Sadiq Khan set for London Assembly taxi grilling at City Hall

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is on course for a taxi industry grilling at the upcoming Mayors Question Time held at City Hall. A range of questions around the topics of taxi manufacturers, cross-boarder hiring, zero emission taxis and the ongoing dispute involving the lack of future access on Tottenham Court Road is to be discussed. David Kurten, UKIP Assembly Member, will put forward no less than 13 questions to the mayor which will include:
Can Taxi Drivers offer passengers "cash-back" when someone wants to pay by card?
How many accidents were there in Greater London last year separately involving buses and black cabs?
Has TFL received any financial payment in the last 3 years from the LEVC or Geely?
Why didn’t TfL put the contracts for electric charging points out to a tender process? Do you agree that a pan-London scheme for charging points with all the Boroughs involved would maximise efficiencies and cost savings for all instead of the developing system where taxi trade members have to sign up to a variety of Supply Companies with different prices?
It has been reported that there are 200 taxis at Heathrow struggling to get charged every day on about 10-20 charging points, and many of these do not work, despite the fact that Heathrow Airport has an Air Quality problem. Why have you allowed a situation to develop which makes life difficult for drivers of ZEC taxis who want to help improve air quality?
How do you expect that 9,000 taxi drivers will purchase ZEC taxis in the three years from January 2018 to December 2020, when the normal turnover of new taxis in just 1,400 per year?
Given that black cabs are far safer than buses, do you consider it erroneous to ban taxis from Tottenham Court Road on the basis of ‘safety’, while continuing to allow buses to travel there?
Are taxi drivers licenced in areas outside London like Southend or Manchester legally allowed to come and work in London on their company’s app?
Please can you tell me if a London Licenced Taxi Driver can accept pre-booked Radio, Phone or App jobs from an out of London operator in a TFL registered Taxi when physically located in an area outside of London, such as Bishops Stortford or Aylesbury?
What progress has been made by TfL for the introduction of other taxi vehicles to enter the London market to provide competition and consumer choice for London Taxi Drivers? Will there be any entering the market this year?
How many meetings have TFL have had over the last 12 months with other interested manufacturers, companies and interested parties that are looking to produce Taxi vehicles for the London market?
The Jacobs Report stated that: "Virtually all taxi drivers are self-employed and would therefore have to bear the cost of a new vehicle themselves while at the same time seeing the value of their present taxi diminishing. With a new zero emission vehicle costing approximately £40,000, and a high proportion of drivers over the age of 50, there is a risk, even with mitigation, of an exit of drivers and vehicles from the market.
In your answer to question MQ 2019/0221 you stated that taxis contribute 5% of NOx emissions in Greater London. How did you calculate this figure?
Other questions from Assembly Members Susan Hall, Keith Prince and Leonie Cooper respectively include:
How many taxi drivers have so far applied for your £18m taxi delicensing fund which supports upgrades to zero emissions capable vehicles?
How are you encouraging taxi drivers to apply for the scheme?
What whistleblowing protections do TfL afford to Taxi Drivers?
Further to my written question 2019/0488, how much money has TFL spent on Taxis for staff over the past 6 years, broken down by year?
The Mayors Question Time is scheduled for Monday 25 February at City Hall.