In December 2011 an online taxi driver and vehicle licence checker was launched by Transport for London. The principal purpose was to enable users to enter a driver’s name or badge number, or a vehicle registration and confirm whether that driver or vehicle was currently licensed by TfL. Users include Metropolitan and City of London Police, taxi proprietors, anyone operating or setting up a taxi booking service and members of the public.

A taxi driver could not believe his ears when told of his passenger’s journey. John Judd said he was called by a woman who had used his cab before and was asked if he took dogs in my taxi. As she had previously been a good customer, John said yes. She then asked him to give her a price to pick the dog up and bring it to her house in Knightsbridge. When asked for the address her reply “Madrid” staggered John.

A Dundee taxi firm is intending to plant a tree for every job it undertakes for NHS Tayside. The company Dundee 505050 said thousands of trees will be planted during the £240,000 contract over the next two years.

A magistrate has found against a cabbie who tried to take two non-fare-paying passengers to a police station. According to law experts Howards Solicitors, the dispute between Eve Lamb and insurers Equity Red Star has set a precedent for the duty of care required of taxi drivers towards their customers.

Councillors are demanding to know more how the estimated cost of a taxi rank at Leeds-Bradford Airport has increased over ten times to £905,000. Initial estimates for the scheme were about £80,000, with the local taxi trade contributing towards the cost.

A private hire firm has been stripped of a contract to take pupils to school after failing to address safety concerns raised five months beforehand. The private hire firm had its Derbyshire County Council contract terminated with immediate effect after one of its vehicles was found to have a defective tyre.

A campaign by Wandsworth Council comprises posters on toilet doors in pubs, bars and clubs in Battersea, Putney and Tooting whichl contain QR (quick response) codes. These are small square images which can be scanned by the cameras in smart phones. Once scanned, a Transport for London travel page is automatically uploaded which includes details of the taxi and local private hire firms in the area.

Cardiff’s cabbies have been told by a trade leader to demand fares up front following a surge in late-night passengers running off without paying. Hackney carriage drivers say they are losing “hundreds of thousands of pounds a year” from punters doing a runner. Mathab Khan, chairman of Cardiff Hackney Carriage Association, said cabbies had grown frustrated at a lack of response from the police and Cardiff Council over the problem. He has instructed his members to ask to be paid before the start of a journey if they have concerns the passenger might fail to pay.

A teenager in North London fooled a cab firm into driving around the London Borough of Barnet so he and an accomplice could burgle houses. Wood Green Crown Court heard that Buddy Jefferies, aged 19, and an accomplice booked a cab and told the driver to take them to four addresses. Magistrates heard how the pair broke into one house, tried to break into two others before tumbled by a returning homeowner.

When being awarded the Olympic Games, the organising committee (LOCOG) had to guarantee VIPs, athletes and sponsors minimum journey times between selected locations and the games venues. This involves demarcating an Olympic Route Network (ORN) from which ordinary traffic, including taxis and minicabs will be banned.

For many years taxis in Halifax have delivered meals at discount rates in return for the custom from those who eat out at curry houses. But drivers have now been frightened off by fear of legal action. The local council has told taxi firms delivering food they must have insurance and stick to health and safety rules.

TfL and the Olympic Delivery Authority are developing a comprehensive Olympic and Paralympic Games information handbook to provide London’s cabbies and private hire operators with things they need to know about the Games, including maps, details of venues, events and pick up points. The handbooks will be issued in the spring and will also be available for download from the TfL website.

Private hire drivers in Birmingham are threatening to strike if Birmingham City Council fails to act on several concerns they have over working in the city. Over 100 drivers held a peaceful protest outside the city’s Millennium Point claiming they were being “mistreated and undermined” by Birmingham City Council.

A cab driver who witnessed a woman being stabbed at random in the street and who stopped his car and rushed the victim to hospital received an award from Camden’s top police officer.

Drivers who tout for business illegally can now be reported immediately to the Transport for London website. The section of the website is part of action by TfL and its policing partners to promote the safety of the traveling public and to highlight the problems of taxi touting.

Merseyside is leading the way in investigating taxis and private hire vehicles being used across much larger areas than the current licencing system.