' stance to DBS checks is generated to help employ of the unemployable, at current workers' expense.

Are foreign teachers afforded a watered down DBS?

Has no one learned from the Soham murders?

I want an undiluted DBS for everyone working with the vulnerable; taxi drivers, minicab drivers, school bus drivers, care workers, teachers, police officers, doctors and nurses. This minor demand is common sense. But does the Government truly have its citizens' welfare at heart?

What exactly has the Mayor promised us, that is not already ours?

English tests feed Uber's claim that the Mayor is unfair.

Do you think any Bollinger Bolsheviks, leaving a club in Shoreditch, care if their SatNav jockey can converse with them?

We should be demanding a Public Enquiry into the corruption of TfL regarding Uber, via Cameron and Osborne, and Goldman Sachs, Johnson and Dedring, Mason and Hendy, Daniels and Emmerson, and the likes of Jo Bertram, Rachel Whetstone and co.

Are we going to let them get away with it?

We need Compliance Officers to do their job properly.

Taxi ranks in Mayfair are being abused by minicabs and touts, sanctioned by clubs and restaurant managers, and neglected by TfL.

Minicabs are given carté blanche to hang it up in 'expectation' of a hiring, all over the West End, in stations and in the City - facilitating unofficial ranks, without fear from TfL compliance or police, to accept virtual hirings or a walk-ups for cash, courtesy of their prominent roundel or fog lights.

Let's not forget virtual plying-for-hire.

We need to get 'Ply for Hire' defined, one way or they other. At the moment, it's the 'other'.

We have nothing to lose; save the dog or put it down - at least we will know where we stand.

Minicabs and touts are not our only problem.

The issuing of 600 Private Hire licenses every single week of the year, waterlogged lanes of empty buses, obese cycle superhighways, ill-throughout pedestrianisation, constant unattended roadworks, and the abuse of London on weekends, treating it like a corporate playground, without taking its besieged residents into account, is adding to higher fares and longer, more frustrating journeys, that are killing the Taxi trade off; thanks to the three complicit monkeys; TfL, DfT and HM Government.

We have just had a pleasant week, due to Eid.

The Mayor's promises, perfectly timed to coincide with the holy holiday, may dampen the fire in some temporarily satisfied bellies.But we have all heard promises before.

Do not think proper civil disobedience goes unnoticed - it does not.

I admit to being impressed by Mayor Khan's personal achievements - yet I am impatient for his words to blossom into action.

Impatient because we do not have enough time for the Mayor's "Long term plan."

My scepticism of politicians plays out my frustration on Khan. If he is unable take criticism from some upstart Taxi driver, then he is in the wrong job. And believe me; he is not in the wrong job.

So I will keep pushing the Mayor, best I can.

I acknowledge Mayor Khan's promises, and after dubbing him 'Silent Johnson', I am relieved to find he has finally spoken to us as a trade.
Communication is the bridge to all understanding.

Ding ding! Hear that?

That bell is the end of round one. Not the end of the fight.
Nothing has been won.

No one can yet claim "Peace in our time."

Eaten bread is soon forgotten.

THE KING OF FOB

SADIQ KHAN, THE SILENT JOHNSON

On 21 July 2016, I emailed Mayor Khan, in reply to a previous correspondence.

For previous correspondence, click HERE

Below: Mayor Khan takes his lead from a deficient TfL rulebook, as he sidesteps our questions and ignores our concerns.
His contempt for our disquiet, breeds mistrust and allows anxiety to fester.

Mayor Khan, the King of Fob.

I have named Sadiq Khan, 'Silent Johnson', because he is the very same as Boris, but without all the guff and bluster.

Khan may turn out to be the silent assassin of the Licensed London Taxi trade.