London taxis plan anti-Uber gridlock must visit

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
8 May 2014 Last updated at 13:22 By Dave Lee & Leo Kelion Technology, BBC News Uber launched its car-hire service in London in June 2012 London black-cab drivers are planning to cause gridlock in the city to protest against car service Uber.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association complains that Uber's drivers are using a smartphone app to calculate fares despite it being illegal for private vehicles to be fitted with taximeters.

Transport for London has declined to intervene, because it disagrees that there has been a breach of the law.

LTDA now plans to force the issue by holding the action in early June.

"Transport for London not enforcing the Private Hire Vehicles Act is dangerous for Londoners," Steve McNamara, LTDA's general secretary, told the BBC.

"I anticipate that the demonstration against TfL's handling of Uber will attract many many thousands of cabs and cause severe chaos, congestion and confusion across the metropolis."

TfL told the association last month that it believed Uber's vehicles were not strictly "equipped" with taximeters since there was not "some sort of connection between the device and the vehicle".

Rather, the app was merely making use of data about the distance travelled and time taken, which was not illegal in itself.

The LTDA says it expects many thousand black cab drivers to take part in the protest

LTDA rejects this distinction and is now threatening to seek a judicial review.

"We have seen no evidence to suggest that Uber London Ltd are not fit and proper to hold a London private hire vehicle operator's licence, but no final decisions have been made whilst Uber's operating model is still under investigation," TfL told the BBC.

The dispute marks the latest in a series of clashes between Uber and the established taxi trade.

The firm is also facing restrictions on its operations in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Sydney and a number of US cities.

Disruptive drive

San Francisco-based Uber describes itself as a "pick-up" service that connects those needing a ride with a background-checked private driver, and takes a cut - typically 20% - of the fee.

It now operates in more than 100 cities across 30 countries, including Manchester where it launched this week.

The firm markets its service as offering "cutting-edge safety measures":

allowing customers to see the name and photo of the driver before they arriveletting approved friends follow the journey on a live mapproviding an email of the route the car used, so that a client can challenge a driver who takes a roundabout journey The Uber app allows customers to see how many available drivers are nearby

Fees are based upon data gathered by the driver's app and whether "surge pricing" is in effect because of heavy demand.

The five-year-old firm acknowledges that it can prove a disruptive force.

"Competition in my view is always good for the customer because it makes all of us up our game in terms of quality and service," Uber's general manager in London, Jo Bertram, said.

"On the driver side, we offer a much more flexible model that is very different from the old-school private hire industry, that allows them to work as independent business operators however and whenever they choose."

The LTDA said while the taximeter was the focus of its complaint, it had wider objections to the firm.

"Uber, funded by Google, Goldman Sachs and others, has a stated aim of challenging legislation that is not compatible with its business model," said Mr McNamara.

"This is not some philanthropic friendly society, it's an American monster that has no qualms about breaching any and all laws in the pursuit of profit, most of which will never see a penny of tax paid in the UK."

A spokeswoman for Uber said it rejected this characterisation of its business,

European battles

Other traditional taxi associations are also taking a stand against the firm in Europe:

In Brussels a complaint resulted in a court setting a 10,000 euro ($13,920; £8,205) fine as the penalty for Uber drivers who continued to pick up customers without the necessary licencesBerlin's taxi association has won a temporary injunction against the firm, but has chosen not to enforce the action to avoid the risk of having to cover lost fees if the ruling is later overturnedFrench operators have convinced their government to propose banning the use of GPS-enabled apps by private car services including Uber. The government had previously made such companies wait 15 minutes before picking up a booking, but the country's Supreme Court ruled the move anti-competitive French taxi drivers have opposed Uber's service in Paris

Uber does, however, have support from the European Commission.

Vice-president Neelie Kroes has said her staff used the service to "stay safe and save taxpayers money", adding that European authorities should help the firm comply with standards rather than trying to ban it.

"We very much welcome her support and her comments," said Ms Bertram.

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Why London Marathon will be Farah's toughest test must visit

 There is a standard protocol now when watching Mo Farah in big races: let him pick his way through the early skirmishes, wait for him to seize the lead just before the bell and then roar him home as the world's best distance runners flap and flutter in his slipstream.

Six times in the last two and a half years Farah has won gold in that fashion, from Korea to Moscow and, most memorably of all, in Stratford's Olympic Stadium. Which will make it all the more unsettling for some to learn that, on his return to the capital for Sunday's London Marathon, he will be running as a novice.

You can forecast a man's 5,000m chances in big championships on his performance in the heats. You can gauge his 10,000m hopes on precedent and form.

The marathon? A long, purgatorial run into virgin territory.

There is no precedent. There is no science to predict what might happen. Farah has run 26.2 miles in training. But he has never covered it at race pace, on asphalt, with rivals pushing and breaking, the course twisting and climbing, emergency sirens wailing from muscle, joint and lung.

2 hours 4 minutes 16 seconds Dennis Kimetto (Ken) - Berlin 2012

2:04:23 Ayele Abshero (Eth) - Dubai 2012

2:04:32 Tsegaye Mekonnen (Eth) - Dubai 2014

2:04:45 Lelisa Desisa (Eth) - Dubai 2013

2:04:53 Bernard Koech (Ken) - Dubai 2013

2:05:04 Kenenisa Bekele (Eth, above) - Paris 2014

And that, for a nation grown accustomed to his peerless track triumphs, may take some getting used to.

"It's inevitable with everything Mo has achieved so far that people are going to expect that he wins it," says Paula Radcliffe, the last Briton to triumph at the London Marathon and Farah's friend and advisor since his schooldays in Hounslow.

"He could have a really good run and not win it. It doesn't mean he's run badly, but trying to convey that to other people is difficult because he has done so much. He has achieved so much that people expect every time he steps out he's going to win."

Last weekend the only other man to pull off the world and Olympic distance double-double, Kenenisa Bekele, ran the sixth fastest debut marathon of all time  in Paris.

That was in a race where he was untroubled by rivals or their tactics. In contrast to that tailor-made itinerary, Farah has chosen to make his own bow on the most public stage of all, against the best field London has ever assembled.

There is reigning London champion Tsegaye Kebede. There is world-record holder Wilson Kipsang, and course record holder Emmanuel Mutai, and Olympic and world champion Stephen Kiprotich. There will be no hiding place, no respite, no easy ride.

Farah has a close affinity with the London Marathon

Farah understands the dimensions of his task. Ever since he moved from student digs in St Mary's in Twickenham to a shared house with Kenya's distance elite back in 2004, spending his evenings watching old VHS cassettes of track greats and marathon classics, he has been the most willing student of his specialised subject.

But even as his body language at his pre-race media interviews appeared bashful - half-sentences, shy grins, lean limbs hidden under baggy grey tracksuit bottoms and an over-sized white T-shirt - his mood was bullish.

"I've gone straight in the deep end, but that's what champions do. London is by far the toughest field anyone has seen. It makes me more of a champion for going out there and going straight in."

Farah's ascent to the elite is intimately entwined with this race. Three times as a teenager he won the mini-marathon, the three-mile race for kids aged from 11-17 that precedes the main event at its Mall finish; after leaving school in 2001, it was a London Marathon scholarship that paid for him to join the newly established endurance performance centre at St Mary's rather than join the army, as he feared he would have to.

In making his debut this year he is being richly rewarded. Yet he is also paying something back, revitalising interest in the elite side of the race for a public that haven't been drawn to it with as much curiosity since Radcliffe's record-breaking deeds a decade ago.

Outside of hardcore athletics fans, most people have grown to think of the London Marathon as friends and fancy dress rather than unmissable sporting drama.

The uncertainty about his performance only multiplies the fascination. How fast can he go? What would constitute success?

2 hours 4 minutes 40 seconds Emmanuel Mutai (Ken) - 2011

2:04:44 Wilson Kipsang (Ken) - 2012

2:05:10 Sammy Wanjiru (Ken) - 2009

2:05:15 Martin Lel (Ken) - 2008

2:05:19 Tsegaye Kebede (Eth) - 2010

It is notoriously difficult to compare marathons run on different days on different courses, so Bekele's two hours, five minutes and three seconds in Paris may provide only limited guidance; while it is worth noting that the Ethiopian's bests over 5,000m and 10,000m are 16 and 29 seconds faster than Farah's, those PBs were set a long time ago, and the pair were only separated by hundredths of a second over the half-marathon distance of the Great North Run last September.

The man whose distance records Bekele beat, Haile Gebrselassie, ran 2:06:35 on his own London debut in 2002, at the time the fastest debut in history. His great track rival Paul Tergat had clocked 2.08:15 in London the year before.

Neither do those two provide a perfect prediction for Farah this Sunday, but they do offer context: Farah could run brilliantly, beat the great Haile's debut and yet still finish fourth.

What gives those close to him such confidence - there were whispers this week that he is in shape to dip under 2:05 with benevolent weather and a little luck - is that he comes to London off the same formula that has made him the preeminent track runner of his era.

Farah is no longer the callow, talented yet capricious kid who struggled to convert his ability into major medals in the early part of his career. He is in supreme physical shape, the product of his usual winter at altitude in Iten, Kenya, with the solid self-belief of a multiple champion to match.

In coach Alberto Salazar he has a man who knows more about marathon training than anyone else in the world. Just as importantly, Farah, after the unparalleled success the pair have enjoyed together since 2011, takes confidence in everything he advises.

While this is 40,000 steps into the unknown, it is no wild punt. With no World Championships or Olympics this year, Farah can test himself over the ultimate challenge without jeopardising his track status or future goals.

Wilson Kipsang (Ken) 2 hours 3 minutes 23 seconds - Berlin, 2013

Patrick Makau (Ken) 2:03:38 - Berlin, 2011

Dennis Kimetto (Ken) 2:03:45 - Chicago, 2013

Emmanuel Mutai (Ken) 2:03:52 - Chicago, 2013

Haile Gebrselassie (Eth) 2:03:59 - Berlin, 2008

If it works, he may think about a 10,000m/marathon double at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, just as Salazar hinted to me that he would in the aftermath of 2012. If it fails, he can return to the track in time to keep his speed over the shorter stuff.

"With a marathon, it is about racing, to see how you cope with the distance and how your body copes with it," says Radcliffe, who has no fears that Farah's springy track style might not convert to the heavy demands of the road.

"It is refreshing for him to have a new and different challenge. He'll probably still be successful on the track, if not more successful than he has been, with the marathon training behind him, but this gives him a chance to do something a little bit different. Yes, it's challenging, but I think he will be relishing the fact that it is a new stimulus for him."

Gebrselassie will be back on London's streets on Sunday as the elite field's pacemaker, driving them along at close to record pace over the first 30km (18.5 miles). Farah, who will run without a watch ("I'll just go with the feeling"), will want to conserve as much energy as he can in that time, for once letting other athletes dictate, staying safe until at least 18 miles and the multiple assaults that will surely follow.

"In the marathon you really do have to run your own race," says Radcliffe, 11 years on from setting her own unsurpassed world record of 2:15.25 on the same course.

"You have to cover moves and be aware of what others are doing, but you also have to do what's right for your body and do what suits you best. And that's tricky when you haven't run one before."

Farah already has the British records at 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m. The 29-year-old marathon mark of Steve Jones (2:07:13) is realistically in sight this weekend. Beyond that the boundaries are less certain. London will feel a foreign land.

Mo Farah ready for London Marathon debut

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US country stars hit London festival/must visit

Dixie Chicks' Martie Maguire was one of the performers Some of the US's top country music acts including Dixie Chicks and Zac Brown Band have played for 15,000 fans at London's Country to Country festival.

Other artists at day one of the two-day event, which also takes place in Dublin, included Dierks Bentley and Martina McBride.

Zac Brown Band's headline set included covers of Metallica's Enter Sandman and Van Morrison's Into the Mystic.

The festival was hosted by BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris.

This is the second year that Country to Country has taken place. Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts are among the acts performing in London on Sunday.

Zac Brown Band headlined the festival on Saturday in London

Artists paid tribute to the mainstream single chart with Dixie Chicks covering Miley Cyrus's global hit Wrecking Ball, while Dierks Bentley gave his take on Avicii's Hey Brother.

Zac Brown Band performed current tracks from their EP recorded with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, aptly named the Grohl Sessions.

"Looks like country music has found a new home," said Bentley as he addressed the crowd at the O2 arena in Greenwich. "Thank you for making this feel like home," he told the sell-out crowd.

While ticket sales for the Country to Country festival are buoyant, album sales of country music in the UK made up only 1.7% of all albums sold in 2013, according to the figures from the BPI, which represents the UK's recorded music industry.

Rock was the best selling genre taking 33.8% of all albums sold.

'He blew the roof off'

Triple Grammy winner Zac Brown says he sees their career on the UK music scene as being "at the beginning" and is open about coming back to "gain new fans".

Music fan Bobby Slater from Shetland in Scotland came to Country to Country to see Dixie Chicks and Zac Brown Band, but was won over by Dierks Bentley's set.

"He blew the roof off this place," the 25-year-old said. "He'll shift a lot of CDs."

His sister, 20-year-old Amanda Slater, hoped "more people get into country music" before ticking off a "lifetime ambition to see the Dixie Chicks play live".

Calum Fraser, 24, also from the Shetland Islands, was on his first trip to London, admitting it was a "fantastic opportunity to see such great bands".

Country to Country will return in 2015, taking place once more in London and Dublin, over the weekend of 7 and 8 March.

Bob Harris will be broadcasting highlights from the event on his country music show on 20 and 27 March.

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