Professional Driver Magazine July 2021 by Professional Driver Magazine

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Charming Chabé

How to launch a chauffeur business in the middle of a pandemic

CAR OF THE YEAR

CAR of the YEAR & QSi

The biggest and best Professional Driver events are back for 2021–p24

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COVER STORY

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P rofile O ur events are back!

N ews Analysis

Launching a chauffeur company in a pandemic? No problem. Welcome to Chabé

B usiness News

The latest from around the UK private hire sector

We’re proud to announce new venues and dates for our 2021 Car of the Year and QSi Awards events back in business? –

Will September provide sanctuary for theUn beleaguered B2B sector? Self Drive Hire of PCO Licensed and Licensed Exe 26 N ews Analysis market woes – as , new cars Mercedes S-Class , Mercedes V-Class Mercedes are hit with supply problems, used car prices keep on rising Tesla Model S28 , Nissan Leaf N ews Analysis have all the drivers gone? 01707 649Where 090 How Covid and Brexit have made recruitment so hard : info@chauffeurrentals.com REGULAR FEATURES 32 The Knowledge 33 The Advisor Daily , Weekly Hires 34 or The Monthly Negotiator 35 The Insider

VOLUME 15 ISSUE 04 £4.95

Charming Chabé

How to launch a chaffeur business in the middle of a pandemic

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ANALYSIS: business travel resumption WINNING FORMULA: Crawfords took 16 cars to the British Grand Prix, at Silverstone, in July

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The chauffeur industry has had a boost from recent sporting events, but the real travel comeback won’t happen until the autumn

Banking on September

Mark Bursa

HE RETURN OF CROWDS TO MAJOR

sporting events gave the ground transport industry a welcome boost. A shot in the arm, you could say, as the success of the Covid-19 vaccination programme meant the Government felt comfortable enough to risk releasing Britain from lockdown on July 19. At the time of writing, infections were rising to a level not far off last December. But crucially, Covid-related deaths are not rising at the same rate. We may catch Covid, but those without underlying medical conditions that make them more

vulnerable to the virus are now unlikely to die. And that’s what we’ll have to live with going forward. The return of events such as the Open Golf Championship, British Grand Prix and Wimbledon provided work for Britain’s beleaguered executive chauffeuring sector. These events have traditionally provided demand spikes during quiet summer months. While the corporate hospitality market hasn’t quite bounced back – international travel is still strictly limited, so there are far fewer overseas visitors – the sheer fact that there was any work at all was most welcome. Jobs that might otherwise have been

ESTABLISHED SINCE 2005 CAR OF THE YEAR

CAR OF THE YEAR & QSi The biggest and best Professional Driver events are back for 2021–p24

Mike Bell

considered humdrum were the subject of proud LinkedIn posts. Robert McKenna, general Manager at Little’s, gleefully recounted the company’s eight-day on-site stint at The Open, held this year in Kent, providing and managing transport for one of the main sponsors. “It was amazing to get the event buzz back again. Coach shuttles from London and Ashford each day, off-site evening events, dedicated cars for VIPs along with arrival and departure transfers. Everything was seamless and the Kent sunshine made it all even more enjoyable,” he said. TBR Global Chauffeuring also scored through the hosting of some UEFA

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comment

Freedom comes at a price F or many in our industry there wasn’t

much to celebrate on the Government’s much-trumpeted “freedom day” of July 19. Its initial effect was to give carte blanche for people to ditch face coverings, which have played a vital role in keeping down the spread of infections over the past 16 months. Thankfully, common sense appears to be prevailing, with Transport for London continuing to mandate masks on buses, trains and tubes. It recommends masks in taxis and PHVs too – but without the statutory powers to enforce mask-wearing in the same way. So it’s down to the poor driver to make the call. Yes, you can refuse to carry someone without a mask, but what about the selfish, and often aggressive punter who rips off the mask the moment the car moves off? Few drivers will risk a confrontation when a client may be drunk and violent. So the driver has to suffer in silence and hope the wanker in the back isn’t infected. Let’s always bear in mind that more than 200 drivers died last year after contracting coronavirus from a client. Common sense would dictate that wearing masks has worked, as this number has slowed to a trickle in 2021. But in Boris Johnson’s cabinet of clowns, common sense is at a premium. So what should you do? Making sure your driver wears a mask does some good – though face coverings are designed to stop the virus from getting out via your breath, not in. And keep the screens fitted – like Addison Lee is doing. A screen provides a barrier against a shouting, angry backseat occupant. More than ever, with the Delta variant still unchecked, every safety precaution is valid. Keep hands sanitised. Valet the cars. Basically, ignore “freedom day”. Remain on your guard and rebuild your business as safely as you can. Meanwhile, there are other problems. Cars are in short supply. New car production has been hit by a shortage of microchips. This, and other reasons, have contributed to a steep rise in used car prices. Just when you need to renew your cars, the cost goes up. And even if you don’t need cars, you might struggle to find drivers. Again, there are many reasons for this, but one of the biggest is our dear friend Brexit. Many fleets depended on East European drivers – but the hostile

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environment created by the xenophobic Brexiters has driven many of them back home. And even if they want to come back, Covid prevents it. The catastrophic decision of 2016 continues to blight so many aspects of our lives, from peace in Northern Ireland, to businesses that import and export to Europe, and to the supply of food on the supermarket shelves thanks to a lack of truck drivers. The case for rejoining the EU at the earliest possible opportunity is unarguable. (Don’t even try – you’ll get the shortest of shrift from me). Only the wretched standard of politicians stops a proper case being made. Come on, Keir. Get to grips with this issue. Meanwhile for those in the B2B sector, it’s a waiting game. Sporting events in the summer months have given us a boost, but most operators we’ve spoken to are not expecting a real upturn in business until September, and the reopening of travel corridors as vaccinations get close to 100%. And vaccination is working. Even though the infection rate remains unacceptably high, very few people are dying of Covid-19 now. The only way to achieve true ‘herd immunity’ is through immunisation, not via the reckless, irresponsible approach promoted by Johnson and the appalling Dominic Cummings. We’re not there yet, but if we’re careful, we’ll get there soon. Here at Professional Driver, we’re confident enough to hold our major events again this year. Our Car of the Year judging event takes place on Tuesday August 24 and Wednesday August 25, at a new venue – Epsom Racecourse. You are all most welcome to register for either day – simply register at https://www.prodrivermags.com/car-of-the-year-home/ And on Thusday, November 25, the Professional Driver QSi Awards return – also at a new home: Celtic Manor in South Wales. Start preparing your entries now – and stay tuned for more details about special categories for 2021. Find out more at https://www.prodrivermags.com/qsi-awards-home/ We look forward to welcoming you later in the year. Mark Bursa Editor markbursa@prodrivermags.com

news

Leading Insurers threaten Uber with CMA investigation over new document system EXCLUSIVE Mark Bursa Leading insurers are threatening Uber with a referral to the Competition & Markets Authority after the ride-hailing operator introduced a new insurance system that excludes a number of the biggest companies. Uber has introduced a system called Instadoc, which it says is designed to streamline and simplify the documentation approval process for drivers. The Instadoc system will be in place by the end of the year, and Uber said the move would enable it to receive drivers’ insurance certificates directly from the providers. In an email to drivers, Uber wrote: “This means that from December 1, 2021 onwards, we’ll only be accepting insurance certificates obtained from one of the Instadoc-approved insurance providers.” But leading insurers including Plan and Aviva are not on the approved list – only the following eight firms: u A corn Insurance / Haven Insurance (Motorcade) u Antillo u Freeway u Headway/Nelson/DCL u INSHUR u Mulsanne (Fare Cover) u Walsingham Motor Insurance Limited u Zego Uber has told drivers that if their policy is not

an said: “We are proud of Instadoc, an industryfrom one of the approved providers, they must first digital verification process which allows switch to one of them at next renewal, with a cut insurance firms to send digital insurance docu-off of November 30, 2021. Divers that do not comments directly to Uber, saving drivers time while ply will not be able to drive for Uber after that date. helping to prevent fraud and ensure Plan Insurance’s head of busithat every trip is insured.” ness development Daniel Severin said She claimed the list of eight compathe move would effectively reduce the nies covered “the vast majority” of Uber available market in London for driver drivers – a claim disputed by the major insurance for firms not on the list by insurers not on the list. However, she up to 60%. did say the list would be reviewed. “How would you act if your business “The current insurance provider panwas about to lose 60% of the market it el, which will be reviewed in 2022, was operates in, due to a closed marketselected to ensure that drivers have a place you are not being allowed into?” Daniel Severin great range of cost-effective and conSeverin asked. venient options, and includes some of the largest Insurers not on the list are now in discussions insurers of PHVs in the UK who cover the vast mawith trade and government bodies including the jority of Uber drivers. We believe that Instadoc is an Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Finanimportant innovation for the industry that should cial Conduct Authority (FCA) and, crucially, the be adopted by all operators.” Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – which Severin said the excluded insurers had written recently gave Uber the green light to buy dispatch to the GMB Union, which earlier this year signed a systems provider Autocab. deal with Uber to represent its workers, and the unSeverin said: “Insurers are speaking to the region had raised further concerns. ulators to understand if this amounts to a non-au“I understand from our conversation that the thorised body influencing a purchasing decision. GMB already have drivers saying that the insurers They have specifically asked the CMA whether this on the Uber list will not insurer them; will not cover initiative will create an unfair and closed market their wife, son or daughter; and they are all at least among insurers.” 25% more expensive than their current supplier. He added: “As a result, Uber may be on the end Severin suggested that the checks be carried out of a backlash from the insurance industry if they by TfL via the Motor Insurance Database, though continue with their plans, and it might not all be Uber has apparently dismissed this idea, and does smooth sailing.” not consider the MID suitable to perform the task. Uber defended the move. An Uber spokeswom-

London taxi numbers fall to lowest level in 40 years The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on taxi and private hire fleets has been highlighted in new DfT data. In England, the numbers of licensed PHVs dropped 16% to 192,700 compared to 2020. There was a larger decrease in PHVs in London compared to England outside of London: 19.2% and 14.6% respectively. There are now 77,500 PHVs in London – down from almost 100,000 pre-pandemic. The licenced taxi fleet in England fell 14% to 58,300 in 2021, with an 8.1% fall outside London. London black cabs have taken the hardest hit, falling to their lowest level in 40 years. Over the past year, there has been a 29% fall in the number of black cabs operating on London’s roads to just 13,884 taxis – down more than 5,000 on pre-pandemic levels - despite the travelling public being scared to use buses and tube trains though the crisis. The number of licensed PHV operators decreased by 5.6% to 15,100 from the previous year, and is 8.6% lower than the peak in PHV operators at 16,500 in 2009. PHV operators declined by 7.9% to 2,000 operators in London and decreased by 5.2% to 13,100 operators in the rest of England. There were 343,800 taxi and PHV driver licences in England, 20,900 (5.7%) fewer than in 2020. Of the total licences, 64% were PHV-only licences, 13% were taxi-only licences and 22% were dual taxi/PHV licences. —Mark Bursa

JULY 2021

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Industry anger as PHV cars are set to be hit by Heathrow’s £5 charge from October Mark Bursa Heathrow Airport is planning to introduce a new £5 drop-off charge for all vehicles – including taxis and private hire vehicles – from this October. The move – another blow to the beleaguered travel sector – will apply to any vehicles entering any of the terminals. The airport says the charge is designed to “improve air quality and reduce congestion”, though the airport’s management admits it is a way of clawing back some of the estimated £5 million a day that the airport has been losing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the annual revenue from the charge could be as much as £100m, which could almost double the airport’s annual parking revenue, which amounted to £126m in 2018. Taxi associations have argued against the move. Dave Lawrie of the National Private Hire and Taxi Association said: “With the Covid situation, I think our industry should be exempt.” He said the charge would be passed

on to customers, putting up the cost of travel. The charge is in line with other airports, including Gatwick and Manchester. Gatwick introduced a £5 charge at both its terminals earlier this year. Manchester Airport introduced a charge in 2018 and has since increased its prices from £3 to £5 for five minutes, with ten minutes costing £6 and more than ten minutes a whopping £25. The Heathrow drop-off charge must

be paid online or over the phone, with ANPR cameras being used to enforce the charge and fines for those who do not comply. A free drop-off option will remain at long-term car parks, where passengers will have to take a free bus transfer to the terminal. There will be no exemptions for zero-emissions vehicles. Indeed, the only exemptions will be for Blue Badge holders and emergency vehicles. In a statement, the airport said: “We have always said that we would

Take Me moves into West Country with £1.8m acquisition of Plymouth’s Tower Cabs Ambitious taxi group Take Me has added another company to its growing portfolio, with the acquisition of Plymouth-based Tower Cabs. The £1.8 million deal has been funded by Take Me managing director David Hunter and fellow director John Gardner. It is not part of the ongoing funding agreement with MBH Corporation, which has bankrolled much of the Take Me expansion over the past few months. Tower Cabs was established in the 1980s by Peter Bresland (pictured right, with Take Me’s John Gardner), and currently has around 160 cars. Describing the deal as “an exciting new development in the Tower Cabs’ story”, Bresland said: “To enable us to move forward and face the

challenges of the post-Covid world, we are joining forces with the Take Me group of companies.” In a letter to staff, Bresland continued: “The group offers driver incentives, including cheaper insurance and car replacement finance. This collaboration

consider introducing a form of road user charging and several other approaches to improve air quality and reduce congestion at Heathrow. This charge forms part of our updated Surface Access strategy and sustainable travel plans.” It continued: “We updated these plans after reviews were conducted of all airport projects in light of the collapse in passenger numbers experienced at Heathrow due to the impacts of the pandemic and the subsequent loss of £5million a day.” The airport had earlier proposed a £15 fee for drop-offs under its nowdefunct Heathrow Vehicle Access Charge (HVAC) plan, which included a Heathrow Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (HULEZ) from 2022. Heathrow said: “This move will not impact passenger pick-up, which should continue via the car parks, as picking up passengers is not permitted on the terminal forecourts. More details on the scheme, registering your vehicle, and making payments will be published in due course.”

will enable us to reach new heights and take Tower Cabs to a new level while reestablishing our position as the premier cab company in Plymouth. There will be lots of exciting developments in the next few months and we want you all to be part of the journey.” David Hunter said: “The company has more acquisitions in the pipeline to be announced in the near future, following the additions already this year to the group of ADT Taxis, Steve’s Taxis, VGT Taxis, Westside Taxis, Intercity Private Hire, and TC Cars.” He added: “It is exciting times at Take Me as we keep adding brilliant local businesses to our network fleet. Together we can bring our skills and infrastructure from being a national brand but build on the local expertise of these amazing, wellestablished taxi operators. It seems to be a great combination, and we are already working on adding to the network over the summer.”

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news

Bolt under pressure to fall in line with Supreme Court Uber ruling Mark Bursa Bolt, London’s second-biggest ride-hailing app operator, is under increasing pressure to fall in line with Uber and grant its drivers ‘worker’ status. Bizarrely, the pressure is not only coming from trade unions, but from Uber itself, which believes there is so little difference between the two companies’ operating models that Bolt should be covered by the February 2021 Supreme Court ruling on Uber drivers. An Uber spokeswoman said: “Other ride-hailing apps such as Bolt and Ola have substantially the same business model as Uber. However, drivers work across multiple platforms in any one day and it’s absurd that they will be covered with these worker rights on one trip and not another.” “The Supreme Court was clear that drivers must be treated as workers. Other operators may resist giving drivers holiday pay and pensions now, but it will not be a fruitful fight and they will likely face legal challenges.” Last month the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ACDU) turned its attentions to Bolt, calling for a drivers’ strike and user boycott of the app unless Bolt offers similar rights to its drivers as Uber now does. ACDU said that it believed Bolt drivers worked under identical conditions to Uber drivers, though Bolt

maintains its employment model is different in a number of ways. An unknown number of Bolt drivers went on strike for 24 hours on Tuesday, June 22 in protest at the firm’s failure to grant them worker rights. A Bolt spokesperson said that the firm had a different operating model to Uber and was not operating in London in 2016, when the legal case against Uber was first brought. Following the February Supreme Court judgement, Uber decided to extend workers’ rights to all its drivers, though it continues to argue that a driver is only at work once a job has been accepted, not while the driver was waiting for a job. Uber has subsequently recognised the right of the GMB Union to represent its members. Abdurzak Hadi, chair of ADCU London, said: “Bolt can no longer just bury its head in the sand and pre-

tend that their drivers and our members are not entitled to the same rights as Uber drivers.” In a statement, Bolt responded to the claims, saying: “We maintain regular dialogue with drivers regarding many topics, through surveys, newsletters, social platforms and in-person forums. They tell us they like Bolt because it charges less commission – as low as 10% for drivers with electric vehicles – resulting in higher average earnings when on a trip.” “The majority of private hire drivers who enter the industry do so for the flexible hours and freedom to choose when to drive so we don’t penalise drivers for declining trips or for accepting trips from other companies.” However, Bolt has recently increased the fee it charges drivers of non-electric cars, which Uber claims removes one of its main objections to falling in line. The Uber spokeswoman said: “Bolt recently indicated that they will resist giving drivers worker rights despite the Supreme Court judgment.” “They pointed to their lower service fee of 15% as a reason, stating that ‘drivers take home more money’. However, on July 14 Bolt raised their service fee from 15% to 20%. Even if this change hadn’t happened, a lower commission fee doesn’t replace a driver’s rights by law – worker rights are not optional.” Uber also said that it pays 12.07% holiday payments, weekly in cash, so the Bolt claim about drivers making more money is not valid.

iCabbi to offer operator stakes in new jointly-owned dispatch business Mark Bursa iCabbi has launched a new service called Taxi Alliance, its response to rival Autocab’s iGo system, through which Autocab users can receive jobs from other firms on the platform – and parent company Uber. iCabbi describes Taxi Alliance as “a new, jointly-owned venture created in response to customer demand for greater security as large technology companies continue to expand and acquire the UK & Irish passenger markets”. The announcement does not go into detail about how the system works, but iCabbi CEO Gavan Walsh (pictured, right) said operators will have the opportunity to become shareholders in the Taxi Alliance system, and a Board of Governance will be put in place including

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representatives of operators, who would in theory be able to veto any attempt to sell the syste to a ride-hailing company. Walsh said: “iCabbi acted decisively, working with Mobilize [the Renault Group mobility arm that owns the Dub-

lin-based dispatch provider] to deliver a new model for the UK & Irish markets. The Taxi Alliance gives Operators the chance to have a say and a stake in the technology they use to defend and grow their business.”

“Fleets will also benefit from collective negotiating power when bidding for new business or engaging with regulatory issues. In short, independent firms retain independence while gaining greater influence.” Walsh told iCabbi users in a webinar: “The Taxi Alliance makes us stronger together, gives customers board representation, a say in product development and confidence in a shared future.” The Taxi Alliance system is based on a similar concept to the Riide app, and a new team is being formed to lead the business, headed by Mark English & Odhran Ginnity, both of whom were involved in the Riide app. “A change is needed in our industry and we’re building that change collaboratively – this work starts now,” Walsh concluded.

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Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Plan offers city’s taxi and PHV drivers a new £21.4m vehicle upgrade fund Mark Bursa Taxi and private hire drivers in Manchester will be able to access grants of up to £10,000 per car to upgrade to cleaner vehicles as part of Greater Manchester’s Clean Air plan, published this week. Greater Manchester has secured £120 million in government funding to help businesses comply with the new emissions rules – and £21.4m of that money will be reserved for the taxi trade. Applications for funding will open from November to allow local businesses to upgrade to cleaner, lower-emission vehicles before a daily charge for the most polluting commercial vehicles is introduced. The Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is scheduled to go live on May 30, 2022, though hackney and private hire vehicles licensed by a GM district, vans, minibuses, GM-registered coaches and wheelchair-accessible taxis will be exempt from charges for 12 months until May 31, 2023. After that date, any vehicles older than Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel-compliant cars will have to pay a £7.50 per day charge. Unpaid charges would result in liability to pay a Penalty Charge Notice of £120 in addition to the unpaid daily charge (reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. By then, the GM authority hopes drivers will access the funds available to upgrade their vehicles. Replacement grants applicable to both PHV and hackney taxis are as follows: u U p to £10,000 towards replacement with a zeroemission-capable (ZEC) wheelchair-accessible vehicle. u U p to £5,000 towards replacement with a compliant wheelchair-accessible vehicle.

THE KING IN THE NORTH: Andy Burnham plans to radically upgrade Greater Manchester’s taxi and PHV sector

p to £6,000 towards replacement with a ZEC U non-wheelchair-accessible vehicle. u Up to £3,000 towards replacement with a compliant non-wheelchair-accessible vehicle. u Up to £5,000 to retrofit through an LPG conversion an existing vehicle so it is compliant. u Up to £5,000 towards replacement with a compliant private hire minibus. It is proposed that there is a limit of five vehicles per applicant for grant funding and finance, with funding and finance initially open to single ownerdrivers only. In addition to grants, eligible owners would also have access to vehicle finance, offering a 0% or low-cost loan up to £10,000. Government Plug-in Car Grants are additionally available. There is funding to upgrade vans too, and owners can now access up to £4,500 towards the replacement of a vehicle with a compliant one £1,000 more than initially proposed. Additional funding will be provided for buses and heavy trucks. Greater Manchester is also introducing electric u

charging points on the Be.EV public charging network for exclusive use by taxi and private hire drivers. The government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles and other sources are providing £3m to install 30 rapid chargers across Greater Manchester just for the trade to use, while a further £0.5m in funding earmarked for an abandoned ‘Try before you buy’ ZEC hackney carriage scheme will be reallocated, allowing an additional eight dedicated charging points to be installed. GM is working with OZEV to secure funding to install around 300 more public charging points across Greater Manchester, some of which would also be for electric hackney and private hire vehicles only. Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone covers the entire road network in all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs, excluding motorways and stretches of A-roads maintained by Highways England, such as the A663, linking J21 of the M60 with the A627(M), and the A5103 between J3 of the M56 and J5 of the M60. Although maintained by Highways England, the organisation has agreed that the Clean Air Zone will also cover the A57 and A628 in Tameside due to the high air pollution detected in this area. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (pictured) said: “We listened hard to what business owners wanted and, as a result, taxi drivers are being given more time, more funding and more options. This is part of our wider commitment to put GM-licensed hackney and private hire drivers first, and to lobby government to give us the powers to ensure that only locally licensed drivers are able to operate here.”

BP aims to recruit 500 ride-hailing drivers for new EV subscription service

tion service for London ride-hailing drivers. BP Pulse hopes to sign up 500 drivers to the trial of the BP EV Pro service over the next 12 months. With contract length between 4-12 weeks, a subscription in the trial starts at £225 per week with a £500 deposit. The service is an alternative to suppliers such as WeFlex, Ottocar and Splend for drivers looking to switch to an EV. BP EV Pro includes a new PCO-licensed elecMark Bursa tric car, charging from the BP Pulse BP Pulse, the electric vehicle charg- network, hire and reward insurance ing arm of the oil giant, is piloting an and comprehensive servicing includall-inclusive electric vehicle subscrip- ing maintenance and breakdown cover.

BP is rolling out new fleet rapid charging hubs across London which will have free access for BP EV Pro drivers. The first one, which opened on Park Lane in May, includes

a dedicated space for Uber drivers. Deepshikha Vasishta, senior manager, end-to-end fleet solutions, said: “For a professional ride-hail driver, their car is their tool of the trade. BP EV Pro offers a driver everything they need to run their business in one easy weekly payment. “Electric vehicle rental via BP EV Pro is a cost-efficient alternative to non-electric vehicles, offering no additional fuel cost and a 100% discount on Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and congestion charges. “It gives access to electric-only fares as well as electric-only streets.”

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Gridserve plans to create nationwide new high-speed EV charging network Mark Bursa Gridserve has unveiled plans to establish a national network of high-speed electric vehicle charging stations under the Gridserve Electric Highway brand. The move follows the acquisition of Ecotricity’s EV network in May. Under the new plan, Gridserve, which opened Britain’s first electric charging forecourt in Essex last year, will open 100 more Electric Forecourts, a network of more than 50 high-powered Electric Hubs, and 300 rapid chargers at 150 motorways service areas. Gridserve claims it will be the first time that EV drivers will be able to rely on a comprehensive EV charging infrastructure without range or charging anxiety, wherever they live in the UK. The network will feature more than 50 new high-powered ‘Electric Hubs’, featuring 6-12 high-power 350kW chargers, sited at motorway services stations across the UK. The programme will see a new investment exceeding £100m and more than 10 of these hubs will be built this year.

The prototype first hub already exists at Rugby Service Station with chargers capable of adding 100 miles of range in just 5 minutes on cars that are capable of taking a 350kW charge. This will be a blueprint for all future highpowered Electric Hubs. Gridserve is also investing in more than 300 60kW+ rapid chargers at more than 150 locations to upgrade the old Ecotricity EV charging network at motorway service stations and IKEA stores. In the first six weeks of ownership of the Ecotricity network, Gridserve has already installed more than 80 rapid chargers at more than 50 locations, equivalent to replacing around

17 new chargers every week. Funding for the massive EV infrastructure rollout is being supported by highly influential global impact investment fund, TPG The Rise Fund, backed by Bono, Jeff Skoll and Richard Branson, in their first investment in the UK, as well as investment from existing shareholder, Hitachi Capital UK. Gridserve Electric Highway will provide EV drivers with 85% coverage of rapid chargers across the motorway network, as well as in towns and cities across the UK which will host more than 100+ Electric Forecourts. Gridserve CEO Toddington Harper (pictured) said: “Gridserve’s purpose

is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change, and the Gridserve Electric Highway – a network of easy-to-use, reliable, rapid and high power chargers right across the UK – is doing just that, eliminating charging anxiety and making driving electric an enjoyable, ultra-convenient and stress-free experience.” He continued: “We’re working at a phenomenal pace to rollout cuttingedge charging infrastructure and will continue to move heaven and earth to install new chargers en masse in as many locations as we can, and as quickly as possible.” Welcoming the announcement, Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said: “The UK Government has already set out plans to invest £1.3bn in accelerating the roll out of charging infrastructure, targeting support for rapid charge points on motorways and major roads to erase any anxiety around long journeys. Couple this with forward-thinking projects like the Gridserve Electric Highway, and there has never been a better time to go electric.”

Pivot Power expands Energy Superhub model to West Midlands Mark Bursa UK-based Pivot Power has announced a deal with technology company Wärtsilä to build two new battery storage facilities in Coventry and Sandwell, designed to accelerate the roll-out of ultra fast electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the West Midlands. Pivot Power, part of EDF Renewables, said the projects were part of a nationwide rollout of Energy Superhubs, designed to create the power infrastructure for mass-scale, rapid EV charging. This innovative model supports EDF group’s ambition to become Europe’s leading e-mobility energy company by 2023. Pivot Power’s first project, Energy Superhub Oxford, is nearing completion and will provide a blueprint for towns and cities across the UK to cut carbon and improve air quality. It integrates rapid EV charging, battery storage, low carbon heating and smart energy management technologies to save

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10,000 tonnes of CO2 every year. This is the equivalent to taking more than 2,000 cars off the road. Wärtsilä will supply the cutting-edge battery technology for both West Midlands projects. Battery storage is crucial to meet the Government’s 2050 net zero climate change targets, providing flexible capacity to enhance the reliability of our electricity system and cost-effectively integrate more renewable gen-

eration. Pivot Power’s network could provide almost 10% of the battery storage it is predicted the UK will need by 2050 and will help to create a smarter, more flexible grid which could save up to £40 billion. Matt Allen, CEO of Pivot Power, said: “This is the next step in our nationwide rollout of Energy Superhubs which will create the low carbon infrastructure needed to support the EV and renewable energy revolution. We are working hand in hand with local authorities to help them meet their climate and clean air pledges, so people can live and work in cleaner, more sustainable cities.” Pivot Power’s Energy Superhubs are located alongside National Grid substations close to major road networks and urban populations. The Coventry battery storage site is north-east of the city, close to junction 2 of the M6; Sandwell’s is near junction 7 of the M6 where the M5 and A34 meet. Construction of the battery storage systems is due to commence at Sandwell in Q4 2021 and at Coventry in Q1 2022.

The Chauffeur Programme by Mercedes-Benz Retail Group. Designed with your business in mind, our Chauffeur Programme offers a range of exclusive benefits on the purchase and maintenance of your licenced vehicle. We know how important it is for you to keep moving, so we have a range of tailored servicing options available at preferential rates for all professional Mercedes-Benz drivers. You can also enjoy preferential buying options on a range of new vehicles, wherever you are in the UK. Our experienced Account Managers are always on hand to help find the right vehicle to meet your needs.

*The indicated values were determined according to the prescribed measurement method – Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). Figures shown require mains electricity for charging. Figures shown are for comparability purposes; only compare with other cars tested to the same technical procedures. Figures may accessories fitted (post registration), variations in weather, driving styles and vehicle load. Further information about the test used to establish fuel consumption and

The EQV has all your journeys covered. The EQV by Mercedes-EQ is perfectly suited to your business needs and is available through our Mercedes-Benz Chauffeur Programme. With a 213 mile* all-electric range and expansive interior that can easily accommodate seven people and their luggage, it’s been designed with the comfort and safety of you and your passengers in mind. Next-generation, MBUX technology will keep everyone connected on the go, and as an all-electric vehicle, it’s fully compliant with ULEZ and low emission zones. Find out more about the Chauffeur Programme: mercedes-benzretailgroup.co.uk/chauffeurprogramme Contact us. Sales: prodriver@daimler.com

Aftersales: appointments@daimler.com

may include options which are not available in the UK. For Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) figures determined with battery fully charged. These models not reflect real life driving results, which will depend upon a number of factors including the starting charge of the battery, factory-fitted options, CO2 figures can be found at www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/WLTP

news

Wakefield taxi drivers protest against council rules that make them “third-class citizens” Mark Bursa Wakefield Taxi drivers held a protest outside the Town Hall this month in an ongoing a row with the local council over policies. Dozens of drivers demonstrated on Wood Street in the city centre for two hours on July 19 and called for Wakefield Council to begin talks over the council’s draconian suitability policy. The demonstration was led by the Wakefield Drivers Association (WDA), which claimed cab drivers receive a five-year license suspension if they accumulate more than six points on their licence within three years. WDA, which has a strained relationship with the council and is not recognised as an official drivers’ representative body, said this policy was “harsh and disproportionate” compared to other towns and cities. WDA has also criticised the council for a perceived

lack of financial support during the Covid pandemic. WDA president Yasar Ahmed said: “It’s very sad we have had to resort to organise a protest when it would be more simpler having a worthwhile dialogue that can lead to a more amicable path to go down in order to resolve these issues.” He continued: “We want to work in partnership with the council to ensure that we have a vibrant

Addison Lee completes ComCab takeover Mark Bursa Addison Lee has completed its acquisition of London black taxi operator ComCab. The completion finalises the purchase of the London operations of ComCab, City Fleet Networks and Flightlink International from the ComfortDelGro Corporation.

Wakefield district. But for this to happen the council officials involved need to enter into dialogue with us in a meaningful and fair manner, but as things stand at this moment in time we have been excluded from having any input on matters that have impacted on. This is highly unfair and demoralising.” WDA is supported by the Conservative councillor for the Wakefield East ward, Akef Akbar, who

The deal makes it the capital’s largest private hire and taxi company as well as London’s largest same day courier business. Addison Lee CEO Liam Griffin said: “By uniting Addison Lee and ComCab under one roof, we become the market leader in offering Londoners safety, premium quality, and professional service at scale in the capital.” The deal brings Addison Lee’s fleet of around 4,000 vehicles and ComCab’s 2,500 black taxis under one business. The move follows the buyout of Addison Lee in March 2020 by a consortium led by Liam Griffin and Cheyne Capital’s Strategic Value Credit business.

Minicabit in strategic partnership with travel firm Roomex Cab comparison app Minicabit has entered into a strategic partnership with travel management company Roomex aimed at offering safe and affordable transport services to customers of both platforms. Roomex helps customers book, manage, pay, and analyse all their accommodation and expenses in one place - bringing control and visibility into all travel spend. Roomex already has partnerships with other travel firms such Trainline, and the Minicabit deal adds a car app to the service

addressed the protesting drivers, saying: “I’m not scared to say it. You’re not appreciated. You’re treated as third-class citizens.” He called on the council to “go back to the drawing board” and make its policies more balanced. “I invite councillors making such policies to come and live a day in the life of a taxi driver and they will surely understand.” However, another trade body, the Wakefield District Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Association, which is recognised by the council, said the protest was “misguided”. WDHCPHA chair Abdul Rehman also said that the council was following government rules with its stance on the controversial suitability policy: “If protest about this should be directed to anyone, it should be directed to the Department of Transport or the government, and not Wakefield Council.”

Amer Hasan, CEO and founder of Minicabit (pictured), said: “At a time when the UK workforce is more distributed than ever, this partnership enables staff to easily book their cabs from wherever their workplace or meeting happens to be, with cab expenses easily managed. We look forward to

collaborating on more opportunities with Roomex.” Garry Moroney, Roomex CEO, added; “Through this partnership with Minicabit, our customers now have access to a safe, trusted, and secure way to book cabs around the UK, plus the added benefit of having complete visibility into travel expenses when customers pay with RoomexPay. Companies will have additional control and visibility over this spend category that is often missed.” Minicabit helps mobile workforces find taxi services on the web and on mobile. They can choose from more than 800 licensed cab operators in 550 UK towns and cities, instantly booking single & return trips up to 12 months ahead for minicabs, executive cars and minibuses.

JULY 2021

news

Local authorities frustrated as Government removes legal backing for public transport face masks Mark Bursa Local authorities are frustrated by the Government’s approach, saying they would like to continue with mandatory face coverings, but they do not have the power to do so after the government removed the legal requirement that they be worn on public transport or in crowded spaces from July 19. Transport for London says it will continue to enforce the wearing of face coverings on all its networks – including taxis and private hire vehicles – despite weak and confusing Government guidelines and the lifting of restrictions on July 19. TfL issued a detailed statement in which it states: “Customers are required to wear a face covering, unless exempt, when travelling on the TfL network.” This covers London Underground, buses, trams, DLR, London Overground and TfL Rail. While taxis and

PHVs are not directly under TfL control, TfL said it “expects and recommends” taxi and private hire vehicle drivers and passengers wear masks, unless exempt. Enforcement officers in London will be able to deny access or eject passengers from public transport networks who are found to not be complying with the mask requirement, but it is unclear whether these officers will be available to help drivers whose passengers re-

fuse to wear a mask. “TfL does not tolerate any abuse of its customers or staff and will work with the police to prevent such behaviour and take action where necessary,” the TfL statement said. Elsewhere in the UK, local officials bemoaned the fact they were unable to enforce mask-wearing outside transport facilities under their direct control. In Liverpool, masks are mandatory on Mersey Ferries and the ferry

landing stage, but Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotherham said he “doesn’t have the power” to make them mandatory on all public transport. Research carried out by YouGov shows that 68% of people support the retention of face coverings on public transport at this point in the pandemic and that face coverings play an important role in giving people confidence to use public transport. TfL customer research from May 2 to 29 showed that 86% of customers said they were wearing face coverings at all times on TfL public transport services. Of the 14% per cent not wearing a face covering at all times or not at all, almost three-quarters have an exemption or good reason under the regulations for not doing so. However, anecdotal evidence suggests the numbers wearing masks has declined substantially since July 19, with people believing they no longer need to wear the coverings.

Addison Lee will keep in-cab safety screens until Summer 2022 Addison Lee will keep partition screens between drivers and passengers in its vehicles until at least summer 2022. The announcement comes as the Government announces the removal of most restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite high levels of infections. The installation of partition screens into Addison Lee’s fleet of 4,000 vehicles began in May 2020, and was seen as a vital safety measure alongside protective equipment for drivers and electrostatic antimicrobial vehicle cleanses, designed to help stop the spread of coronavirus. The firm, which completed its acquisition of taxi operator ComCab earlier this month, also offers safety screens across the 2,500 ComCab taxis operating in London. Addison Lee CEO Liam Griffin said: “The safety of our passengers

JULY 2021

and drivers has, and always will be, our number one priority. With restrictions lifting in London, we will continue to lead the industry in hygiene and safety and do all we can to ensure that Londoners have access to clean and safe transport options.

“Our partition screens have protected thousands of passengers and drivers over the course of the pandemic. We will continue to play our part in helping them to feel as safe as possible when they travel.” In line with the Mayor of London’s

decision to keep mask wearing compulsory across public transport, the company will also expect both drivers and passengers wear face masks when travelling in their vehicles. Griffin continued: “As London gets moving again, it is important that the transport network works together to keep the public safe and prevent further spread of the virus. In particular, it is vital that all London transport providers give passengers clear and consistent guidance before travelling and find ways to go above and beyond to protect the health of both their staff and the public. He concluded: “The past eighteen months have shown us that private hire and taxi services have a critical role to play in helping to tackle transmission rates and improving public confidence.” —Mark Bursa

news

UK pricing and specification revealed for S-Class PHEV and new Mercedes Maybach ahead of late 2021 deliveries Mark Bursa Mercedes-Benz has announced UK pricing and specification for its new S580eL plug-in hybrid S-Class. As with the previous S560eL PHEV, the car is pitched as a super-luxury option to replace S600L, with prices starting at a whopping £104,490 for the S580eL AMG Line Premium version. The topof-the-range S 580eL AMG Line Premium Plus Executive costs £113,880. This is around £18,000 more expensive than a BMW 745Le xDrive PHEV, and £15,000 more than and Audi A8L Sport LWB 60 TFSI e quattro. However, the S580eL has considerably greater all-electric performance than its rivals, up to 63 miles of range using its 28.6 kWh battery. The S-Class PHEV is available in long-wheelbase only and with a choice of four model lines. It is on sale now, with first UK vehicles arriving in late 2021, allowing chauffeurs to PCO-license a new S-Class in London once again. The S580eL uses a 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine, capable of producing 367hp, combined with

an electric motor that adds 150hp. Official CO2 and mpg figures are a rather fanciful 353.1mpg and 18g/ km of CO2. A 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic transmission is standard across the S-Class range. The lithium-ion battery can be charged using a DC rapid charger in 20 minutes (10-80%) and under four

BMW adds RingGo car park payment app to more than 150,000 cars across the UK BMW drivers will now be able to use their in-car infotainment system to pay for parking after the car maker announced a partnership with online parking app RingGo. The move means RingGo is now available in more than 150,000 BMW cars

hours using a 7.4 kW home wallbox. Mercedes has also revealed prices for the latest Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, also now on sale. Prices starting from £162,390 for the Maybach S580 4Matic, and £177,025 for the S580 4Matic First Class. The top-line, V12-engined Maybach S680 4Matic First Class costs £204,375.

in the UK. The app is accessed via the car’s on-board iDrive infotainment system, simplifying the process of paying for parking without needing a phone or cash. Chris Hollis, BMW connected drive & technologies product manager, said: “We are delighted to have worked closely with RingGo to give our customers an intuitive, helpful experience that brings all of their parking needs together in one place. The new feature will be delivered as an integrated vehicle app and installed automatically over-the-air on all BMW vehicles in the UK which have Operating

First UK vehicles arrive in early Autumn. The MercedesMaybach has a 180mm longer wheelbase than an LWB Mercedes-Benz S-Class, allowing room for more refinement, including new massaging functions and an extensive upgrade for the First Class rear compartment. The S580 4Matic has a 503hp 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine, which produces 700Nm of torque. A further 20hp and 200Nm of torque is available thanks to the EQ Boost mild hybrid system with integrated starter-generator powered by the 48V on-board electrical system. It can reach 62mph from standstill in 4.8 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. The S580 4Matic can deliver between 24.1 and 25.5mpg on the combined cycle and emits 253g/km of CO2 (the First Class variant releases 265g/km). The range-topping six-litre V12 S680 4Matic First Class, produces 612hp and 900Nm of torque. It travels from 0-62mph in just 4.5 seconds, with combined economy of 19.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 325g/km.

System 7 and built from July 2018.” RingGo UK managing director Peter O’Driscoll said: “It is another demonstration of the rapid evolution of integrated motoring, parking and mobility services, which puts motorists in control and removes any barriers in transitioning from one to another.” RingGo is the UK’s leading cashless parking app, serving more than 18 million customers in over 450 towns and cities nationwide. It is part of the Park Now Group, jointly owned by BMW Group and Daimler AG.

JULY 2021

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news

Uber accelerates Local Cab service rollout with operators in four more UK cities Mark Bursa Uber is continuing the rapid rollout of its Local Cab service, with operators in Bedford, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Exeter signing up for the service, which enables passengers in the town to book a trip with a local taxi company via the Uber app. Uber has already launched the service in Plymouth with Need-A-Cab, and in Oxford with 001 Taxis and the new deals bring the total number of conurbations served to six, with eight operators signing up to the service. In Bedford, the Local Cab option on the latest version of the Uber app will connect passengers to taxi firm Key Cars. Uber said its app was being opened almost 10,000 times per month in Bedford, but passengers have not previously been able to book a ride as Uber does not operate directly in the town. In Exeter, two operators, Apple

Central Taxis and Need-A-Cab, are now in the Local Cab scheme, giving them access to a potential monthly 25,000 journeys, as Uber said that was the number of times the app had been opened in Exeter on average. And in the Gloucester-Cheltenham area, three firms have signed up: Andy Cars in Gloucester, and Starline

Taxis and A2B Taxis in Cheltenham. Uber claims a whopping 40,000 monthly app openings in the two cities. The Local Cab option is the result of Uber’s acquisition of Autocab last year, which was cleared by the Competition and Markets Agency earlier this year. The deal is allowing

Uber to expand beyond the 40 UK towns and cities in which it currently operates directly by using local operators to fulfil its jobs via the Autocab iGo network. Amna Sadiqa of Key Cars said: “We’re delighted to be one of the first operators in the UK to pilot Local Cab. For anyone in Bedford who already uses the Uber app, it is now easy to book a ride with us. With the boost in passengers, we will also be looking to welcome new drivers to the company.” Uber UK General Manager Ash Kebriti said: “Every month, we see thousands of people in towns and cities across the UK where we currently don’t operate open the Uber app and try to request a trip. Launching this pilot of Local Cab in Bedford is an exciting first step in connecting these riders with local operators so that eventually the Uber app can be used anywhere in the country.”

Bolt launches in Newcastle as part of ten-city target for 2021 Mark Bursa Bolt, the UK’s second-largest ride-hailing app, is continuing to drive its UK expansion along the direct-to-driver model, with the announcement that the service is launching in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The move follows Bolt’s recent launch in Birmingham and Peterborough in recent weeks, and the ride-hailing app has set a target of expanding into ten UK cities by the end of the year. The Newcastle launch is timed to coincide with the lifting of lockdown restrictions and the reopening of hospitality and nightlife venues. As an introductory offer, Bolt is offering customers the chance to receive up to £8 off their first Bolt ride by entering promo code BOLT2TOON into the Bolt app. With transport firmly in the spotlight thanks

to the Northeast Transport Plan, Bolt says ride-hailing is a great alternative to car ownership and complements the existing public transport options by offering favourable commission rates to drivers.

Sam Raciti, Bolt’s UK General Manager said: “There’s a lot of pent-up demand for spending and socialising, so I’m thrilled we’re ready to go live in Newcastle just as the final Covid restrictions are eased.”

JULY 2021

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analysis: business travel resumption WINNING FORMULA: Crawfords took 16 cars to the British Grand Prix, at Silverstone, in July

The chauffeur industry has had a boost from recent sporting events, but the real travel comeback won’t happen until the autumn

Banking on September

Mark Bursa

he return of crowds to major

Mike Bell

JULY 2021

analysis: business travel resumption

European Championship matches at Hampden Park in Glasgow, as well as at Wembley, where TBR managed the ground transportation requirements of a major tournament sponsor. TBR used a fleet of five MPVs and three coaches across a three-day on-site operation in London, managing arrivals and departures as well as transport to the championship final. Meanwhile, Crawfords mustered a fleet of 16 Mercedes-Benz V-Class MPVs to handle work for clients at the British rand Prix at Silverstone. And finding numbers of cars right now is not easy. Many fleets are currently much smaller than they were in pre-pandemic days. Mike Bell of Driven Worldwide, which reported a 90% drop in business at the height of the pandemic, says he is yet to see a sustained return of business, and doesn’t expect to see a sustained recovery until September. “We’re still doing a few things, but summer is not a great time for B2B businesses such as ours, The true indication will be September, October and November. Those are the crunch months for us,” he said. “The banks are going back to their offices from September. Goldman Sachs says nobody will be working from home, which is positive for the banking community.We’re quoting for conference work in December. But business travel still requires main board approval for many companies,” he said. One main issue is waiting for the reopening of major travel corridors, especially to the US. “There are no clear indicators as to when that might happen,” Bell said. The situation is complicated by the fact that many Americans – mainly Trump voters in the

JULY 2021

Jonny Goldstone

south – are reluctant to get vaccinated. Bell believes the return will be slow. “If we’re at 20-30% of pre-pandemic levels by September, we’ll be on the right track,” he said. Jonny Goldstone, head of Green Tomato Cars, is more optimistic – perhaps because as an operator of a regular private hire fleet, the business is less dependent on big corporates such as banks. “Because of the school term overlap it’s really hard to gauge if there’s any uplift or not,” he said. “It’s not gone as quiet as soon as I’d expected. There’s more work generally relative to the time of year. But there are too many variables to say yes, things have changed because of ‘Freedom Day’.” Goldstone said Green Tomato Cars was picking up work from unusual directions, such as film productions, which were providing “tens of jobs per day” moving crews to and from locations. He agreed with Bell’s assessment that September will be the time to judge whether or not there was a sustained comeback. “We’d expect mid-September to see a notable uptick,” he said. “Then we’ll know if business is coming back, or if it’s still where it shouldn’t be.” Certainly there seems to be a desire in the corporate world to return to office life. A recent survey by Addison Lee suggested that almost three-quarters of London businesses are planning a return to the traditional workplace by September. Of the 142 firms asked by the taxi firm, 74% said they would be making a return to their offices over the coming months. Many firms – 71% of those surveyed - believe bringing people back to the office would drive better collaboration. But many employees do not share their enthusiasm, expressing concern about using public transport. Indeed, 53% of workers said they would be more comfortable going back to the workplace if they did not have to do so. Several corporate giants have taken this on board, saying they will offer a hybrid model of post-lockdown work. Accountancy giant EY is one of those saying staff would only be required in offices three days a week. Addison Lee chief executive Liam Griffin said: “Many businesses are keen to get back into the workplace, to give employees the opportunity to see one another and enjoy working together again. But our research shows that safety remains employers’ number one concern when

planning the return to the office.” David Bruce, managing director of Chabe UK, also feels September will be the watershed month. “I think the second week of September – don’t know why, but the world is due to come back. But capacity has to come ahead of demand and we have to be ready.” He said any return was dependent on the US travel corridor coming back. “Heathrow airport is still so quiet,” he said. Indeed, the biggest obstacle to bringing business back remains the lack of air travel. Heathrow Airport said it expected to see a further fall in passenger numbers in 2021. The airport, which was Europe’s busiest before the pandemic, handled just 4 million passengers in the first six months of the year - a total it would have taken just 18 days to reach in 2019. The airport forecasts that 21.5m passengers will travel through the airport in 2021, down from 22.1m in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and down from a peak of almost 90m in 2019. The airport said its cumulative losses from Covid-19 now stood at £2.9bn. Trade group Airlines UK blames the government’s “traffic light” system for a slower comeback for air travel to and from the UK compared with other European destinations. Airlines UK said passenger bookings in the rest of Europe had recovered to 50% of pre-crisis levels in June, compared to just 16% in the UK. The trade group said in a statement that decisions to include and exclude destinations such as Portugal and France from the green list represent examples of the “frustrating, last-minute and opaque decision-making that has been a mainstay of the traffic light system so far”. The group said the government had refused to make more proportionate travel restrictions from low-risk countries “even as nightclubs open in England without any restrictions”. Airlines are critical too. Ryanair chief financial officer Neil Sorahan said the EU’s digital Covid certificate, which allows a person’s vaccination status to be recognised across the whole bloc, had boosted bookings. “I think the European policy has worked an awful lot better than in the UK,” he told the BBC’s Today programme. “It’s given more certainty, it’s led to more steady green lists all across Europe. The UK has been a little bit more haphazard with what’s on the green list, what’s on the amber list.”

profile : chabé

David Bruce: “With Chabé it’s a level above Tristar.”

Launching a new London chauffeur business at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic was perhaps not the obvious thing to do. But that’s what French-owned Chabé did in late 2020

It’s all in the timing Mark Bursa

or managing director david bruce, a former Tristar director, the timing hasn’t worked out too badly. With most executive chauffeurs struggling for work, entering the market at ‘ground zero’ meant things could be set up properly for when the good times come back. “On one hand, the timing couldn’t be worse, but it has allowed us to put systems, marketing and a fleet in place. You can’t do that so easily if you’re trading at 100mph. So we’re ready for when the market returns. And while the comeback is still around the corner, Chabé has grown organically. Starting with just two cars, it now has five. And the company has made its first acquisition, adding Global Chauffeur, the chauffeur division of Global Interconnextions, to its business. The move is a good strategic fit, says Bruce, as both companies serve the London luxury hotel sector, as well as private individuals. And Global Chauffeur had launched an operation in France in 2019, giving further synergies with Chabé in Paris. “We have had a strong reception in London since launching last

year and joining with Global Chauffeur really accelerates the plan by bringing new relationships and operational experience to the business,” says Bruce. The combined business will be based at Stockley Park near Heathrow Airport. Chabé is planning to move to new premises on the business park in the near future. The site is close to the former Tristar base in West Drayton, and the Tristar legacy is clear – everyone involved in Chabé , from managers to drivers, is a former Tristar staffer. But that’s where the similarity ends. “David and I are very conscious that we are not creating ‘Tristar 2’,” says operations director Dan Stener. Chabé is not going head-to-head with the likes of Uber Executive or Blacklane. Nor is it likely to be pitching for the airline contracts that built Tristar’s reputation in the past. “We’re talking to travel bookers who don’t want to use an app,” Bruce says. Instead, the top end of the market is being targeted. “With Chabé group it’s a level above where Tristar operated,” Bruce says. Chabé’s reputation in Paris means the London arm has won business from luxury hotels and brands, bringing in a lot of new business alongside some former Tristar clients. “There’s a lot of synergy with Paris. Being able to do pickups at both ends of the Eurostar at St Pancras and Gare du Nord is very powerful for clients.”

JULY 2021

profile : chabé Dan Stener: “Everyone has to follow a green path.”

As Chabé grows, Bruce intends initially to recruit some of the best ex-Tristar drivers: “We have a pool of fantastic chauffeurs who would love to join us. We’ll prioritise the platinum team from Tristar.” That doesn’t mean other recruitment sources are not being considered. “The biggest challenge is knowing how many chauffeurs to hire and how many cars to buy,” he says. “We’ve signed lots of customers but there isn’t a lot of volume in the market yet. So the challenge is how much capital do you lay down? How many chauffeurs do you hire?” Stener concurs, though he’s prepared to look outside the ex-Tristar talent pool. “Our next round of recruitment is likely to be a much more open process.” Other target areas include roadshows and events. “Event provision is key for us,” says Stener. “We’ve recruited people into the business who are specialists in a particular area such as roadshows and handling high net worth individuals. We’re tailoring the service to client – I don’t want to create a ‘contact centre’ feel.” A recent win has been Chabé being chosen as preferred chauffeur partner to AA hotels. “It’s a great fit for us,” says Bruce. The AA is a members club that is over 110 years old.” There are close to 60 London hotels with an AA 5-star rating. “All have relations with a chauffeur company but there’s clear blue sky for us, such as operating a zeroemissions fleet. We don’t expect business straight away – it’s about brand awareness. I want us to be a brand of consideration for the hotel.” Going electric is something Chabé is embracing. Its fleet comprises plug-in hybrid BMW 745Le

JULY 2021

saloons, and for the first time, the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQV seven-seaters. “A great car – and only game in town right now,” says Bruce. Stener says the BMWs have been well-received too, thanks to loaded features in the back seats, which dispelled concerns of some Mercedeswedded customers. “They’ve been very reliable, and we’re very happy with them,” he says. The Chabé business model has full-time employed drivers, so the transition to electric cars is a little easier, says Stener. “For an independent operator time is money – they might be turning down work while spending 5 minutes charging. But for a PAYE chauffeur where we’ve planned his day, it makes no difference.” And planning is the key to the transition to EVs. “Out of London, you probably need a home charger. In London, can make it work on network,” says Stener. “But you have to plan. Chauffeurs have to embrace the change. They need to know how charging works, how to maximise range and avoid range anxiety. Drive like a chauffeur, with maximum regeneration. Know where the charge points are. Charge up at the end of the day when they really want to get home.” As a seven-seater chauffeur car, there’s nothing other than EQV at the moment, Stener says. He’s happy with the levels of refinement and ride is better – “but I would have loved for it to have a little bit more range”, he admits. “A seven-seater with a 250-mile range would be a game-changer.” The arrival in 2022 of Mercedes-Benz EQS and BMW i7 will make all-electric chauffeuring a possibility, and Bruce says the increasing emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means

companies such as Chabé will have to go down that route. “We need strong CSR credentials, so to say we have a ZEV/ZEC fleet is very important,” Bruce says. Stener says: “CSR legislation means everyone has to follow a green path. It also includes our employment model. Are you a fair payer? All that falls within CSR model. It’s already being highlighted in RFPs and it’s an area we want to be strong in and approach very openly. That puts us in a really strong position.” Nine months in and Bruce is very happy with progress. “We are getting fantastic recognition from customers across verticals we serve,” he says. Now it’s just a case of waiting for the business to return. Stener adds: “As we go into the next quarter it’s very interesting to see if we get a bounce-back of normal day-to-day activity. Actual activity is low but the number of clients is growing because they like what we’re offering. Business travel is a perk of the job – everyone’s spent a long time at home and it’s a pleasurable part of the job.” September is the most likely time for a revival, especially with banks ordering staff back to offices and the likelihood that financial roadshows will come back in the last quarter. The most important thing is the reopening of the US travel corridor. “Heathrow airport is still so quiet, Bruce says.” “We’ll keep on doing what we’re doing and scale the business in a way that can deliver that consistently – it’s hugely exciting, he says. “In the end, the timing of our launch looks like it will be be OK – totally by chance. You can either contract, not invest or you can transform.”

The biggest a

e’ve missed you during

the lockdown – and now, at last, we can get together again in 2021 at our two flagship events for the chauffeur, private hire and taxi industry. Professional Driver Car of the Year Judging Days Epsom Racecourse, Surrey, August 24-25, 2021 Professional Driver’s legendary Car of the Year judging days are back, and we look forward to welcoming you to them again on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 24 and 25. We have a new venue for 2021, as Sandown Park is being used as a vaccination centre. So we’ll be at Epsom Racecourse in Surrey on those days. If you’re a licensed operator or driver and you’d like to be a judge for the event, please contact Mark Bursa via email at editor@prodrivermags.com For full details, please visit: https://www.prodrivermags.com/ car-of-the-year-home/

The Professional Driver QSi Awards Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Thursday November 25, 2021 The QSi Awards dinner is moving to a new venue this year. We’re proud and delighted to be hosting the event at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales, on Thursday, November 25. As usual, we’ll be presenting Gold, Silver and Bronze awards to the best of the best among the operators and drivers – with a special focus on how the sector contributed to the fight against Covid-19. We’ll also reveal our 2021 Cars of the Year on the night – so prepare for a great party! Details of the awards categories and how to apply for the QSi Awards will be published shortly on our website, so please visit this address: https://www.prodrivermags.com/qsi-awards-home/

CAR OF THE YEAR

and best events are back for 2021

analysis: used cars

The perfect storm Unprecedented used car price rises are set to continue while new car production is hit by chip shortages and Covid Mark Bursa

s business slowly returns to

normal, operators are starting to look again at renewing their fleets. Covid-19 put the activities of many operators, especially executive chauffeurs, on hold. Cars may have sat unused, or may have been sold to keep the wolf from the door. But those looking to buy new or used have a whole new set of problems – availability of cars. New cars are in short supply, largely as a result of a shortage of computer chips. This in turn has spurred demand for used cars, causing the price of secondhand vehicles to soar. And there’s no immediate end to this supply crisis, experts say. The dramatic rise in used car prices will continue through the third quarter of 2021, the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) is predicting. It’s a perfect storm. A million fewer new cars were sold in the past 12 months thanks to Covid-19, and this means dealers have had fewer part-exchanges to sell as used cars. And the microchip shortage means new cars are taking longer to arrive in the showrooms, which further slows the supply of part-exchange vehicles. Global lead times on new vehicles almost doubled from more than

12 weeks in February 2021 to 22 weeks in April. As a result, large fleet buyers and leasing companies have cancelled factory-ordered vehicles in favour of in-stock models already built and shipped to the UK – but that’s a finite resource too. Meanwhile, research by What Car? suggests that the difficulty in getting the new car they want has prompted around one-third of new car buyers to consider a used car instead – putting further pressure on used car stocks and forcing prices up yet again. The bad news for chauffeurs looking for used stocks is that premium and luxury models are currently the most in-demand vehicles, according to remarketing business Aston Barclay. The company’s latest Used Car Desirability Index for July shows the BMW 7-series in first place with the Mercedes S-Class close behind. Premium SUVs such as the Range Rover Velar are also in demand, Aston Barclay said. The company’s data takes into consideration three key metrics: web views prior to sale, number of physical and online bids per sale, and the sale price achieved as a percentage of CAP average. Aston Barclay managing director Martin Potter said: “At this end of the market consumers do not want to wait long periods for a new car to arrive so they have switched their attention to the used market to source their next car. This has meant many dealers are competing for the same make and model of car which continues to push up prices.” In June, SUVs were the most in demand used car with UK buyers, but there are no full electric cars in the top 25 in July – Tesla had made the June list. In July, 19 out of the top 25 places were taken

JULY 2021

analysis: used cars up by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Jaguar, Range Rover and Lexus. The rise in prices has even had an effect on the rate of inflation. The Office for National Statistics said secondhand cars, along with more expensive food, clothing, footwear and fuel were the main factors behind a jump in the annual inflation rate from 2.1% to 2.5% in June. The figure was the highest since the 2.7% recorded in August 2018, higher than the 2.2% expected by analysts, and above the Bank of England’s 2% target. Analysts said the used car prices had risen by 5.5% in June, up from 0.9% in May, which boosted the headline inflation rate by 0.08 percentage points.” The strong used car market is confirmed by used car marketplace Auto Trader, which claims most retailers saw their strongest ever sales month in May, trading around 14% above May 2019 volumes. This performance has continued into June, with the first week of the month up more than 15% on the same period two years ago. Auto Trader said one of the main factors driving the used car market was the 1.7 million ‘lost’ transactions in 2020 due to Covid-19. Auto Trader predicts the exceptionally strong levels of consumer demand will continue for much, if not all, of 2021. VRA chair Philip Nothard agrees, and said there was still room for further used car price rises: “We recently held a webinar with experts from AutoTrader, Cap HPI and Cazana, and the general consensus was that the used car sector has never seen anything like the current conditions. We are in a kind of ‘perfect storm’ where stock is in very short supply, demand is high, and buyers are ready to spend freely.” Nothard continued: “This is having all kinds of effects across the market. It is not simply that prices are rising but that stock turnaround is very fast and there are also signs that dealers are finding that they can increase margins. In fact, there is a general view that dealers could be even ‘braver’ when it comes to higher pricing, and this is something that we expect to see happening into Q3.” Nothard added that not only was the situation encouraging franchise dealers to switch even more activity into used sales but it was also changing the kind of stock they retail. “Many dealers are having so much trouble getting hold of stock that they are retailing almost everything they take in part exchange. Those who specialise in 2-6 year-

JULY 2021

Has the car industry had its chips? No, and that’s the problem The biggest advances in car design over the past decade have not been visual – apart from some more aggressive styling and bigger grilles, it’s hard to date a modern car from the appearance. Nor has the development been under the bonnet. With the internal combustion era drawing to a close, development on new petrol and diesel powertrains has started to slow down. Where the change has come is in the car’s electronics – where computing power has increased massively in recent years. Infotainment systems, electronic power steering and ride systems, engine management systems, autonomous functions and connectivity all demand microchips. “There are up to 1,400 chips in a typical vehicle today, and that number is only going to increases as the industry continues its march toward electric vehicles, ever-more connected vehicles and, eventually, autonomous vehicles,” said Dan Hearsch, managing director of consultancy AlixPartners. Of course, the automotive industry is not the only customer for all those chips. Your smartphone, tablet, laptop, television, and even humble domestic appliances all require semiconductors. And when the Covid pandemic hit, sales of gadgets such as laptops and phones skyrocketed, while car sales tumbled. So microchip makers did what any smart business would do – switch supply away from slowselling cars to the fast-growing consumer goods sector. The pandemic also caused problems for manufacturers, resulting in slower production rates as new pandemic protocols were put in place. There have been other problems for the semiconductor sector. A huge winter storm in Texas effectively knocked out several major production facilities. At the same time, a severe drought in Taiwan also hit production - the semiconductor industry needs a lot of water to make microchips. And to cap it all, a devastating fire at the Renesas plant in Tokyo put a factory that produces one third of all microcontroller chips used in cars worldwide out of commission. Another perfect storm! The problems are continuing and are unlikely to be resolved this year. Expect delays to orders, and slower roll-out of new hi-tech models. We’ve already seen some manufacturers de-speccing their cars to have fewer electronic gizmos, just so they can have some product to sell. At worst, factories have had to close as a result of the chip shortage. Mini has temporarily closed its Oxford plant, while Jaguar Land Rover has paused the production of a number of models including XE, XF, Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque. Stellantis, which owns Vauxhall Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep and Chrysler, has cut production at eight of its 44 factories, resulting in production of 190,000 fewer cars. Toyota, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Mazda have cut or paused production on some models in 2021. The situation is not expected to reverse until next year, when production recovers at plants hit by storms, droughts and fires, and new facilities, come on stream. —Mark Bursa

used transactions in 2020, old stock, for example, might instead of the 8.3 million that be happy to now sell a 10-yeartook place. old car.” Auto Trader’s chief However, the VRA said it operating officer and former recognised that the current Addison Lee director Catherine situation could not continue: Faiers said: “From early this “At some point, we will see year, we have seen huge levels a levelling off of values as of consumer demand on supply increases and demand our marketplace, which has normalises, although it does Philip Nothard accelerated dramatically since not appear to be imminent. The question is whether we will see a noticeable the reopening of physical forecourts in April. As well as fuelling incredibly readjustment in values or something more strong used car sales performance, subtle at that point,” Nothard said. it’s also contributed to the very sharp Auto Trader believes the average uptick in prices, currently at a record ownership cycle of a car has been extended 9.7% year-on-year and increased the from 3.5 years to 4.2 as a result of the pandemic. If the UK car parc of 35.1 million speed of sale to just 22 days. This trend has led to robust margins and helped cars had turned at the typical frequency to compensate for the lower volume of observed over the past 10 years, there transactions last year.” would have been circa 10 million new and

analysis: driver shortage

A shortage of drivers is causing a new crisis to thwart the taxi trade’s post-Covid-19 revival

Driver drought

Mark Bursa

axi and private hire firms are starting

to see a recovery in work – but their attempts to rebuild after Covid-19 are being hampered by a nationwide shortage of drivers.

The shortfall is up to 40% and is consistent across the UK, which presents serious challenges to businesses looking to get back to prepandemic levels of service. As the hospitality sector reopens and with a removal of all remaining lockdown restrictions due next month, demand for taxi services is rising, and in some sectors has returned close to prepandemic levels. Only airport runs are still not happening due to ongoing international travel restrictions. But now the industry is paying the price for the significant decrease in work during the pandemic, during which the industry lost large numbers of drivers. In addition to more than 200 drivers who lost their lives to Covid, many have given up passenger work, handed in their licenses and become delivery drivers. Others have left the industry completely. In addition, the catastrophic effects of Brexit are now starting to be felt, with large numbers of European migrants leaving the UK, causing shortages in lower-paid jobs such as driving, as well as in agriculture, healthcare and hospitality. This combination of factors has created a significant gap between the demand for taxis and the supply of available drivers.

It’s not only established operators that are short of drivers. Even Uber is struggling to meet its recruitment target – which is likely to accelerate its expansion via the Autocab iGo network rather than via direct recruitment. Uber is reporting that demand is now comparable to pre-pandemic levels. Across Europe, Uber reports gross booking (total spending on rides adjusted to promotions and discounts) at 80% of the level reported in the same period in 2019. “We were frankly not anticipating the speed of the recovery we have seen in some key geographies and definitely the UK,” said Anabel Diaz Calderon, Uber regional general manager. Surprisingly, London, Uber’s largest market, is not growing as fast as other cities, as city workers and tourists are taking their time to return. But other UK cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds are showing such strong passenger demand that Uber is having difficulty keeping up, Diaz Calderon added. One city whose taxi trade has been devastated over the past 15 months is Plymouth. Local operators estimate that about 400 hackney carriage and private hire drivers have given up, with many getting delivery jobs with the likes of Amazon or returning to Eastern Europe because of Brexit. Some older drivers have simply retired rather than take the risk of carrying passengers with Covid-19. The shortage of available drivers has become a major challenge for firms such as Need-A-Cab in Plymouth, which recently became the first Autocab iGo user to start fulfilling jobs in the city on behalf of Uber. Director Dave McIntosh said: “We now have jobs coming through

JULY 2021

analysis: driver shortage on our app, website, phones and via Uber – which has boosted the demand for our vehicles in a big way. We simply don’t have enough drivers to cope with the current levels. We have launched a major recruitment drive but it’s not easy. The last year hasn’t been kind to taxi drivers but we are now trying to convince people to come back and in large numbers.” To compound the problems, self-employed drivers prefer to work weekdays, leaving a shortage of vehicles in peak evening times on Friday and Saturday nights. McIntosh said: “Drivers can make their money during the day Monday to Friday and we cannot always provide cabs when demand is highest.” Peter Bresland of Tower Cabs, another Plymouth operator, said: “The public are being let down badly. Operators lose customers and reputation because no cabs are available. We are very sorry, but there is nothing we can do.” Bresland said Tower Cabs had about 190 cars before the pandemic on its books, but now runs about 120. McIntosh said Need-A-Cab had lost a similar number of drivers, with 75 quitting, leaving the company with 210 drivers – of whom fewer than 180 work regularly. Bresland said after Brexit the supply of new drivers into the trade had dried up. “Because of coronavirus restrictions hitting business, a lot of drivers have returned home to Eastern Europe. A lot of them, because of quarantine and other restrictions, have been unable to get back. A lot of other drivers have gone to Amazon or Deliveroo or someone else to supplement their income. Our numbers are down by 30%.” McIntosh agreed that delivery was an easier option for drivers: “Amazon has about 700 drivers in the city. They must have come from somewhere.” Official Plymouth City Council figures show that the numbers of hackney carriage drivers have fallen from 387 to 312 in the past year while private hire driver numbers have fallen from 803 to 690. But Bresland and McIntosh claim those numbers represent licence holders but not necessarily working drivers. Both firms have called on the council to reduce the cost of licensing and cut some of the tests drivers have to sit. McIntosh called on the council to grant restricted licences which would allow drivers to take on some fares before taking a full knowledge test. Cllr Chaz Singh, chair of the council’s taxi licensing Committee, told local media: “We know that with the pandemic a lot of them handed their badges in because they had to seek other employment, but as we slowly get back to normal we’re in a better position to see more come back to the fold. We want to see people from all walks of life come forward and it’ll be a massive opportunity to join the trade.” But Singh said he would not lower the licensing

JULY 2021

Dave McIntosh

standards. “Our application process and training requirements are thorough to ensure the safety of passengers and other road users. We would not be doing our duty as the licensing authority if we did not rigorously vet all taxi and private hire drivers to make sure they are fit to drive and carry passengers.” As reported previously in Professional Driver, many operators have diversified into delivery work themselves, setting up local delivery arms to give local restaurants and shops better terms than the national delivery asp such as Deliveroo and Just Eat. But in some cases this has compounded the driver shortage. Dominic Moyes, sales director of DG Cars in Nottingham, said: “We now operate a delivery service for local restaurants and takeaways in the Nottingham and Derby areas – and it’s created more than 3,000 extra trips per week. That’s on top of the standard passenger work. We’re having to recruit more drivers and expand our fleet to keep up.” Meanwhile the situation in Plymouth is mirrored in other towns and cities. In Lincoln, taxi firms are struggling to cope with surging demand due to a lack of drivers, causing long waiting times for customers. Ragan Crow, manager of Lincoln operator Direct Cars, said her firm was in a dire, desperate situation, having lost 45 vehicles and around 70 drivers during the pandemic. As a result, taxi waiting times are up to two hours at times. Direct Cars has started a recruitment process for new drivers and will pay the cost of badges, which can cost at least £300. Crow said: “Applications for drivers have been taking longer with the city council, as when lockdown first happened they were unable to do the full test due to restrictions. Now we are not getting the requests through for new drivers to get their badge, and drivers are being lost and not replaced.” “The industry is booming, but we just haven’t

got the people to meet the demand. Calls have gone up by around 60%, but before lockdown we would have around 120 cars out on a Saturday night and now we have 60. We are getting abuse all the time that taxis aren’t available, but people outside the industry don’t really understand the reasons why.” Elsewhere, even potential earnings of up to £50,000 a year are failing to lure drivers. Gary Handy, manager of Fon-A-Car in Cleethorpes, said: “We are now back to the number of customers since before the lockdown, but with only half the number of drivers we used to have so they are earning more than they ever did before.” Handy said customers, who previously only had to wait five minutes for a cab, are now regularly stuck for up to an hour and a half at busy times. That has led to scuffles at taxi ranks and tempers regularly flare because of delays. Handy said he was prepared to help applicants get their licenses: “We are desperate for drivers. They can all earn a very good living. If they were prepared to work long hours you could make between £40,000 to £50,000 a year. We will help people get their GNVQ which is quite straightforward. There is the police check and we help people through the process.” In Maidstone, another town that has lost drivers through the pandemic, the Borough Council licensing committee has been asked by local operators to simplify the onerous process of becoming a driver. This would involve removing the local knowledge routes and street test from the 63 questions. Applicants can have three attempts to pass the test but if they fail, they must wait six months before they can try again. Gary Jobling, director of Express Cabs in Maidstone, said his company has lost around 10% of his 220 part-time and full-time drivers. He said: “We’re hoping the borough council will do us a favour and make getting the badge a little easier. It’s a slow and difficult process.”

Have you signed up to the Safe Taxi & Private Hire Charter? Option to pay by card through the app, to avoid drivers and passengers using cash. Hand sanitisers will be provided to all drivers and customers. Drivers will sanitise their hands regularly. No physical contact with the passenger unless in an emergency situation or if a passenger requests assistance. Drivers will wear clean clothes each day, be well-presented and maintain impeccable personal hygiene. Vehicles which have a shield installed will be regularly cleaned and sanitised. The passenger area of the vehicle will be wiped down and cleaned with sanitiser regularly. The driver will conduct a weekly inspection and deep clean of their vehicle. Signage to be displayed, (where available and where licensing permits) to convey safety and sanitation messages in and out of vehicle. Social distancing guidelines will be followed by the driver. Drivers will wear PPE in line with the latest government guidelines.

to get the UK moving again

#GoSafeGoTaxi

200+ signatories and counting

200 sign-ups in 2 weeks! Huge thanks to all the operators nationwide for taking the time to sign up and support the #GoSafeGoTaxi campaign and the launch of the Safe Taxi & Private Hire Charter. It’s wonderful to see the industry working together. Join the movement - Sign up, share and get involved at: https://gosafegotaxi.com/

the knowledge

Here we go again!

system could actually exist in a country with such a you are excluded from the process until it is history of acclaimed legislation-making skill. too late. Surely the problem we are trying to solve here is What am I referring to? Two MPs are trying not the issue of how complex, unworkable and frankly to get traction on two Bills in Parliament. One concerns ridiculous and unintelligible we can make crossan advanced version of the NR3 database (a voluntary border hiring but how we can give more powers to register of licence refusals and revocations) and licensing and enforcement officers. another concerns wheelchair accessibility. Both worthy Isn’t the real problem that when a driver and and well-intentioned no doubt. But here we are again as vehicle enter a ‘foreign’ jurisdiction the licensing and Dr Michael Galvin enforcement officers can’t currently do anything with an industry being tail-end Charlies. Where is our Bill? What is it that we want? We them, no more than they could to a van or private https://mobility might want both of these Bills – improved safety and car driver? Shouldn’t the change be made to their serviceslimited improved access can only be good for the industry, powers so that any licensed vehicle comes under their .com can’t it? Well maybe, but it depends on the fine print, jurisdiction no matter where it was licensed? how it is implemented and who is involved in the We can change the law weekly if we like but trying scrutiny of it. to design legislation that can cope with every situation, with The unfortunate truth is that these Bills could end up bad for companies that operate on the borders of their licensed area, where safety, bad for accessibility and bad for the industry – it would not there is a large amount of cross-border traffic for very practical be the first time. The saying “the road to hell is paved with good reasons suggests to me that we are never going to get it right. So, if intentions” wasn’t invented for nothing. Still at least we will all have you can’t solve the problem… change the problem. something to moan about at the next round of trade conferences and SO WHAT DO WE WANT? meetings, so it’s not all bad. The unvarnished truth is that moaning about the law, the WHAT DO WE WANT? ERR… government, the regulator and the weather is lazy policy making. This industry needs to be clear about what it wants, what it doesn’t Complaining about what has happened and what is happening is want and to have the kind of organisation that is well funded enough simple to do. It requires no brainpower, no critical thinking, no to be the ‘go to place’ when someone somewhere has a bright idea. imagination and no research. It is easy. It gets the industry precisely But importantly that organisation needs to be more than that, it nowhere, but hey, some good old-fashioned tub thumping and needs to be championing the industry’s own agenda pro-actively. rabble-rousing gives everyone an adrenalin rush for a few minutes. Horizon-scanning, getting in early when the DfT, the Local After that? Government Association (ALG) or others turn their attention to our Where is the structure in this industry to actually define what industry. Safety and accessibility will no doubt be on that agenda. good looks like? What are the tweaks and changes or maybe the But how can anyone talk seriously about safety when some local transformational and revolutionary change needed to put this councils accept certificates of good conduct in place of DBS checks? industry on its feet, if indeed it is not there already? A quick tweak on a Bill, misery for the industry, no help to those There always appears to be a promised land but maybe we are it was meant to assist and a knighthood are good for who exactly? in it already? Who tracks where we are now? Where we want to be Demonstrators often have a chant: “What do we want?” with a and of course how we can get there? Surveys enquiring whether you response of “more money”, “Tories out” or similar. If our industry work too hard, pay too much tax, or want your hair to grow again are had a demonstration, I fear after we shouted with gusto “what do we not research. They are email address-gathering exercises. want?” there might be a deafening silence! The hard, gruelling and tough sessions needed to define an industry’s current CROSS-BORDER HIRING pain, future prospects and the strategies Cross-border hiring is also, once again, needed to realise them take hard work, in the news. The ALG feels that the independent thought, money and issue won’t be resolved until there is compromise. While we sit and moan like new legislation. Really? What was the beached whales about what has happened Deregulation Act 2015 then? 2015 is and what is happening, the industry will hardly a lifetime away, is it? never reach nor maintain its zenith. I saw the Deregulation Bill as a solid Instead, smarter, better funded attempt to deal with the Heath Robinson organisations will race forward, collection of case law that sought resolve deservedly so, and where obstacles the lacuna of cross border hiring. Before exist they will work hard to remove, the Deregulation Act, I vividly remember negate or in some cases ignore them. presenting a diagram at an international The passengers should really be in the conference and explaining to an back of everyone’s cars not directing audience who were variously in hysterics, bewildered or disbelieving that such a them. he problem with being reactive is that

“The unvarnished truth is that moaning about the law, the government, the regulator and the weather is lazy policy making. Complaining about what has happened and what is happening is simple to do....”

JULY 2021

the advisor

Word of the week: CONTINUALITY

to be happy that the applicant is aware VER SINCE THOSE NICE APP of their tax obligations and willing to do the people lost their Supreme Court right thing. If the licensing body is unable to case, I have been kinda busy on obtain confirmation of tax check completion my status consultancy work, so for 28 days, licenses will either be denied or I thought for my article it would be nice to will be allowed to expire. take a break and focus on the other impending Bang, there it is. Another measure that horror on my mind. could severely affect your company, that is This is something I have spoken about before, not of your making. Well as the saying goes, but now, either by hard luck or misfortune, there Gary Jacobs do what you can do, but don’t sweat the stuff is a whole new twist. Firstly, after a damn hard you can’t (genuinely the worst paraphrase of slog through the Covid-19 pandemic, our reward Gary Jacobs Desiderata ever. Look it up). as an industry that is trying to re-attract so many runs Eaziserv, an So here is what you need to do ready for drivers lost to us (by necessity) to parcel and food accountancy firm April 2022. deliveries and just plain old unemployment, the specialising in government brings us Continuality. u D on’t be shy about sharing the information. the taxi and private Basically, we know that every self-employed You are genuinely helping drivers out. person must do a tax return and that some This does not affect your or their status, hire business people, believe it or not, including drivers in our it’s just information. eaziserv.co.uk industry, are still not known to the taxman. u M ake sure your drivers know this. Just a Which is why Continuality (sometimes also tiny plug– there is a ‘how to do your taxes’ referred to as Continuity) legislation is on its downloadable video on our YouTube page. The way. To be fair, it’s not so much the principle as the timing. Eazitax Group (driver onboarding video) Continuality will introduce a check on tax registration (tax u M ake sure you incorporate this into onboarding every new check) for renewed applications for licences to: driver. u drive taxis and private hire vehicle u O nce again, asking drivers for UTR (Unique Tax Reference) u operate a PHV business Number to make sure they are registered, is not invading An applicant who wishes to renew a licence will need to carry their rights, it is avoiding problems. Sometimes love is out a tax check. The licensing body (typically a local authority) ‘tough love’, but the results are the same. will have to obtain confirmation from HMRC that the applicant THINGS NOT TO DO: has completed the check before being able to consider their u I gnore the problem renewed licence application. u A sk drivers to sign a contract to say they are self-employed, The government is doing this as a response to the hidden as that doesn’t help them, and it certainly doesn’t help you. economy, which they believe exists as a result of a confusion It’s also no defence in a tribunal. and a lack of understanding about tax obligations. Making As you know, we are accountants, and to put this into access to licenses conditional on a tax check certainly makes perspective, during the pandemic, those that were properly it more difficult for people to enter or remain as part of the registered, really benefitted from the self employed grant hidden economy. (SEISS), and especially those taxpayers that didn’t underSupposedly It also creates a more transparent industry. declare their income benefitted in full from what the HMRC And as usual, it’s not about the had to offer. government’s unwillingness to put You can’t get tax credits without it resources into the HMRC. It’s about our and it is hard to buy or rent big stuff unwillingness to ‘dob in’ our fellow man. without having a set of accounts, According to HMRC, licensing bodies even as a sole trader. In conclusion I will signpost first-time applicants to would repeat what I said that it’s not HMRC guidance about tax obligations. so much the legislation, it’s the timing This is to “obtain confirmation that they for operators and their journey back to are aware of what is expected of them normality and driver numbers. before considering the application”. As they say, if you are affected by The tax check will be carried out by anything you read in this article, providing enough information for HMRC contact the writer for advice.

“The licensing body will have to obtain confirmation from HMRC that the applicant has completed the check before being able to renew...”

JULY 2021

the negotiator

Eric’s minimum wage mystery s you will have read elsewhere,

may make 10 journeys but during another 2021 has finally come good for some similar period they may make only four. of the members of the GMB trade So Dennot, you may ask, what has this union. We have been able to mount a got to do with the price of fish. Well, there number of successful campaigns against appears to be a dilemma highlighted by the the “fire-and-rehire” tactics of some bosses. Supreme Court decision. Namely, is the Our driver members have been afforded payment of the NMW inclusive of earnings protection through our recognition over and above the NMW hourly rate for the agreement with Uber and other companies, period worked or exclusive of such earnings. and in February 2021 the Supreme Court Let’s use the example of Eric, who works Dennot Nyack unanimously found in favour of my union, for a well-known South London operator. in a case we brought on behalf of our driver Eric contacted me to complain, amongst members against Uber. other things, that his employer had The union view That historic decision clarified the underpaid him for his time worked. To keep from our GMB employment position of professional private it simple I will illustrate it as follows. Eric representative hire drivers. However, it has led to some claimed that he had worked a 10-hour shift issues requiring further interpretation. One during which he had some tasty easy runs of these is whether the hourly earnings of in the first three hours in which he earned a driver which are over the hourly national £320.16. He was then logged onto their app minimum wage (NMW) can be aggregated with that paid by for the remaining seven hours and earned nowt, zero, zilch, the “employer”, so as to offset the sum paid by the latter. nada, as there had been no jobs coming in to the firm. The rates of pay under the NMW are set by government He contended that he should have been paid £8.91 for and are based on the recommendations of an independent each of those seven hours, or a total of £63.37, in addition body. They are currently £8.91 per hour for all workers over to the £320.16 earned during the happy period. While I 23 years of age. would agree that had he earned £63.37 during the seven What did the Supreme Court decide? They clearly found hours, I believed that the £320.16 also had to be paid, so I that drivers logged on to the Uber app, and by extension, was unsure on what basis Eric felt that he was entitled to those of other companies, were “workers”. The Court said the £63.37. that they thought: “…it clear that the employment tribunal If Eric is right, then it would appear to me that he would was entitled to find that the claimant drivers were workers be entitled to the NMW for every hour he was available who worked for Uber London under ‘worker’s contracts’ for work including including the hours when he also within the meaning of the statutory definition.Indeed, earned the £320.16. What would the “employer” do in that was ... the only conclusion which the tribunal could such a situation? It is likely that they would so arrange reasonably have reached.” the contract as to give them the option to refuse Eric the Working time was said by the Court to fall under opportunity to be “on call”, either through contractual or regulation 2(1) of the Working Time Regulations, as “any technical arrangements, or a mixture of both. period during which he (sic) is working, at his employer’s I am certain that the lawyers for the large app companies disposal and carrying out his activity or duties”. are already gaming the options open to their clients. I The court went on to state: “There is no difficulty in believe that my colleagues in the union are also assiduously principle in a finding that time when a driver is ‘on call’ studying the measures that can be taken to clarify such falls within this definition.” potential anomalies and substantiate the arrangements they have entered into with the companies. ‘On call’ in this context means when a driver has logged In this way maybe Eric’s mystery – and my dilemma – on to the app and is awaiting work from Uber or any other can be solved. similar operator. So, the Court concluded, logging onto the —Dennot Nyack Uber app meant that the driver was working for Uber from then until they logged off. n D ennot is a AGM trade union member and was a The Court further defined the NMW for private hire former representative of the GMB’s professional drivers as “unmeasured work”, one of the categories drivers. He is also an author and broadcaster with a described under the National Minimum Wage Regulations, strong knowledge of the private hire industry and an and not “time worked”. What this means is that where equality and diversity specialist. there is not a regular output produced in a work role, for example, by a worker producing widgets in a factory, but email: dennotnyack@yahoo.com rather a variable output for which payments are made mobile: +44 0740 625 276 according to that output. For example, for a period a driver

JULY 2021

the insider

Loitering within tent

Kevin Willis packs up and beds down until the pandemic passes

hether to choose Amy Schumer or celebrated an 80th and a 21st birthday and got royally drunk Wile E. Coyote is probably the biggest reminiscing on the good old days of 2019. decision I’ll have to make this morning. Now, before you all even contemplate thinking about Writing this article on so-called Freedom following in my footsteps you should know that this lifestyle Day (Monday, July 19) it feels very fitting to have my choice isn’t all a bed of roses. I miss my granddaughters back in of t-shirt be my only real issue. This much anticipated day, Kent a lot and, the other morning, I had to shave while some with its many push-backs and threats of cancellation, has bloke emptied his bowels of campfire-prepared curry not six survived to signal the start of a return to near normality feet behind me. after 18 turbulent months. Wifi and mobile signal in the countryside is in urgent Not for me though. For my wife Nicola and myself, our Kevin Willis need of ‘levelling up’ and I haven’t come close to winning a ‘freedom’ day came around a month earlier for, as promised single game of tent Scrabble as yet. in a previous column, we have finally sold our house, most Outside of England’s failure against Italy in the Euros of the contents and set forth to travel this marvellous Everyday problems final, the night our airbed sprang a leak and resulted in us island called Great Britain with little more than a tent and from the operator’s trying to sleep on bone hard ground with our feet stuck in a determination to test every friend or family member who point of view... the air riding a stubborn air pocket ranks as one of the low ever uttered the words “there is always a bed at ours should points of the trip. you need it”. Business does, dare I say it, seem to be making a tentative Covid-19 has affected everyone one of us in some way or another though comeback and I will no doubt be back to what I enjoy doing most… though thankfully, I haven’t personally lost anyone close due to the virus. What later, rather than sooner. We actually struggled to cover a job last week Covid has achieved is something Maggie Thatcher, the wars in Iraq and 9/11 because a lot of our usual guys were already busy. That is as encouraging as failed to do and that is to render me redundant, and I hate that. the Whatsapp groups pinging back into life looking to cover work. For 22 years we have worked our fingers to the bone to build a relatively My little concern, Chirton Grange Ltd, had over the past few years successful chauffeur business, and then BOOM! we get completely focussed our business toward the inbound American market with tours of blindsided when some greedy git decides to eat a deep-fried bat in a Wuhan this green and pleasant land, so all I am doing really is a big old recce, as street market. Other conspiracy theories are available. any good chauffeur should. Discovering new places to visit, new eateries to Two factors helped shape our decision to cut loose: the first was born enjoy and fresh experiences to offer travel-hungry clients as and when they from the fact that I have always made my own decisions. I got some right and a hell of a lot wrong, but they were at least my calls. Now I am forced to are allowed to cross the pond again. sit and wait for a virus to stop mutating before it determines our future, so Fortunately, I no longer wake up in the early hours worrying on how I am no thanks. going to manage my outgoings, even if I do wake to a high-pitched hissing Secondly, in my opinion, all of this “we are in this together” and “be kind” sound and a definite sinking feeling. I also accept our choice of lifestyle codswallop the banks and mortgage companies have been extolling from is great while the sun is shining and will be a whole lot different come the behind their fixed smiles and Zoom-call waving will judder to an abrupt end freezing, wet December mornings. Time will tell, but I have always believed as soon as we are all double vaccinated. that sitting still gets you nowhere. Also (I know this will be the third thing when I claimed two but one of the In the early days of my business I would go to the airport with no one to reasons I drive a car for a living is that I am crap at Maths), Nicola and I had meet knowing I could get chatting to someone about something that might always planned to take six months off to see Britain properly so are simply create a job or contact, so who knows what ideas might turn up as we travel getting it done earlier than anticipated and while we can still walk unaided around. Why only today, while taking coffee in Kirby Lonsdale, I noticed a and can remember each other’s name. snaking line of middle-class cyclist types queuing for ‘Organic Cow-to-Cone Sitting in the evening sunshine at Allington Lock, Maidstone on our first Ice Cream’! night of homelessness we order a bottle of cheap wine and proceed to spend Instantly my idea leapt to take this concept one step further. Customers £20,000 in 20 minutes clearing credit cards, car finance and other bills put three ice cubes in their mouth, a squirt of caramel (vanilla or chocolate) which was a damn sight easier than clearing the house was. The crap we syrup and then kneel to suck directly from the cows udder as the beast gets had hoarded is utter madness! oscillated on a vibrating floor. Currently, I am asking £250.000 for a 5% stake Following two whole weeks of packing, lifting and carrying, my arm in ‘Teat Out to Help Out’ (patent pending). Get in on the ground floor as this muscles tremble as I attempt to raise my glass up to my lips, and with my lift is going all the way up to the Penthouse! tired eyes as dark as a weary panda I glance at a party of teenagers at the A connected world means we can continue on with the job from our next table and growl “I was young once, look at me now!” mobile office. I am still too young and not ready to retire, also the equity the For the first time in my married life I have no mortgage, utility bills, Sky house released won’t see me through old age, so we will be back fitter, leaner TV subscription or building insurance, though to prove I haven’t gone totally and hopefully wiser. mad I kept Netflix. And I chose Wile E, Coyote. Sorry, Amy. Before getting started on the scenic part of our trip we visited my family in Newcastle, who needed long-overdue help arranging social care n Kevin Willis runs Chirton Grange, for our uncle who is lost to us through severe Alzeimer’s. And we met up contact@chirtongrange.co.uk with my sister in Southport and Nic’s family in Lytham St Annes. We have

JULY 2021

Google maps integration

Professional Driver Magazine July 2021

Articles inside

iCabbi to offer operator stakes in new jointly-owned dispatch business

Take Me moves into West Country with £1.8m acquisition of Plymouth’s Tower Cabs

the insider Loitering within tent

the negotiator: Eric’s minimum wage mystery

the advisor Word of the week:CONTINUALITY

the knowledge Dr Michael Galvin

A shortage of drivers is causing a new crisis to thwart the taxi trade’s post-Covid-19 revival

Professional Driver Magazine Car of the Year Judging Days

Bolt launches in Newcastle as part of ten-city target for 2021

Uber accelerates Local Cab service rollout with operators in four more UK cities

UK pricing and specification revealed for S-Class PHEV and new Mercedes Maybach ahead of late 2021 deliveries

Local authorities frustrated as Government removes legal backing for public transport face masks

Wakefield taxi drivers protest against council rules that make them “third-class citizens”

Gridserve plans to create nationwide new high-speed EV charging network

Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Plan offers city’s taxi and PHV drivers a new £21.4m vehicle upgrade fund

Bolt under pressure to fall in line with Supreme Court Uber ruling

Industry anger as PHV cars are set to be hit by Heathrow’s £5 charge from October

London taxi numbers fall to lowest level in 40 years

Leading Insurers threaten Uber with CMA investigation over new document system

Charming Chabé

News Analysis