GLASGOW LEZ LUNACY
CAR ABANDONED IN GLASGOW CENTRAL RANK FOR DAYS WITH NO LEZ APPROVED TRUCK TO REMOVE IT
Glasgow City Council has apologised after a car was aban- doned on the taxi rank outside Central Station for four days. A contractor had to be hired to remove the vehicle, which had first been ticketed on Friday morning, 31 May, as the council’s only LEZ compliant uplifter was unavailable. The car was eventually removed on Tuesday after the problem was flagged on social media. A spokesman for Unite the union’s Glasgow Cab Section said the council “told the taxi trade we’d had long enough to prepare for
the LEZ when they hadn’t done so themselves. On top of that they left an abandoned car on a taxi rank outside Scotland’s busiest train stations for four days. Surely a security risk in itself.”
The union posted photos of the car on social media and said it “seemed to go viral” and “suddenly a sub-contractor turned up to remove it”. A council spokeswoman said: “The vehicle has been removed and we apologise for the delay. The council has one LEZ compliant uplift vehicle as part of our fleet, which is entirely proportionate given the zone area covers one square mile. “In the event our own vehicle is unavailable, an external contractor is authorised to uplift vehicles on our behalf.”
GLASGOW TAXI DRIVER SAYS LOW EMISSION ZONE HAS ENDED FAMILY CAB TRADITION
A Glasgow taxi driver has said the LEZ has brought an end to a nearly 70-year family cab tradition. Calum Anderson has said the Glasgow City Council initiative will force him to hand over a plate that was used by his father since the 1950s and by him for 30 years. It comes as 269 cabs were taken off the road on June 1 as the deadline for the LEZ time-limited extension for taxi drivers came to an end. Calum, 57, said: “This is such a frustrating process, and I just don’t think the council cares. There was no need for any of this. And this is not taxi drivers being miserable, it’s not viable to do any of this and it is putting a lot of mental stress on us. “I thought I would drive my taxi until I had to retire, but that’s not the case anymore.” With taxi plates disappearing from our roads, Calum, who is chairman
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of the Glasgow cab section for Unite, added that he is concerned that Glaswegians will be put in vulnerable situations with some struggling to get home. Calum also believes the initiative will damage the city further than it “already is.” He said: “The council has let the city die in an attempt to save
the planet. The city is
destroyed, its an embarrassment and absolutely demoralising. “Taxis are going to be off the road, more shops will close.” Calum has been left disgusted with how many people, like him, will lose their livelihoods as the extension period comes to an end. Michael Smith, 59
has been a
cabbie for the last 28 years and told of his hurt and anger as he said he has been forced off the roads by the council. He said: “I thought I would retire at
66 or 67, or I would die behind the wheel of my cab. I never imagined I would be leaving like this. “Glasgow City Council has pushed us into a corner, and we have been treated like s***. We want to breathe clean air, but we don’t want to go out of business to get it.” Michael was faced with either trying to find the funds to put an LPG engine into his 15-year-old vehicle or leaving the trade behind. Following the financial hardships Covid brought upon taxi drivers, Michael decided that replacing his engine was not a viable option and has sold his taxi for £800. A council spokesperson said: “The LEZ is an essential measure if Glasgow is to tackle the harmful air pollution that has blighted parts of the city centre for decades. The LEZ has been well publicised and had an extensive lead-in time”
JULY 2024 PHTM
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