Latest news with #taxidrivers
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
Rome's taxi drivers rev up criticism of Wolff after being likened to Verstappen
Rome taxi drivers are in uproar at the suggestion they drive as badly as mad Max Verstappen, with some challenging Formula One drivers to navigate the traffic and potholes of the Italian capital as skilfully as they do. Verstappen, a four-time F1 champion, was issued with a penalty on Sunday after crashing into George Russell's Mercedes in the Spanish Grand Prix. Responding to questions about the incident from an Italian journalist, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes F1 principal, said: 'This is road rage, like the taxi drivers in Rome or Naples.' The journalist tried to defend his country's drivers, saying: 'We have improved a lot in Italy.' Wolff said: 'There's a lot of aggression in the centre of Rome and Naples, without rules.' While the remarks appear to have been shrugged off by taxi drivers in Naples, their counterparts in Rome, who in recent years have had to contend with wayward electric scooter riders, omnipresent construction sites and tourists being shown around in golf buggies, were outraged. 'Maybe it would be better if Wolff focused on [the performance] of his own team,' Loreno Bittarelli, president of Rome's largest taxi cooperative, told Corriere della Sera newspaper. Nicola Di Giacobbe, from the taxi union, Filt-Cgil, joked: 'We drive like a Mercedes since it only goes 30 miles an hour, just like us.' However, Di Giacobbe conceded that Rome has serious problems when it comes to traffic congestion and rule-flouting, making mobility in the city 'a no man's land'. Roberto, a taxi driver with 40 years' experience, told Corriere: 'We are the best at driving in the chaotic traffic of this city. We are more patient and expert than the average driver. This city has gotten worse in recent years – now it takes 30 minutes to go two kilometres.' Fellow tax driver, Alessandro, referred to Wolff's comments as 'a banal cliche'. 'We are the ones who are first in not having accidents, otherwise we would lose our working day,' he said. 'I would like to see Formula One drivers manoeuvring around construction sites, scooters and golf carts the way we do. Rome is now a jungle, not a Formula One track.'
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
York city centre pollution levels fall below legal limit
Recent air pollution levels at monitoring sites across York were all below legal limits for the first time since the pandemic, according to council data.A City of York Council report found that 2024 nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions at the Gillygate and Bootham junction fell by 27% when compared to 2023, when it reached its highest recorded level of 43 micrograms per cubic metre of air (μg/m3).Blossom Street near its junction with Queen Street had the highest recorded NO2 level at 32µg/m3 in 2024 - still falling below the 40µg/m3 legal report described the findings as a "public health and environmental success". It suggested grants given to taxi drivers to help buy low or zero emission cars had made a difference, along with phasing out fossil fuel-powered vehicles in the council's own fleet. The report proposed that air quality management areas may be revoked in future years if the reductions continued, according to the Local Democracy Reporting also found:The highest maximum yearly mean concentration was recorded at the Blossom Street and Holgate Road junction, reaching 32.4µg/m3It was followed by 31.1µg/m3 at the Gillygate and Bootham junction Yearly average levels were down by 12% in Heworth Green and 8% in Holgate RoadLevels at Nunnery Lane, Fulford Road and Lawrence Street were down by 8%, 7% and 2% respectivelyA 6% increase recorded at Fishergate is thought to be linked to a nearby construction site"For the first time since the pandemic, all monitored locations meet legal NO2 limits," it said. "Good air quality reduces absence from work and education due to air pollution related illnesses." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Bristol taxi drivers 'no longer need' local route knowledge test
A test which requires taxi drivers to know thousands of routes in a city is being as "the knowledge", it tests them on the quickest way to get Bristol passengers to their city council figures show that only eight out of 133 people taking the test this year managed to council says the test is becoming a "barrier" to people becoming taxi drivers, and the increasing use of sat-navs means it is no longer as important. The changes will not affect "the knowledge" for drivers of hackney carriage taxis, which can be flagged down on the street, the Local Democracy Service reports. A report to Bristol City Council's public safety and protection committee said the current requirement to know the location of certain premises or roads is "outdated".The 90-minute test for private hire applicants involves 100 questions chosen randomly by a must not only achieve minimum pass marks in all 10 categories – four or five out of 10 questions in each – but also answer at least 75 questions correctly overall. Knowledge 'not required' The committee report said Department for Transport (DfT) guidance was updated in November 2023 to say topographical knowledge is not required. It said: "Given the availability, reliability and ease of use of sat-nav systems, licensing authorities should not require any topographical knowledge or navigational tests for private hire vehicle drivers."This would mean applicants no longer needing to know exact locations and routes to clubs, pubs, restaurants, hotels, places of interest or the district of a particular remaining in the test would be safety, including child sexual exploitation, general road safety and how to calculate change, policy & legislation, and report said the test should also be strengthened with a wider range of questions and topics which protect public safety, such as disability awareness, planning routes using navigation devices, conflict avoidance, and what to do if racially abused or being subjected to other abusive comments or hate speech.
Khaleej Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
French taxi protests test PM's budget-cutting resolve
French taxi drivers are protesting regularly over proposed government cuts to cash for ferrying patients to and from medical appointments, highlighting the challenge Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faces as he seeks to slash next year's budget. Bayrou is hoping to push through a 40 billion euro ($45 billion) budget squeeze in 2026, positioning the collective belt-tightening as an act of civic duty to correct the country's gaping deficit. After pensions, health spending is the single biggest drain on the budget. As part of efforts to rein it in, the government hopes to make 150 million euros in savings on the 6 billion euros it shells out annually to private taxi and ambulance firms ferrying patients back and forth. Cabbies from across France, many of whom rely on the state fares for a sizeable chunk of their income, have descended on Paris since mid-May for protests that have led to dozens of arrests. Some out-of-town drivers have slept in their cars while others have tried to block access to Paris' airports and have threatened to do the same to the French Open tennis tournament taking place on the outskirts of the capital. Sandra Vialatte, who heads a taxi firm in the Loiret region south of Paris, said the government was not listening to the industry's proposals to lower costs. "We understand that savings need to be made, we have solutions to save money, we try to propose them but they close the door to discussions," she said during a protest last week. France has a long history of flouting EU overspending rules and currently is running the biggest public sector deficit in the euro zone at an estimated 5.4% of economic output this year. The government's planned 40 billion euros in budget savings is necessary if France is to have any hope of meeting its deficit target next year of 4.6%, which it says is a vital first step towards reaching an EU ceiling of 3% by 2029. France's budget woes are undermining its efforts to ramp up defence spending to counter potential Russian aggression, and are also drawing unwelcome scrutiny from ratings agencies. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump's tariff threats threaten the country's economic growth. The independent public audit office warned on Monday that the social welfare and health systems' finances were "out of control" in part due to the soaring costs of services like medical transport. Bayrou, a long-term debt hawk, has promised to deliver a blueprint in early July to share the pain broadly as he tries to hammer home the idea that France will never get a grip on its public spending without a collective effort - and sacrifices. "All French people will have to make an effort," Bayrou said on BFM TV on Tuesday, adding that he wouldn't "target any category of French people at the expense of another." The hard left and far right alike say Bayrou is doing just that, however, by singling out the taxi drivers. Centrist lawmaker Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade said the government had to hold the line, though, if it is to have any chance of meeting the 40 billion euro savings target.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
French taxi protests test PM's budget-cutting resolve
PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - French taxi drivers are protesting regularly over proposed government cuts to cash for ferrying patients to and from medical appointments, highlighting the challenge Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faces as he seeks to slash next year's budget. Bayrou is hoping to push through a 40 billion euro ($45 billion) budget squeeze in 2026, positioning the collective belt-tightening as an act of civic duty to correct the country's gaping deficit. After pensions, health spending is the single biggest drain on the budget. As part of efforts to rein it in, the government hopes to make 150 million euros in savings on the 6 billion euros it shells out annually to private taxi and ambulance firms ferrying patients back and forth. Cabbies from across France, many of whom rely on the state fares for a sizeable chunk of their income, have descended on Paris since mid-May for angry protests that have led to dozens of arrests. Some out-of-town drivers have slept in their cars while others have tried to block access to Paris' airports and have threatened to do the same to the French Open tennis tournament taking place on the outskirts of the capital. Sandra Vialatte, who heads a taxi firm in the Loiret region south of Paris, said the government was not listening to the industry's proposals to lower costs. "We understand that savings need to be made, we have solutions to save money, we try to propose them but they close the door to discussions," she said during a protest last week. France has a long history of flouting EU overspending rules and currently is running the biggest public sector deficit in the euro zone at an estimated 5.4% of economic output this year. The government's planned 40 billion euros in budget savings is necessary if France is to have any hope of meeting its deficit target next year of 4.6%, which it says is a vital first step towards reaching an EU ceiling of 3% by 2029. France's budget woes are undermining its efforts to ramp up defence spending to counter potential Russian aggression, and are also drawing unwelcome scrutiny from ratings agencies. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats threaten the country's economic growth. The independent public audit office warned on Monday that the social welfare and health systems' finances were "out of control" in part due to the soaring costs of services like medical transport. Bayrou, a long-term debt hawk, has promised to deliver a blueprint in early July to share the pain broadly as he tries to hammer home the idea that France will never get a grip on its public spending without a collective effort - and sacrifices. "All French people will have to make an effort," Bayrou said on BFM TV on Tuesday, adding that he wouldn't "target any category of French people at the expense of another." The hard left and far right alike say Bayrou is doing just that, however, by singling out the taxi drivers. Centrist lawmaker Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade said the government had to hold the line, though, if it is to have any chance of meeting the 40 billion euro savings target. "Things got a little bit out of control with the taxis in recent years, and now the tap needs to be turned off," he told Reuters. "The government needs to stand its ground." ($1 = 0.8825 euros)
