Latest news with #taxi
BBC News
7 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Major change to 'the knowledge' for Bristol taxi drivers
Most Bristol taxi drivers will no longer have to learn by heart the thousands of routes around the city. At a meeting of the city council's public safety and protection committee on Tuesday councillors unanimously approved changes to part of the test known as "the knowledge". The changes - which apply only to private hire drivers, not Hackney cabs - means the requirement to memorise the city's geography will be scrapped in favour of a new approach. Councillor Sarah Classick, who chairs the committee, said it was "not about making the test easier to pass", but rather bringing it more in line with more modern guidance. "Because all journeys are pre-booked a lot of drivers now rely on things like sat navs," she said. "As such the sections where they have to have that memory of where every pub, club and restaurant is in Bristol is a bit outdated, and seems to be a bit of a barrier to good drivers passing the knowledge test." It emerged at the end of May that "the knowledge" would be scrapped, but Ms Classick said other parts of the test such as those on road safety, legislation and policy and disability awareness would all remain in place. She also insisted that drivers would still be tested on their knowledge of Bristol - not confusing, for example, Greenbank Road in Southville with Greenbank in Easton - but said the test as it stood was a "barrier to good drivers passing". Though councillors have approved a new approach in principle there will not be any changes made immediately. Ms Classick said council officers would now be asked to look into examples of best practice from other cities that have already made a similar change, and any new elements of the test would need to be approved by the committee.
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Only Our Taxis Run Free - Frank McNally on a funny thing that happened on the way to the Goldsmith Festival
Collecting a rental car to drive to the Goldsmith Festival on Saturday, but running late, I had to get a taxi for a distance I would usually walk and found myself in the company of a very friendly driver from Bangladesh. He'd been in Ireland 19 years and, as I told him, his accent was now located halfway between Dhaka and Dublin. But he had an extraordinarily sunny disposition for a Dublin taximan, which was infectious. As always when meeting people from other parts of the world, I tried to remember all the things I knew about his country, which wasn't many, but enough that the driver seemed delighted about that too. In the back of my unworthy mind, of course, I suspected he was only being friendly in the hopes of a tip. Hence my surprise when we got to the rental car place and he turned the meter off waved away my offers to pay with a smiling 'no charge'. READ MORE Guessing the fare would have been only seven or eight euro, I now determined to throw him a €10 note as I got out. Except I only had a twenty. 'Here – give me a tenner back out of that,' I tried to insist. But still he refused. Humbled, I shook his hand and thanked him, remembering that the talk I had to give later would be under the theme – from The Deserted Village - 'Where wealth accumulates and men decay.' There was one man who was in no danger of decomposition, I thought, as the only Dublin taxi driver ever to give me a freebie drove off. *** On the bill before me in Ballymahon, Professor David O'Shaughnessy discussed 'The Benefits of Goldsmith'. This was a play on words, for while implying that Goldsmith is good for you, O'Shaughnessy's talk turned out to be on the fascinating subject of 18th century theatrical economics, and specifically the 'benefit nights' by which playwrights earned their share of the profits. In the case of his classic comedy, She Stoops to Conquer, those were good for Goldsmith. But the play succeeded against the odds, and even against the hostility of the Covent Garden Theatre manager, George Colman, who didn't want to stage it. With the author too nervous to attend opening night, meanwhile, his friends led by Samuel Johnson organised a counter conspiracy to ensure success. Central to their plot was a man who, according to Johnson's biographer James Boswell, 'was gifted by nature with the most sonorous, and at the same time the most contagious, laugh that ever echoed from the human lungs.' This two-legged hyena was also, however, somewhat deficient in wit, and would not by himself know which bits of the play were funny. So the plan was to wait for Johnson to laugh, whereupon Boswell would nudge the hyena – placed in a box where he would be seen and heard by the whole theatre - into action. It worked well for a while, until the laughing began to draw more attention than the play. Boswell urged his neighbour to tone it down, but it was too late. Having not recognised any jokes at the start, the hyena now found every line hilarious. 'These were dangerous moments, for the pit began to take umbrage,' recalled Boswell, 'but we carried our play through, and triumphed not only over Colman's judgment but our own.' *** I was too late for the Saturday morning tour of Goldsmith Country, which was to include the 'hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade/For talking age and whisp'ring lovers made'. So I'm not sure how confident the guide was – or could be – about whether it was the right bush. The same question arose 125 years ago when William Bulfin did the tour, as later recorded in his travelogue Rambles in Eirinn. Then, his guide was adamant:'Well, that's the hawthorn tree. Some people that doesn't know the differ will tell you that it is the bush there to the left, farther away; and some visitors believes them and marches off with sprigs from the wrong bush. Aren't you going over to get a sprig?' But Bulfin wasn't interested in sprigs because he thought the whole concept of Goldsmith Country existed only in Goldsmith's mind until later relocated to England. He was especially dismissive of the notion that 'Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain' was located anywhere in the Ireland of the Penal Laws. If it was, Bulfin argued, there is no way the villagers could ever have been as happy as Goldsmith remembered them, even before a greedy landlord ruined everything. *** Bulfin wrote some of his Irish dispatches for Arthur Griffith's newspaper Sinn Féin. Which reminds me, too late to mention it the taxi driver, of what must be the most extraordinary fact in the history of Irish-Bangladeshi relations. Namely that in 1930, inspired by events in Dublin 14 years earlier, Bengali rebels staged an uprising against British rule in Chittagong, now Bangladesh's second city. They called themselves the Indian Republican Army (IRA), took over buildings until overwhelmed by superior force, and timed it for Easter, symbolically, even though none of them were Christians. But maybe the taxi driver knew all this already and, by refusing to charge me, was doing his own bit to make Ireland free.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Brisbane woman left stranded after Shannon Noll concert forced to pay $500 for ride home: 'I just couldn't believe it'
A Brisbane woman has cleared out her savings to get home from a Shannon Noll concert after being left stranded. Natasha Forrest attended the Australian Idol star's gig at the Burleigh Town Hotel in Surfers Paradise on Friday night, and waited for her cab after the show ended at 11.30pm. She tells Nine News that she pre-booked a wheelchair accessible taxi through 13CABS - but was left hanging for an hour. 'I just couldn't believe it,' Forrest said. 'The closest driver they had was, they told us was 30 kilometres away'. When a car finally turned up within an hour, it was not suitable for her needs - and Forrest says she was forced to pay a stranger $500 to drive her home. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'I used the last of my savings. It was either do that, or be left stranded,' she said. 13CABS told Nine in a statement that they 'are investigating the incident' and will 'offer sincere apologies' to Forrest. The cab company additionally stated that they are working with the state government to 'find a more sustainable way to provide these services'. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to 13CABS for further comment. It comes after news that Shannon Noll is set to be a grandfather for the first time. Cody Noll, 23, Shannon's eldest child, took to Instagram late last month to announce that he was expecting a bundle of joy with his girlfriend, Jessiica Louise. The happy couple shared a black-and-white photo showing Cody kissing his beloved's belly. 'Baby Noll,' Jessiica captioned the sweet picture. Followers were quick to send messages of congratulations, with one friend teasing the pop singer by writing 'Grandad Duties'. Cody is the What About Me singer's eldest son with his wife of 21 years, Rochelle. The couple also share Blake, 22, and a daughter, Sienna, 18. Shannon and Rochelle welcomed their youngest, a boy called Colton, in December 2018. Shannon revealed last year that his sons Cody and Blake were following in their famous father's footsteps. Shannon shared that his two eldest children play instruments, sing and collaborate with their cousins, forming a 'little bit of a family band'. Meanwhile, Blake became a regular opening act for his dad, who toured last year, including 20 gigs in regional centres in NSW and Queensland. Speaking to 9Honey in April 2024, Shannon confessed the one warning he shared with his youngsters. 'I'm a shocker for recording a song and then putting a great big high note (in it) that then you've got to recreate every night on stage, which makes it a bit tough sometimes,' he joked. 'Most times I can get it... I can get it every time on the stage. But it's just a bit of a daunting feeling coming up to it,' he added. In January 2023, Shannon and Blake played at the Tamworth Music Festival and fans even demanded for his 'heartthrob' son's autograph. 'I think the heartthrob days for me are long gone,' Shannon said with a laugh, adding that he is happily passing the baton onto his son. Blake, an apprentice tradie, said he started playing guitar about a year ago and was always a little nervous to sing and perform in front of his famous dad. 'Once I realised singing is more like a muscle, and it gets stronger and better the more you do it, I kept doing it in the car and started to get more belief in myself, and then I started learning guitar, because I knew I would start singing more if I played,' he explained. Shannon first gained national as the runner-up to Guy Sebastian on Australian Idol in 2003. He lives with his family on an acreage in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Taxi stolen during night out sparks police investigation
A police search has been sparked after a taxi was stolen during a night out in Oxfordshire. The incident occurred at around 2am today (Friday, May 31) with a taxi being stolen from a taxi rank in Bicester. Thames Valley Police (TVP) say that the incident happened at the taxi rank in Market Square. READ MORE: Oxford-born celebrity 'second favourite' to be next James Bond Flash Sale Alert! 🌟 Dive deeper into the stories that shape Oxfordshire with Oxford Mail. Unlimited local news, an ad-free app, and a digital replica of our print edition—all with 80 per cent fewer ads on our site. 🗞️ 👇#StayInformed — Oxford Mail (@TheOxfordMail) May 26, 2025 The force made an appeal across social media soon after the incident, asking members of the public with information to come forward and help with the investigation. A spokesperson for TVP on Friday morning said: "We are appealing for any witnesses or anyone that may have dashcam footage of this incident. "Please call 101 or make an online report quoting reference number 43250267218 if you have any information."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Yorker who tried using yellow Prius as a fake taxi sued by NYC to be taken off the streets — for good
He's a real fake hack. A former New York City cabbie whose license was suspended more than a decade ago has been posing as a taxi driver — using his little yellow Toyota, The Post has learned. The city Taxi and Limousine Commission is now fighting to permanently seize George Caraballo's compact 2013 Prius due to his repeated violations, public records show. In the last six months, Caraballo has been dinged twice by the city for posing as an official yellow medallion driver, according to a civil forfeiture lawsuit filed by the TLC on Thursday. In fact, Caraballo's second violation came only two weeks after the hack driver pleaded guilty to the first, the Manhattan Supreme Court filing states. A TLC inspector first watched him drive his yellow hybrid hatchback to pick up a hailing passenger in Manhattan for a $26 ride in November, the suit states. Unfortunately for Caraballo, his fare was dwarfed by the $1,500 violation issued to him that night for 'operating for hire a vehicle that is not licensed by TLC.' Just 15 days after he copped to that first violation at a March administrative hearing, the counterfeit cabman was at it again, the suit states. On April 8, Caraballo picked up a group of four people in front of the iconic New Yorker Hotel near Penn Station for an $18 fare — under the watchful eye of a TLC inspector, the suit alleges. The knockoff taxi was immediately seized by the TLC, the suit states. During his second stint before the city Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, Caraballo again pleaded guilty. But an attorney for the TLC argued that the commission should retain Caraballo's car while the city pursues its civil forfeiture case against him to permanently take possession of the bogus cab, records show. Caraballo apparently pulled the same stunt with a different car in 2020, 'evidence of the respondent's flagrant disregard for the rules,' the TLC lawyer said — calling the fake taxi driver a 'danger to the public.' His representative, Joseph Scifo — a non-lawyer who has been repping livery drivers in administrative court for over 40 years — argued that the Prius is set up as a yellow cab because it operates legitimately as a taxi in Rockland County. Hearing officer Patricia Cardoso found that the TLC had failed to show that keeping Caraballo's ride was 'necessary to protect the public,' and ordered that he get the vehicle back after paying a $2,000 fine — which he has since done, a TLC rep said Friday. The spokesperson said that Caraballo once had a license, which was suspended in 2013. Despite the car being released for now, Caraballo could still stand to lose it as the TLC's case progresses. Since he posed as a fake taxi 'on two separate occasions within 36 months, and the subject vehicle was used in the commission of both offenses,' the TLC argued in its suit, the Prius is 'subject to forfeiture.' The summons lists a Rockland County address for Caraballo on his driver's license, about 40 miles north from Manhattan, but shows that a Yorkville apartment is listed on his vehicle registration. When The Post knocked on the city address on Friday, a shirtless man who confirmed his name was George Caraballo said 'You got the wrong person.' 'I've never driven a cab before — I'm a retired guy,' the supposedly bogus Caraballo said, adding that he's never owned a Toyota Prius. Despite his protestations, the curious Caraballo inquired about the nature of the lawsuit and civil forfeiture. Scifo told The Post he wasn't sure whether that man was his client, or if the real Caraballo lives at the Rockland County — but had some advice, nonetheless. 'There's a lot of guys who are in the practice of bringing in cars from outside the city to earn extra money,' he said. 'Stop. You will be fined. You are breaking the law.'
