Just before midnight last night, our brave compliance officers, in league with a crack team from the City of London Police, set up a Taxi check point in Beech Street (again).
Is this Tfl's answer to intelligence based enforcement?
Cars allowed to openly tout by CoL police.
Met police no better, as witnessed outside Swallow Street Archway.
London's Taxi drivers have for many months, been supplying TfL with thousands of images plus detailed information of Touts, hanging it up, illegally plying for hire all over London's Mayfair, West End, Soho, Kings Road, Fulham Broadway, Hammersmith, Shepherds Bush, Shoreditch, main line Stations and this is the result?
The same old tired check point that every tout, illegal minicab and YB with fake IDs knows about and avoids!!!
Why are our Trade Orgs not consulted about this so called intelligence lead compliance and enforcement?
Why haven't TfL, the Met and CoL police asked trade reps to go out with compliance and enforcement teams?
Non cooperation:
Last night I asked two officers from the Met Police to move touting minicabs who were parked up on the pavement in Coventry Street, seeking victims leaving the gentleman's club next to the Trocadero. At first they said they would have a look. I drove round the block and found they had done nothing and walked off across Leicester Square.
I then found two Westminster Wardens who were more than happy to move the cars in. After removing the touts. I returned a few minutes later only to find another line of touts illegally parked up with two wheels on the pavement.
As there are double yellow lines, parking on Coventry Street is restricted, but also a specific offence is committed by actually driving onto the pavement with the intent to park, under sec 72 of the highways act.
After revelations that last year, just 34 PHV drivers were convicted of "Touting", we have now been reliably informed that in the first three months of this year four "Uber" drivers have been arrested for touting. Mind you, that's arrested not convicted.
These statistics are scandalous:
It's been four months since the GLA report was published and so far, no visible escalation of enforcement, not one extra, desperately needed rank space.
TfL are just weathering the storm of criticism and will carry on regardless with their woefully inadequate performance.
Perhaps our enforcement agencies need a visit from the Birmingham Taxi Police who seem to have their eye on the ball when it comes to minicab touts. They could certainly teach our lot a thing or two!
