On 2015\10\04 20:45, wrote:

Bear in mind that "accessible" isn't a simple binary. My late mother
couldn't use black cabs late in her life because she couldn't make the step
up to climb in. She could use conventional saloons though. So some cabs are
not accessible to wheelchairs but are accessible to some old people. That is
why the Cambridge Hackney carriage fleet continues to have both types of
vehicle licensed.

Traditional London taxis have a step which is kept in the boot and can
be fitted if the driver is asked. They also have a swivel seat which can
help. I'm not sure what the Mercedes taxis have.

On 2015\10\07 15:23, JNugent wrote:
On 07/10/2015 14:53, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:33:41 on Wed, 7 Oct
2015, y remarked:

Since anyone can become a black cab driver if they want to learn the
knowledge I really don't see the problem.

I'd be a bit disappointed if convicted sex offenders could.

They can't.

At least, not in London.

Maybe - just - if the conviction was 40 years ago.

For Brits, I doubt that such a conviction would ever be considered
spent. An immigrant's criminal record is only checked for the time
they've been in Britain, whether they are becoming taxi drivers or PH.

Nice try but I'm not going to do your homework for you. You could
look through back copies of various trade magazines or you could
contact TfL directly. You could even try the Internet. (I believe TfL
now has a new on-line magazine for taxi drivers. Ask there)

On 07/10/2015 15:30, Roland Perry wrote:

JNugent remarked:

Since anyone can become a black cab driver if they want to learn the
knowledge I really don't see the problem.

I'd be a bit disappointed if convicted sex offenders could.

They can't.
At least, not in London.
Maybe - just - if the conviction was 40 years ago.

So not "anyone" then. Glad we got that clarified.

Not sure what you mean.

The conditions - including character requirements - for starting "on the
Knowledge" are not a secret and are displayed on the PCO website.

On 07.10.15 16:05, Basil Jet wrote:
On 2015\10\04 20:45, wrote:

Bear in mind that "accessible" isn't a simple binary. My late mother
couldn't use black cabs late in her life because she couldn't make the
step
up to climb in. She could use conventional saloons though. So some
cabs are
not accessible to wheelchairs but are accessible to some old people.
That is
why the Cambridge Hackney carriage fleet continues to have both types of
vehicle licensed.

Traditional London taxis have a step which is kept in the boot and can
be fitted if the driver is asked. They also have a swivel seat which can
help. I'm not sure what the Mercedes taxis have.
The old Checker Cabs in New York City had swivel seats in the back, IIRC.

On 07/10/2015 16:14, Basil Jet wrote:

On 2015\10\07 15:23, JNugent wrote:
On 07/10/2015 14:53, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:33:41 on Wed, 7 Oct
2015, y remarked:

Since anyone can become a black cab driver if they want to learn the
knowledge I really don't see the problem.

I'd be a bit disappointed if convicted sex offenders could.

They can't.

At least, not in London.

Maybe - just - if the conviction was 40 years ago.

For Brits, I doubt that such a conviction would ever be considered
spent. An immigrant's criminal record is only checked for the time
they've been in Britain, whether they are becoming taxi drivers or PH.

It isn't necessary for a conviction to be spent in order to get onto the
Knowledge. After all, some offences - characterised by the punishment,
not by the actual offence itself - are never spent.

But the PCO (which at one time was a branch of the Met Police) does take
past convictions seriously. It's fair to say that a 10-yr-old conviction
for embezzlement would present (much) less of a problem than a 25-yr-old
conviction for a sexual offence.

On 07/10/2015 15:32, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 15:21:40 on Wed, 7 Oct
2015, JNugent remarked:

{re the Three network:]

it also applies at the same rates (ie, inclusive) in the USA and loads
of other places.

That'll be the "Feel at Home" destinations, a whole 18 countries out of
200. And has all sorts of anomalies - covering France and Switzerland,
but not Belgium and the Netherlands, for example.

Gift horses, mouths, etc.
The USA is a useful place for it to work, wouldn't you say?

Only if one goes there often enough. I used to spend much more time in
Netherlands and Belgium than the USA. Although Switzerland was probably
3rd and France 4th.

Give it time.

We can all recall when PAYG phones didn't work outside the UK at all.

Thank you for that. I find that encouraging.

Here's an idea: why don't you just answer the question?
What "fake taxis?"

No-one is taking Uber's word for anything. It's TfL who has
said that Uber are abiding by the regulations.

As I don't have a smart phone myself, I am well aware that
many people manage without them. However you don't seem
to understand that minicab firms need a level of regular
business to retain drivers and survive. If, as several posters in
this thread have said, people prefer to use Uber when booking
a car from a location far from home, this inevitably means that
local minicab firms in that location lose some of their work. It is
also certain that once people have signed up with Uber, they
will start using them instead of their local minicab firm.

At some point the better drivers will desert their cab firm and
join Uber . . . and the cab firm derives its income from the
drivers.

It isn't a minicab firm's responsibility to do background checks
on drivers. It's TfL's job to ensure that prescribed checks have
been done properly, and only then to give a driver his licence.
It's the minicab firm's duty not to give work to anyone who does
not have a TfL licence to work as a minicab driver.