Image: UK Parliament

The Committee’s report into the licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles that is published today also calls for a “clear plan” to reduce high levels of out-of-area working.

The report comes amid concern about fragmented regulation that varies from one area of the country to another. Currently there are more than 260 licensing authorities in England, each applying its own standards.

The Government announced in November 2025 that it would legislate to introduce national minimum standards for taxis and private hire vehicles, while some in the sector have called for tougher absolute national standards. Minimum standards would establish a floor for the conditions set by every licensing authority, while preserving the ability of individual authorities to vary conditions by setting higher requirements where local circumstances warranted it.

Absolute national standards, by contrast, would impose a single set of conditions to be applied consistently by every authority, with no scope to add to or depart from them. During its inquiry, the Committee heard arguments for both minimum standards and absolute national standards.

The Committee also heard fierce opposition to routine out-of-area working, which sees drivers obtaining their licence in one area and operating mainly in another. In its written evidence, the Blackpool Taxi Association referred to out-of-area working as "the root cause to all that's wrong".

Source: UK Parliament

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Image: ABC7

The Port Authority plans to flood the city's airports with police officers ahead of the World Cup to flush out unlicensed taxi scammers who notoriously overcharge tourists for illegal cab rides.

The agency’s leaders announced a new $100 million initiative called “Operation Legal Ride” on Tuesday morning, four days before MetLife Stadium hosts its first of eight World Cup matches.

Illegal taxi drivers, often known as “hustlers,” have for decades preyed on unsuspecting tourists at the city’s transportation hubs, primarily the airports. In many cases, they lure travelers into their cars, and charge them hundreds of dollars more than what is legally allowed.

Port Authority data shows the problem has been growing in recent years. The agency’s police department issued 2,602 summons for illegal taxi solicitation in 2025, almost double from the previous year.

Hustling at the city’s airports has grown more sophisticated in recent years, with scammers coordinating at terminals in a system that uses illegal dispatchers carrying walkie-talkies to funnel tourists into fake cabs waiting outside.

These enhanced enforcement efforts by the Port Authority align with the findings and recommendations of a recent report authored by Matt Daus at the University Transportation Research Center (UTRC), in collaboration with CTANJ and the Black Car Assistance Corporation (BCAC), titled Addressing Unlicensed and Illegal Ride Hailing in the NY/NJ Metro Region.

The report examines the persistent challenges of illegal ride-hailing and taxi solicitation in major transportation hubs like New York’s airports. The report highlights the safety risks, consumer protection concerns, and regulatory gaps that allow these operations to persist, while outlining a range of practical enforcement and policy solutions. As the Port Authority advances initiatives like “Operation Legal Ride,” it is clear that the agency is listening to these concerns and moving toward a more coordinated, technology-driven enforcement strategy.

Source: Gothamist

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An Analysis of the BUILD America 250 Act: Brookings Institute

On May 22, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the BUILD America 250 Act, marking the first major milestone in the process to reauthorize the federal surface transportation program. The bill text now offers the public—and members of Congress not on the committee—a window into how committee members imagine the federal government can best support planning and investment in the country’s roads, rails, and trails.

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Major Traffic Safety Upgrades Will Save Lives in These 2 N.J. Cities

Jersey City Mayor James Solomon and Hoboken Mayor Emily Jabbour announced scores of traffic safety improvements Tuesday to help pedestrians and cyclists. The mayors and safety advocates will detail the projects and new goals to their Vision Zero safety plans at P.S. 17 in Jersey City, where some of the safety improvements have been installed.

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What Sort of Regulations Will Be Needed for Robo-Taxis to Operate in New Orleans?

Members of the New Orleans City Council will hear a presentation on driverless taxis, and what sort of legislation they might want to consider to protect citizens and ensure safety but also not shut the city off to growing technology.

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New Brunswick: Province Launches Water Taxi Service for Centennial Bridge Closure

The 12-seat boat will run people in Miramichi across the river from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

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Port of Vancouver Container Truck Project Aims to Collect and Share Data on Fleet Electrification

The Electric Container Trucking Program (ELECTRA) offers five trucking companies subsidized five-year leases on Class 8 electric trucks and supporting charging infrastructure, along with maintenance, support and training. Data for all trucks will be recorded for the first year of the program and shared with both industry partners and government to inform future adoption of battery electric trucks. 

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Road Closures, Transit Updates and More: Your World Cup Guide to Getting Around Toronto

If you plan to drive, the City of Toronto has a message for you: please don't. The city predicts the World Cup could add 10 to 15 per cent more vehicles to major downtown roads, where congestion is already a chronic headache, and Toronto Stadium won't have parking for fans.

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Istanbul Taxi Chamber Launches Live Whatsapp Line for Complaints

Following a rise in passenger complaints about taxi services in Istanbul, the Istanbul Chamber of Taxi Drivers has launched a new reporting mechanism, the “Sarı Hat” (Yellow Line), to enable real-time complaint submission via WhatsApp.

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Is Barcelona Steering Towards a Single Public Bike Share System?

The system’s growth is now raising a bigger question: could Barcelona’s two public bike share schemes – the suburban AMBici network and the inner-city Bicing system – eventually operate as one?

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Wheelchair‑accessible Taxi Rules in Denbighshire Made Permanent

At June’s Denbighshire County Council licensing committee, councillors commented on the “positive impact” of a 12-month trial introduced in June last year, which removed vehicle age limits for wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs). This has led to an increase in taxi numbers for people who use wheelchairs, prompting councillors to vote in favour of making the change permanent.

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Ghana: Taxi Drivers Abandon Kojokrom-Eno Community over Bad Road Conditions

Residents of Eno, a suburb of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, say taxi drivers are abandoning the community due to the poor state of the 2.5-kilometre Kojokrom–Eno road. According to residents, the deteriorating road conditions have made transportation difficult, especially during rainfall, worsening access to the area.

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India: Lucknow’s Busiest Crossings Double Up As Unauthorised Bus, Taxi Stands

An on-ground investigation by HT on Tuesday found that several key intersections across the city have turned into unauthorised transport hubs, where private vehicles ferry passengers to nearby districts without designated parking spaces or approved pickup points.

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Cape Town Mass Shooting Leaves Four Dead As Taxi Violence Suspected

The provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Andrè Traut, said the shooting incident is believed to be taxi-related. Detectives attached to the Provincial SVC Taxi Unit are pursuing all available leads to identify and apprehend those responsible.

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Image: LM Otero

Amy Cohen, Founder and President of Families for Safe Streets, writes in an opinion piece for The Hill:

Speed-limiting technology has been used in commercial truck fleets for decades. The newest generation can be installed in nearly all modern passenger vehicles.

This month, the Governors Highway Safety Association, the nonprofit organization representing the state officials whose job is to keep our roads safe, released a major report endorsing the technology for convicted speeders. The report’s central finding is straightforward: Intelligent Speed Assistance works, as pilot programs have demonstrated.

In New York City, 894,938 miles driven with Intelligent Speed Assistance showed 99.74 percent compliance with speed limits and a 36 percent reduction in hard braking events (often indicators of unsafe driving). A pilot involving 10 small school buses in the District of Columbia logged 10,000 miles in three months without a single speeding event.

In 2024, 11,288 people were killed in speeding-related crashes — 29 percent of all traffic fatalities. Memorial Day marked the beginning of what road safety experts call the 100 deadliest days of summer — the stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day when fatal crashes climb, particularly among teen drivers. Speeding is one of the most preventable causes of death on American roads. It is also one we have stubbornly failed to prevent.

That is changing. In 2024, Washington, D.C. enacted the first Intelligent Speed Assistance law in the country for persistent speeding offenders. Since then, seven states have passed similar legislation: Virginia, Maryland, Washington, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois and last month, New York, which passed its law as part of the state budget. Virginia begins implementing its program on July 1. Sixteen additional states have introduced similar legislation this year, with bipartisan support.

Source: The Hill

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