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Three deny taxi driver murder
By: WERNER MENGES
ONE of the three men accused of robbing and murdering a taxi driver at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek four months ago claimed in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court this week that one of his co-accused was responsible for the killing.
“I didn’t commit that crime,” Isaskar Nau-Gawaseb (38) told Magistrate Vanessa Stanley on Monday, when he and two co-accused gave their pleas on the three charges they are facing.
The two men in the dock with Nau-Gawaseb, Jackie Jackson (21) and former security guard Kaveto Pontianus Kwandu (27), both pleaded not guilty to all three charges, and remained silent about the basis of their defence. Nau-Gawaseb also pleaded not guilty, but gave a plea explanation in which he implicated Kwandu in the killing they are accused of.
Nau-Gawaseb, Jackson and Kwandu are accused of murdering taxi driver Alfons Rijatua (42) at the Hage Geingob Stadium on the night of April 18 to 19. Rijatua was allegedly murdered by being shot in the chest with a shotgun.
Kwandu is alleged to have been stationed at the stadium as a security guard at the time of the incident. Jackson and Nau-Gawaseb allegedly were visiting the scene when the killing took place. Rijatua had transported them to the scene in his taxi, it is claimed. - more...
The Namibian - (Windhoek, Namibia)
Woman charged with blackmailing taxi driver
Galway Advertiser, September 02, 2010.
By Martina Nee
A 51-year-old woman has been charged with attempting to blackmail a taxi driver in return for not making a complaint to gardai that he took advantage of her.
Detective Garda John Lavery told the Galway District Court yesterday that Bernadette Conneely with an address at 26 An Logan, Western Distributor Road, Galway, had been arrested on the morning of the court sitting and later charged at Galway Garda Station with the alleged offences of demanding €3,000 from the taxi driver, with the view of making a gain or causing loss to another, at Joyce’s Supermarket, Knocknacarra, on August 10, 2009, under section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, and with attempting to blackmail the same man of €2,000, in Galway on November 3, 2009, contrary to common law. - more...
Galway Advertiser - (Galway, Ireland)
Bulgaria presses ahead with plan to put ceilings on taxi fares
Thu, Sep 02 2010 12:35 CET
by Clive Leviev-Sawyer
Bulgaria presses ahead with plan to put ceilings on taxi fares
Bulgaria’s Cabinet has tabled in Parliament amendments to the Carriage by Road Act that would empower municipalities to set limits on taxi tariffs, in a move intended to end abuses in the industry – but the move already has been opposed by the Commission on the Protection of Competition and some in the taxi industry, who have threatened to blockade Sofia’s streets if the legislation is approved.
Exorbitant tariffs charged by some taxi firms and drivers have been the subject of numerous complaints over the years, especially among foreigners and expatriates in Bulgaria, although it is not only non-Bulgarian-speakers who fall prey to cheating by copycat companies and unscrupulous drivers who charge excessive fees or use special devices to inflate fares.
There have been moves from authorities and from some major players in the industry against abuses, including a raid by police and tax authorities in early summer 2010 against "pirate" taxis in Plovdiv, and court actions by large companies such as OK Supertrans against rivals who mislead passengers by mimicking the names and logos of reputable companies.
At the beginning of August 2010, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported that some drivers continued to use "pumps" to manipulate their taxi meters.
BNT interviewed a taxi firm executive, Iliya Vassilev, who said drivers in some companies were using "pumps" that were operated by various means, sending electronic pulses to taxi meters in various ways, including a remote control device in the driver’s pocket, or buttons linked to the volume button on radios or music players or electronic windows.
"Maybe some passengers will have noticed how drivers turn up the volume on music, or open and close windows," Vassilev said.
Such pumps were usually difficult to find, inspectors said, because the mechanisms customarily were concealed deep in the electronics of the car.
Nikola Chavdarov, of the inspectorate in Sofia, said that inspectors did not have the legal right to dismantle a taxi’s dashboard, for instance. "It (a pump) can be hidden anywhere," he said. - more...
The Sofia Echo - (Sofia, Bulgaria)
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Stricter taxi standards concern cab companies
By Joe Couture, The Leader-Post September 2, 2010
Ray Mundy didn't receive the warmest reception from Regina cab drivers after he presented his findings on the city's taxi industry during a session at city hall on Wednesday.
The PhD from the Tennessee Transportation and Logistics Foundations was asked by city council to produce, at a cost of $45,000, the report, which recommends significant changes to how the taxi industry in Regina is regulated.
Among Mundy's recommendations are that only vehicles six model years old or newer be allowed to serve as taxis and that all taxi companies be required to upgrade to newer technologies like computerized dispatch systems.
After making his presentation on Wednesday, Mundy was faced with questions from taxi drivers in the audience. They told him his recommendations would cause them financial hardship. But Mundy took all of the criticism in stride.
"This wasn't really a raucous session," he said after the meeting, noting he has faced opposition from many drivers in other cities in the past, as he has been developing such report for various centres over the past 35 years.
"It is a very common sort of feeling that, 'Gee, we're going to have all the expenses and no real new demand,' " he said. "But, really, the report as it stands is only asking that the industry come up to the minimum standards for the industry across North America." - more...
Leader-Post - (Regina, Saskatchewan)
Cabbie camaraderies: From praying to playing, how hacks kill time at Kennedy
12:11 PM By Heather Haddon
Tucked away on a remote road at Kennedy Airport is a hive of activity so loud, even the airplanes don’t drown it out.
At the dispatch hub for airport cabs, crowds of African men play dominos, Haitians debate the future of their country and Indians play cricket at daybreak.
They may say they’re bored while waiting for a fare, but it sure doesn’t look like it.
“Some guys do pull ups,” said a Port Authority spokesman, during a recent visit to the 240,000-square foot complex. “Some will come here and take a nap.That’s up to them. We just want to keep the cabs moving.”
The Port Authority built the “Central Taxi Hold” facility in the early 1990s to organize cab dispatching.. Cabbies park their cars and wait about two hours to hear their number called over a loudspeaker. Up to 10,000 rides leave a day, so killing time is part of the game of getting $40 fares.
“I read about the soul,” said Jatinder Singh, 50, a Floral Park driver who meditates and does yoga there.
Amenities are minimal. There are no TVs, the small cafeteria is chair-less and the men’s bathroom is infamous — with its broken stalls and toilets clogged by drivers who use them as a foot wash. When asked what the facility needed, one cabbie quickly quipped, “women.” - more...
am New York - (New York City, New York)
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