Call Sign April 2011 - Page 12 - John Mason responds to Call Sign

The March issue of Call Sign contained several controversial items that in one way or another involved Transport for London. The Director of London Taxis & Private Hire, John Mason, has now given the view of TfL / LTPH… Page 3 (From the Editor): CRB cock-up!

Camden / CRB PH Driver
You ask "…how the driver managed to get a PH license when his offences – although committed abroad – were known by the authorities over here?"
   Passenger safety is our top priority. Every person that applies to be a licensed taxi or private hire driver must undergo an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. If they are licensed, they must complete a further enhanced CRB check every three years when they renew their licence.
   The private hire driver in question was subject to an enhanced CRB check before he was granted a private hire license. The check did not identify his previous convictions. The reasons for this are subject to a separate investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
   The driver’s private hire license was immediately revoked when we learnt of his previous offences. Some further information on this matter is provided below…
   Investigation into complaint about Met handling of convicted paedophile: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is independently investigating a complaint from a woman whose son was sexually abused by a convicted paedophile.
   On 17 August 2009, Jose Luis Chuecca (also known as Jose Luis Magana-Chueca) was convicted of four counts of causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity at Blackfriars Crown Court. He had been working as a minicab driver contracted by a council to take vulnerable children to school, when he came into contact with his victim in November 2008.

John Mason responds to Call Sign

John Mason
The woman alleges that during the police investigation, it came to light that Chuecca had been sentenced in 1991 in Spain to 77 years imprisonment for indecency offences. He was allowed bail pending appeal and fled from Spain. In March 2003 it is understood that Metropolitan Police officers arrested Chuecca in the UK under the provisions of a Spanish international arrest warrant.
The boy's mother submitted a complaint to the IPCC on 2 November 2009 alleging that the Metropolitan Police Service failed to place appropriate warnings on police systems after his arrest. She alleges that this meant that Chuecca was able to obtain a clean Criminal Records Bureau check, thus enabling him to become a taxi driver cleared to work with vulnerable children. She has also complained that the officers who dealt with her failed to act in an appropriate and professional way.
IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "These are very serious allegations and need to be thoroughly examined, which is why we have decided to independently investigate this case. We will be looking at the circumstances surrounding the police investigation into Chuecca from when he first came to notice of the Metropolitan Police to see whether the officers followed necessary policies and dealt with the boy and his mother in a reasonable way."

Page 7: PCO put block on Euro 5 conversions!

Taxi Emission Abatement Equipment
I summarise below the FACTS of the matter in relation to the article on Page 7:
A meeting was held on 4th February between TfL

and Gerd Van Aaken, Sheldon Posner from Cricklewood Carriers and David Jackson. The meeting was arranged at the request of Gerd Van Aaken, following an exchange of emails relating to a system they had installed to a taxi via Cricklewood Carriers (without consulting or notifying TfL).
   At the meeting, TfL representatives including myself received a presentation regarding this system and the perceived benefits of a system they would like to introduce.
   It was claimed that the system could possibly bring a taxi to Euro IV standard and following discussions, there was an admission that it would not bring a taxi up to full Euro V standard. We have not and did not say that we would only consider equipment that makes a taxi Euro 6.
   TfL explained that there are unquestionably many issues with retro fitting taxis and the perceived benefits of such systems. We explained we have no plans to provide exemptions to the recently announced age limits for taxis fitted with equipment that had a proven (none exist at present) benefit of bringing taxis up to full Euro IV standard. It was also explained that significant testing and trails of any such equipment would be required at a likely considerable cost to the manufacturer / supplier and as such, there seemed to be little business benefit to them in doing so.

Page 35: (Mailshot) Addison Lee and bus lanes (Legal Costs)
I can confirm that TfL have paid no legal costs to Addison Lee in relation to the M4 Bus Lane. As I pointed out previously, the penalties issued for driving in the bus lane were not issued by TfL but by the Police, so even if Addison Lee had continued and won their case against them, TfL were never involved in the case or in any danger of paying any fees or costs through this action!

John Mason
Director LTPH

NEW YORK CYCLISTS TO BE LICENSED?

…and could London follow?

In a move that many hope will be followed in the UK, moves are afoot in New York state to force cyclists to register and install licence plates on their bikes. According to internet US news station WIVB.com, the sponsors of the measure say the $25 license plates would produce almost $2 million for the state in the first year and with annual renewal fees, around $300,000 each year after the law becomes effective.
Queens Assembly Member Michael DenDekker has proposed that children’s bikes as well as adults should be registered and regularly inspected to prove that they are roadworthy. Licence plates would cost $25 or $50 for commercially owned bikes. Critics have called the scheme a money spinning exercise while others claim it will assist in road safety by making cyclists more identifiable.
Many believe that the UK - and especially London - should follow suit, especially with so many new cyclists using Barclay-bikes and with the news from TfL that they are cutting the size of the Blackfriars Bridge cycle lane to help improve traffic flow…

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