PROTEST PLIGHT LONDON CABBIE DIVES OFF
TOWER BRIDGE IN OLYMPIC LANE PROTEST
A man has dived head first off London’s his- toric Tower Bridge during a protest by London taxi drivers against their exclusion from using Olympics Games Lanes. On Monday 23 July the group of drivers travelled slowly across Tower Bridge, tooting their horns. Police pulled the man from the water under the bridge, from which Olympic rings were suspended to cele- brate the 2012 London Games, and arrested him on a public order offence. A man had previously contacted
media
organisations warning he was going to attempt the stunt. A Metropolitan Police spokesman
said:
a streamlined diving position. One taxi driver then Tweeted: “Please do not leave your taxi unattended! We have reports that one taxi driver has done just that
in spectacular
fashion!” The diver wore what appeared to be a white Stetson hat. A BBC reporter said the man was almost hit by a tourist ferry in the water. According to
Reuters,
“Around 4pm a man who was taking part in a planned demonstra- tion jumped into the River Thames from Tower Bridge.” The Port of London Author- ity said the man, thought to be a taxi
driver, was lucky to be alive after diving head first from the walkway about 25 feet above the water. A photograph posted on Twitter appeared to show the man entering the water head first in
he
“climbed on the bridge and threw his keys at the onrushing police before jumping in.” Traffic was again brought to a standstill during the protest, and there was a noticeable police presence. A BBC correspondent estimated that about
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PAGE 40
London taxi drivers brought Westminster to a standstill in a protest on July 17 over their ban from Olympic traffic lanes. More than 200 black cabs arrived in Parlia- ment Square just before 2pm, beeping their horns to tourists’ bemusement. Cab drivers argue they should be able to use the Games Lanes available only
to
Olympics officials and athletes. The capital’s 25,000 taxi drivers want access to all sec- tions of the temporary network, but black cabs are currently only allowed in two thirds of the 100-mile route. Transport for London transport commission- er Peter Hendy con- demned the action. He said he had “no sympathy” for
the
“trumped-up” demon- stration. Jonathan Myers, of
PHTM AUGUST 2012
the United Cabbies Group union, said: “There will be no access to these lanes for any traffic apart from the Olympics family. “Taxis are excluded, which is unacceptable and wrong. This is a working city and we need to get around and do our job.” According to BBC News, a spokesman for TfL said there had been discussions with black cab drivers since 2009. He said they would be able to access some of the special lanes to col- lect fares, including
the nearside Games Lane in Park Lane, central London. John Mason, Director of London Taxi and Private Hire called the protest “completely irresponsible”. He said: “We strongly urge taxi drivers to ignore calls to join these unnecessary protests and instead show why they are regularly voted the best in the world.” The Metropolitan Police
said the
planned demonstra- tion affected Whitehall and Trafalgar Square as well as Parliament Square.
50 cabs took part, with drivers sounding their horns in unison to make their presence felt. The United Cabbies Group said on Twitter that it was happy with the turnout, which saw about six police vans at the scene. However, it said it did not “con- done or recommend jumping
in the
Thames”. Leon Daniels, Trans- port
for London’s
managing director of surface transport, said: “The first taxi protest was attended by a tiny minority of drivers, and they do not represent the views of the vast majority of London’s taxi drivers. “It is a real shame that people who claim to represent some of the honest and most hard- working people in London, the taxi trade, have acted in this way.”
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