IN THE NEWS
TAXIS TO BE ALLOWED TO USE WATFORD’S BUS LANES
Taxi drivers will be able to drive in certain bus lanes around Wat- ford after councillors voted through propos- als to grant
privilege. Hackney
carriages
with the Watford Bor- ough Council crest on the side, will be allowed to drive in bus- only areas in the High Street, Station Road and St Albans Road, in the coming months. Taxi drivers welcomed the move saying it will save money for cus- tomers by avoiding traffic queues and also free up drivers to do more jobs. The borough’s cross- party Highways Joint Members Panel okayed the move last month. Shafiq Ahmed,
the chairman of the Wat- them
ford Hackney Carriage Drivers’ Association said cabbies had been pushing for the move for two years and thanked councillors for their support on the issue. He said hackney car- riages could drive in bus lanes in London and so it made sense to expand it to Watford. At the meeting the pro- posals received wide- ranging support from councillors. The new rules, which will come into effect in around six months, will allow hackney car- riage drivers to use the High Street
from
Lower High Street that is currently bus only. They will also be able to use the bus lane on Station Road between Watford Junction and
St Albans Road and on St Albans Road between Bedford Street and Station Road. Liberal Democrat Jan Brown said hackney carriages needed to be able to use the bus lane in Station Road by Watford Junction Sta- tion as passengers end up seeing their fares sky rocket after getting caught in gridlock. “I have been stuck there for 20 minutes before with a hackney carriage behind and seen people get out saying there’s been £6 on the clock while sat there and walk off. It’s desperately needed.” Lib Dem Andy Wylie added: “There is a high demand for taxis in Wat- ford and we should be accommodating them as public transport”.
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ALL GOES DOWNHILL FOR TAXI DRIVER IN LONDON
A taxi driver took a turn for the worse dur- ing the festive season, closing Hampstead High Street for five hours on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. The 4x4 vehicle went down a grassy bank after attempting a three-point turn and crashed into a parked Volkswagen. A witness told the Camden New Journal: “It happened at about 11am but it wasn’t cleared up until 3pm. There were lots of peo- ple standing around with their phones out
The scene off Hampstead High Street after a taxi ploughed down a bank
saying, ‘how did this happen?’.” Two fire engines and a rescue unit were sent. A fire brigade spokesman said the High Street was closed in both direc-
tions, adding: “We were
called at
10.54am and attend- ed because a person was thought to be trapped, but when we got there they were not.”
TAXI DRIVERS WELCOME NEW LIMIT ON BLACK CAB LICENCES IN WIRRAL
Wirral taxi drivers have welcomed a new curb on the number of black cab licences handed out in the borough. Councillors agreed last month to limit the number of licences to 289 - currently there are 286 licences. Drivers had urged members of the licens- ing, health and safety and general purposes committee to set the limit, arguing it would safeguard their liveli- hoods and stabilise the trade in challeng-
ing economic times. Derek Cummins of the Unite union said many newcomers had signed up to £30,000 finance deals for their vehicle then found it impossi- ble to make a living in a saturated market. The decision follows the results of an inde- pendent report com- missioned by the council, which con- cluded there were enough hackneys to meet demand. Councillors
were shown figures compar-
ing the plate numbers issued by the council with the number actual- ly attached to vehicles. On January 18 the highest plate number issued was 400 but just 286 are currently in use, meaning 114 are no longer on the road. Bob Kelly of the Inde- pendent Wirral Hack- ney Drivers’ Associa- tion told Wirral News: “We’re pleased with the decision. The trade does need a period of stability and long-term managed growth.”
GLASGOW TAXIS LTD MAKES £1.85M INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY
Glasgow Taxis Ltd, Scotland’s largest taxi company, has made an overall £1.85m invest- ment in infrastructure, utilising the latest online technology to help improve customer service and safety. As part of an ongoing improvement
pro-
gramme, the firm has already introduced a number of new sys- tems to modernise the business. Among the improvements made to date are:
•Installation of new IT despatch and tele- phone systems
•A new automatic and interactive
voice
response (IVR) phone booking system
•A new online booking system incorporating live vehicle tracking
•The renewal of more than 550 radios
In addition, a new booking app for iPhones, androids and smart phones as well as a completely rede- veloped website feat-
uring online booking facilities are due to go live within weeks. Glasgow Taxis Ltd vice chairman
Stephen
Flynn said: “We have made this investment to take the company to the next level in terms of safety and service. It will truly modernise the business and ensure we can provide best possible service to all customers as well as comprehensive sup- port for our member- ship and drivers.”
PHTM FEBRUARY 2012
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