Taxi drivers in Montreal continue to fight Bill 17, the CAQ’s proposed legislation that would deregulate the industry.
The official opposition in Quebec’s National Assembly is demanding that an arbitrator be brought in to determine what compensation will be receivedby those cab drivers affected by the Legault government’s reform of the province’s taxi industry.
The Quebec Liberals are also accusing the provincial government of not respecting the expropriation process as it buys back taxi permits from drivers or owners.
Liberal transport critic Gaétan Barrette on Tuesday accused Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel of unilaterally deciding how the permits will be purchased.
Quebec taxi drivers are claiming more than $1.3 billion in compensation for the loss of value on their permits and their buyback by the government following the arrival of the Uber ride-hailing servicein the Quebec market.
A legislative committee studying the proposed law reforming the taxi industry and other forms of paid transportation resumed sitting on Tuesday.
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‘I was bawling crying’: Woman tells of attack on Cork taxi
‘I was petrified’: Taxi attacked by male youths armed with iron bars on Sunday morning.
Gardaí believe that the gang responsible for attacking a moving taxi with iron bars in Cork at the weekend was also behind a rampage through nearby housing estates during which several parked cars were damaged.
It is hoped that CCTV could lead to the identification of some of the ringleaders involved in the sequence of incidents, which occurred late on Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Taxi driver shot dead in Pretoria CBD
A taxi driver was shot dead in the Pretoria CBD following an altercation between taxi drivers and supposed drug dealers on Tuesday afternoon.
Taxi drivers in the area confronted a group of alleged drug dealers in a bid to clean the city’s streets.
Police superintendent Isaac Mahamba, confirmed that the man who was pronounced dead was a taxi driver.
New York:
What’s a Taxi medallion worth?
Owners of New York City taxi medallions are in crisis.
Owning the right to operate one of the city’s iconic yellow cabs was once a sure financial bet.
That is no longer the case considering the dramatic drop in the value of medallions, which has destroyed the finances of thousands of taxi drivers who The New York Timesreports were snookered into taking out large loans when medallions were worth as much as $1.3 million.
Some have died by suicideand prices have plummeted to as low as $110,500 this summer.
A billbefore the state Senate and Assembly is looking to bail out medallion holders. The state Taxi Medallion Guaranty Program would create a loan guarantee program to help medallion holders with debts of up to $175,000 per medallion.
The bill is modeled in part on the federal bailout of the financial industry and partly modeled on an existing capital access program overseen by Empire State Development.
The bill did not move out of committee this past year, but sponsors Assemblyman Marcos Crespo and state Sen.
Jessica Ramos, who each chair the labor committee in their respective chambers, say they will push the legislation next year.
Norwich: A man who smashed a taxi window and leapt out to avoid a £20 fare has been jailed for 11 weeks.
Thomas Barlow, 28, got into the taxi with another man around 3am on February 9 last year, before asking to be taken to various locations around Norwich.
After sleeping for part of the journey, Barlow tried to escape the cab and threatened the driver when he realised they could not afford to pay.
Finding the doors locked, he tried to pay £6 before smashing one of the windows and running away.
Lucy Miller, prosecuting at Norwich Magistrates Court, said Barlow had been picked up from Tombland, asking to go to Thorpe Road.
"The taxi driver drove via the train station, when the man changed his mind and said he now wanted to go to Spixworth," she said.
"Both men slept for part of the journey, then said they wanted to go to Hawthorn Road and on to another location.
"The man was saying to his friend 'you haven't got the money, how are you going to pay?'
"He tried to open the door, which can't be done unless the meter is cleared. The man started to shout at the driver and tried to pay £6. He was told if he didn't pay he couldn't get out.
"He was shouting and punching the window between the driver and the passengers, and the driver decided to drive back to Norwich to the police station.
"On route the man was shouting and making threats.
"At the junction with Spixworth Road the man managed to smash the window on the right hand side and both men got out and ran away, leaving an outstanding fare of £20.86."
In a victim impact statement, the taxi driver said he had "lost faith in other customers" and now tries to get money up front.
Police were called and when they arrived they found Barlow 400 metres away with a cut on his hand.
Barlow went no comment in interview because he "has no recollection" of what happened, Annette Hall, mitigating, told the court.
"He had drunk an awful lot of alcohol at that time," she said.
She added there are "mental health issues" for which he is being medicated.
"It is quite clear he had money on him because he gave £6 to the taxi driver," she said.
Magistrates activated five weeks of a ten week suspended sentence imposed on August 6 last year for a burglary Barlow committed.
They also jailed him for six weeks consecutively for criminal damage and making off without payment.
"This was very unpleasant and the taxi driver must have been very frightened indeed," said chair of the bench, Mary Wyndham.
Barlow, of Oakdale Road, Brundall, has also been ordered to pay £195 in compensation for the broken window and £20.80 for the taxi fare.
HongKong: Taxi Drivers Stage Peaceful Protest
On Aug 23, about 500 taxi drivers in Hong Kong staged their peaceful parade, to voice their opposition to the protracted protests that they found were making life increasingly difficult for them.
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