Tag: taxis

Bolt marks Edinburgh launch with sustainability drive

UK’s second biggest ride-hailing app marks Edinburgh launch with donation to support the city’s sustainability goals

Bolt – the UK’s second largest ride-hailing app with 4m passengers – is crossing the border into Scotland with its latest launch in Edinburgh, as it continues its rapid expansion across the UK.

Bolt was founded in 2013 and currently has 4m customers across the UK. The company has a mission to reduce personal vehicle ownership and increase availability of more sustainable modes of transport. Through its Bolt Green Plan it ensures all rides are carbon neutral.

The launch will see the fastest growing mobility platform in the world support the city in its bid to be a “Million Tree City” by 2030 with a £20,300 donation to the TreeTime Edinburgh initiative, run by Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust.

As part of the partnership and to mark its commitment to the second greenest city in the UK, Bolt’s donation will help the charity to replace a number of lost trees in the city. Trees have been felled in urban areas for various reasons, but through its donation, Bolt will help to replace larger strategically positioned trees, as well as contributing to extending and enriching woodland areas and parks that surround the city with young saplings.

With a number of larger trees being planted roadside, they will serve as a reminder to residents of the importance of the environment and the issue of carbon emissions in the city. With a third of Bolt’s initial city fleet being electric or hybrid vehicles, the ride-hailing service acts as a fast-growing sustainable alternative to the private car, as well as helping residents travel safely and affordably.

To celebrate its arrival in the city, passengers will have the chance to receive up to £8 off their first Bolt ride by entering the following code into the Promotions section of the Bolt app: ARTHURSCARSEAT* when they launch.

Sam Raciti, Bolt’s UK General Manager said: “Launching into Edinburgh and Scotland is a big step for Bolt.

“We take our responsibility in supporting the communities we operate within seriously and it was only right that we helped support the sustainability goals of the UK’s second greenest city through our partnership with TreeTime Edinburgh.

“We can’t wait to offer residents an affordable and responsible way to get around the city they love.”

Charlie Cumming, CEO at Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust, said: “Edinburgh’s trees are a major part of the local landscape and some of the capital’s most famous landmarks, parks and streets would not be the same without them. 

“We’ve calculated that the city needs to be planting roughly 6,500 trees every year to compensate for the trees we lose due to disease and Bolt’s donation and commitment will help us significantly.  We’re very pleased to be working with a company like Bolt that shares the same values and commitment to our local environment.”

Bolt is accepting submissions from Edinburgh passengers for the chance to personalise one of 15 unique plaques on trees planted around the city, providing a lasting legacy and the opportunity to share important messages about protecting the local environment.

Submissions can be sent to the company’s Instagram page, @bolt_uk.

Edinburgh sees biggest taxi surge in UK since lockdown eased

Ride-hailing app, FREE NOW, has reached a post-Covid record level of bookings since indoor hospitality reopened on Monday 17th May.

With its data showing an 38% increase in demand week-on-week in the UK, the company is now recruiting 10,000 more drivers as national restrictions ease further and social mobility grows to meet the growing demand that is set to sky-rocket once the UK fully reopens.  

Since England moved from stage 2 to 3 in the lockdown roadmap last week, taxi journey numbers on the FREE NOW app are approaching pre-pandemic levels, with daily volumes fluctuating around 90% of values from early March 2020, before the first lockdown.

Demonstrating a level of increased confidence amongst Brits, there has been a 150% increase in rides compared to the earlier stage of the lockdown in April. On May 17th, bookings during ‘Beer O’Clock’ – between 5 and 6pm – skyrocketed 107% week-on-week, as people could go to an indoor restaurant or a pub after work for the first time since early November.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular day for travelling last week was Friday largely thanks to a huge growth in the evening as people were hitting the pubs and restaurants. Friday and Saturday night between 11pm – Midnight became the busiest ride-hailing time slot of the week for the first time this year.

On a regional level, in London, it seems that the West End is alive again, with Tottenham Court Road experiencing a whopping 188% rise in rides week-on-week, and Leicester Square 184%, the two largest increases in requests in the capital. 

Among other cities, Edinburgh registered the highest overall weekly growth (108%) with Leith Walk (up by 400%) and Royal Mile (up by 330%) being among the hottest spots.

In Reading, bookings to and from Reading Uni tripled, similarly to Hove Lawns in Brighton and Hove. 

Mariusz Zabrocki, General Manager at FREE NOW, comments: “It’s great to see the UK come alive again as the restrictions continue to ease, following what has been an extremely tough year for all, including the travel and transport industry.

“With many people having lost their jobs during the pandemic, we’re pleased to be recruiting such a large number of drivers across the UK; it’s essential that we can keep up with the growing demand so people can move freely with ease.

“Unlike some of our ride-hailing competitors, we focus on putting driver wellbeing first, and we look forward to welcoming more drivers to the FREE NOW family.” 

More support for capital’s cabbies

Taxi and private hire drivers across the Capital are to receive more funding as top-up payments of £1,000 each will be distributed by the City of Edinburgh Council.

From today (15 April 2021), this will be paid out to those who received the initial grants of £1,500 through the ‘Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund’ and will be done using the same details used for the first grant without any need for further application.

This additional funding for taxi and private hire drivers will be provided from the ‘Edinburgh Discretionary Business Support Fund’, amounting to just under £4.4 million for the sector in Edinburgh.

The Council was awarded just over £12.8 million in total by the Scottish Government to create the ‘Edinburgh Discretionary Business Support Fund’ which has been distributing grant money to eligible businesses since 3 February 2021 in two tranches – initially £2.8 million, and then an additional £10 million was added to the pot.

The ‘Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund’ was open between 25 January and 25 March 2021 and paid out just over £6.5 million to 4,391 taxi and private hire drivers.

Councillor Kate Campbell, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “It’s been a really difficult time for so many businesses and self-employed people. We know that taxi and private hire drivers have been severely impacted so we’re using the discretionary grant fund to top up the Taxi and Private Hire Driver Support Fund.

“Taxis and private hire drivers are a crucial part of our city’s transport infrastructure, making our city accessible to many and supporting our economy. 

“We’ve taken the decision to ring-fence this money to make sure that drivers, 90% of whom are self-employed, have a bit of extra support to help them get through this period until we start to see the easing of more restrictions from 26th April. 

“This year has been incredibly difficult for all businesses in our city, and we know how hard people have had to work to keep going. We want to do everything we can help.”

Councillor Mandy Watt, Vice Convener said: “The taxi trade is a vital part of our public transport network, supporting many vulnerable people and those with accessibility needs.  I therefore feel very passionately that this sector – the majority renting their vehicles – gets the support it needs to continue this essential service.

“Our whole economy has been affected and it will take time to build it back up again. That’s why, despite there being a date to work towards, we’ll continue to look at our business support landscape and monitor where the holes have been so we can plug them with funding support.”

Applications will be open until the fund is nearing its full allocation. At this point the fund will be closed and applications will be processed in the order they are received.

Bus attacks: 15 year old charged

Officers across Edinburgh have been working closely with Lothian Buses to help tackle antisocial behaviour within the city.

During Monday evening (15 March), a number of buses and a taxi were damaged in the south east of the city through reckless behaviour after stones were thrown at them.

Police have confirmed that a 15-year-old boy has been charged and will be reported to the youth assessor in connection with these incidents. The investigation into the activity remains ongoing.

Chief Inspector Sarah Taylor Local Area Commander for North West Edinburgh said: “We will continue our efforts to keep our communities, Lothian Buses staff and all motorists safe, through a proactive and coordinated approach, alongside working closely with our partners.

“Officers continue to investigate these completely unacceptable and senseless incidents to ensure that offenders are held accountable for their actions.

“I reiterate our request for the support of parents, guardians and the wider public in tackling this behaviour. If you see this behaviour, or congregations at bus stops causing a disturbance, please contact police on 101, or 999 in an emergency.”

Lothian withdrew bus services from 7.30 last night in response to the series of attacks. They will announce further plans later today.

‘Significant additional support’ for taxi and private hire drivers

A new fund to support taxi and private hire drivers affected by the pandemic will launch this week.

Local authorities will directly approach an estimated 38,000 private hire and taxi drivers inviting them to claim a £1,500 grant to assist with fixed costs, boosting the support from other funding for loss of income available through the Scottish and UK Governments.

A new total of £57 million has been allocated by the Scottish Government – three times more than the allocation announced in December.

Councils will start contacting eligible drivers this week to brief them on their potential entitlement and ask them to provide supporting information and bank account details. They do not need to apply, or contact the local authority.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said: “We know how difficult this pandemic has been for taxi drivers and their families. They’ve truly gone the extra mile, continuing to provide a vital service for key workers and vulnerable individuals throughout the lockdown and beyond.

“Following the introduction of tighter regulations at Christmas I have trebled the budget originally announced for this fund to £57 million, enough to provide grants of £1,500 to all of Scotland’s 38,000 taxi and private hire drivers.

“It will help to support the taxi trade by augmenting existing support and assisting drivers in meeting fixed costs including licence plate fees, rental fees and insurance payments for taxis not on the road.”

To be eligible for this financial assistance taxi or private hire drivers must be licensed for the period 9 October 2020 to at least 31 January 2021. Applicants can choose whether the payment is made to a business or personal bank account.

More details and full eligibility criteria available here.

Other schemes open to taxi drivers include the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 Public Transport Mitigation Fund and the UK Government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

The Scottish Government has allocated £3 billion in business support since the start of the pandemic on top of support available through the UK Government.

Cab app offers 50% discount for NHS heroes

The UK’s leading black cab app, FREE NOW, together with Edinburgh’s taxi drivers is launching its “NHS Heroes” booking option to offer 50% off taxis for NHS workers in Edinburgh. The initiative aims to allow anyone working for the NHS to get to and from hospitals safely and quickly.

With cabbies being integral in keeping the city moving, FREE NOW has developed tech to specifically enable reduced prices for NHS workers with its new “NHS Heroes” booking option.

The initiative follows a survey of London black cab drivers that use the FREE NOW app, where an overwhelming 97% wanted to offer their support for NHS workers during this crisis. Following driver demand, the black cab app is now rolling this out to Edinburgh.

FREE NOW does not make any profit from these jobs and the company is also speaking to the Government to explore what more can be done to support NHS staff.

Vandana Prashar, Head of Operations at FREE NOW said: “As many public transport options are reduced to align with social distancing measures, our doctors, nurses and all NHS front line staff are reliant on alternative options to get to hospitals to help those in need. 

“It is a testament to Edinburgh’s black cab drivers that they are willing to step up, even when their earnings are taking a hit in these uncertain times to help NHS staff.

“The divider screens between driver and passenger in black cabs help to limit human contact, they are also easy to clean, and all black cab drivers have unrivalled knowledge of the city helping to get NHS workers to and from work in as little time as possible.”

The NHS Heroes booking option is available in London, Oxford, Reading, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.

FREE NOW is also offering a similar service in Spain and looking at how this can be rolled out to the 10 countries it operates in across Europe.

The NHS heroes booking option is available for all NHS workers and will run in the FREE NOW app for the foreseeable future.

Anybody wishing to sponsor Black Cabs for NHS staff further can do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/freenow-nhsheroes?utm_term=QjxgaAng9

Bonnie gives Edinburgh her seal of approval

Glasgow Taxis teamed up with Edinburgh counterparts Central Taxis to give Bonnie the seal a guided tour as the Glasgow 2018 mascot headed to the capital to promote the diving competition taking place as part of this year’s European Championships. Continue reading Bonnie gives Edinburgh her seal of approval

Taxi! Keir calls for tighter legislation

‘Public safety is everything’ – SNP MSP Colin Keir

London Taxis in central LondonSNP MSP for Edinburgh Western Colin Keir has called for tighter legislation of taxis and private hire cars during a Holyrood debate on the Air Rifles and Licensing Bill.

Mr Keir is supporting moves to introduce a test for Private Hire Car drivers as well as tightening the legislation on booking offices. He also called on vehicles which are currently exempt from the licensing system to be included on the grounds of public safety.

Mr Keir said: “The legislation which deals with taxis and private hire cars was drawn up as a part of the 1982 Civic Government Scotland Act and needs to be amended. The use of mobile phones and apps were not known years ago and the law and the trade have to adapt to modern circumstances.”

Mr Keir added: “Everyone who uses a taxi or private hire car must know that it is safe to get into a vehicle and must have confidence that there’s a fit and proper person behind the wheel – public safety is everything.”

Council leader hails taxi accessibility talks

Access Action Plan is on it’s way

cabs

Council Leader Andrew Burns and Convener of the Regulatory Committee, Cllr Gavin Barrie met with charity campaigner Gordon Aikman yesterday to discuss concerns about taxi accessibility in Edinburgh.

Recently Mr Aikman, who has motor neurone disease, struggled to find a taxi that was able accommodate his wheelchair. He was due to introduce Ed Miliband at the Labour Party Conference in the capital but missed the opportunity after two taxis he called were unable to pick him up – one because the electric ramp was not working and the other because he ‘took too long to come down’.

Cllr Burns said: “What happed to Gordon is of course completely unacceptable and the purpose of today’s meeting was to discuss what we can do to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We have identified steps that we can take as the licensing authority for taxis in the city, to ensure that these vehicles are accessible to wheelchair users.

“For example, we will be cracking down on drivers who fail to stop for disabled customers and increasing the number of spot checks to check that the taxis’ ramps are operational. We will also be calling for taxi companies to review their allocated waiting time for collections with a view to extending this for people with mobility issues.

“We want to make sure that wheelchair users in Edinburgh have a positive experience when using taxis and I would like to thank Gordon for highlighting this very important issue.”

Other actions agreed include a review of the current driver training arrangements to improve accessibility training and looking at introducing refresher courses. Taxi drivers who are exempt from manually loading wheelchairs for health reasons may also be asked to display a prominent sign on their vehicle indicating that they are not accessible.

The agreed measures will now be taken forward by the Council, led by Councillor Gavin Barrie as Convener of the Regulatory Committee.

Welcoming the outcome of yesterday’s meeting, Gordon Aikman said: “This crackdown is very welcome. Wheelchair or not, each and every one of us should be able to get into a cab and get from A to B without any hassle. I’ve only been in a wheelchair for a couple of weeks, but have been shocked by the treatment disabled folk have to put up with.

“I’m confident this Access Action Plan will help make taxis in our capital more accessible. I hope other councils follow Edinburgh’s lead. This is not about special treatment – it is about equal access. No disabled person should have to put up with second rate service.”