RANK RUMBLINGS
EAST RENFREWSHIRE CABBIES SLAM COUNCIL AND POLICE FOR LACK OF ENFORCEMENT ON RANKS
East Renfrewshire Council’s (ERC) cabbies say they’ve been “grossly let down” by the council’s parking enforcement and Police Scotland for their lack of action over the public’s persistent parking on ranks. John Paul Duffy, Chairman of the East Renfrewshire Hire Car Forum said: “This has been a major issue for some time. When drivers ask the public not to park on ranks, they verbally abused and a female driver was recently assaulted.
“Drivers report illegal parking to enforcement but they rarely attend and reports are falling on deaf ears. “The council MUST take action to protect drivers’ safety and not leave it FOR drivers to police themselves. “In November last year, the Scot- tish PH Association campaigned to re-establish the Hire Car Forum after a 17-year hiatus, so the trade can engage with ERC and Police Scotland on taxi issues. “After the inaugural meeting, the
council and police carried out a day of enforcement on the ranks. But as soon as they left, the prob-lem returned. This was the only day in 2023 they took action. We need a permanent solution to this issue. “We asked the council to install ANPR cameras to issue fines to deter people from parking on ranks. However, ERC says that due to budget cuts, this isn’t an option”. Cabbies say they are ready to stage protests if necessary..
SOUTHAMPTON CENTRAL INTERCHANGE TAXI RANK CHANGE COULD LEAD TO STRIKE
Southampton taxi drivers are threat- ening to revolt over the ‘thought- less’ £5.5m redesign of South- ampton Central interchange rank. Angry cabbies say the revamped rank on the southern forecourt is not wheelchair accessible. They say the narrow design means taxis sometimes have to drive
across the pavement to leave. In an email to Southampton City Council’s licensing committee, the Southampton Hackney Organis- ation called for an urgent meeting - and said it was ‘putting in place plans for multiple strikes which would start in February and run up to May’s local election.
INCREASE IN PATROLS TACKLING ILLEGAL WOLVERHAMPTON RANK PARKING
Wolverhampton Council officers have stepped up patrols in the city centre cracking down on illegal parking in taxi ranks. Taxi compliance and parking services are carrying out regular patrols, including at night time and over the weekend, warning drivers using a taxi rank to find alternative parking or face a penalty. The council issued over 100 PCNs last year for misuse of taxi ranks. Cllr Craig Collingswood, cabinet
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member for environment, said: “Our taxi ranks are for black cabs only. Ranks are located to support passengers with accessibility needs and the misuse of these ranks by other drivers is both thoughtless and illegal. We will not hesitate to issue PCNs to any drivers misusing our taxi ranks.” Those not in a black cab caught using ranks could face a PCN of £70 reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days of service.
“It’s a mess that’s been created by the council, which it needs to fix,” the email said. Because the kerb for the new rank does not drop, wheelchair-bound passengers struggle to get into the back of disabled-friendly taxis. Chairman of the association, Ajmal Sudhan, said he has had disabled passengers rant about how they struggle to get into the back of taxis without a dropped kerb. Because of the narrow design of the rank, the only taxis which can easily leave are at the front of the queue, or at the end - because they can reverse out. So if someone needs a WAV taxi and it is not in these positions, they often have to drive on the pavement to get out of the queue. Former chairman of the asso- ciation, Sam Shahiedi, 69, met with the council to discuss the plans in 2021 - but claimed they ‘changed the plans without checking with us first’.
FEBRUARY 2024 PHTM
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