RANK RUMBLINGS
DERBY CABBIES SAY ABUSIVE DRIVERS ARE BLOCKING TAXI RANKS AND COSTING THEM FARES
A group of Derby cab drivers has called for action from the council as they say ‘abusive’ drivers are frequently parking in ranks, block- ing them from potential fares. A petition with 130 signatures from hackney drivers was presented to councillors on 16 February, but drivers claim there are between 170 and 180 disgruntled cabbies wanting clearer signage and more cameras in the bays. Drivers added that they are often forced to offload customers on the highway which is unsafe and businesses frequently ‘leave pallets’ in ranks and place trolleys and produce on the pavement, leading to taxis getting scraped. Cabbies also try to pick up at a rank only to see it completely full of cars when they arrive. Missing fares costs them dearly amid the cost of living crisis. In addition, a slow transition to vehicles costing between £50,000 and £60,000 to rent is under way. More than ten drivers gathered outside the Council House to meet with the chair of the licensing committee, Cllr Jangir Khan, committee member Cllr Lucy Skelton, and city councillor for Littleover, Lucy Care. They said the issue has worsened over the past year, exacerbated by
replacing
yellow lines in the road with white ones which, they argued, gave people the impression that they could park there. Abid Hussain, 47, a Derby cabbie for 22 years, said: “It’s horrendous, especially on Osmaston Road. They park up and yesterday at about quarter past four there was no space for us on the rank.”
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“It’s a frequent occurrence, you get to the rank for nine, and people have taken up the whole taxi rank.” Mohammed Arzwan, 51, a cabbie of 30 years, said: “Any time after 1pm or 2pm and on a Saturday, there’s not a space, you can forget it. We’re also causing danger by onloading and offloading customers on the highway, including those who are disabled - we often have to drop them a five-minute walk away from where they want to be. “There are very serious health and safety issues. There needs to be more urgency. There’s a camera at the bus stop, so why not at the taxi rank? I’ve sent many emails to wardens and the licensing committee over the last year. “Shops have huge car parks at the back, so why don’t they tell their customers to use them? They also leave pallets on the rank and walk off, and there’s trolleys on the pavement which means people walk past and mark our taxis. Drivers think, ‘We can park here and do our shopping’. But it’s our livelihoods they’re affecting.” Mario Colella, 65, a taxi driver for 40 years, said: “It’s also causing congestion and it’s impacting our income. People are using it as a loophole rather than paying two pounds to park elsewhere. It’s
quite simple, all we need is a sign. “We’re verbally abused after politely asking people to move on, and we’ve all had that situation where cars have dived in front of us.” Another driver told Cllr Khan: “People are ready to swear at you and ready to fight you. I’ve had my bumper scraped.” When asked if difficulties have meant drivers have had to raise their fares, Mr Arzwan said: “Not realistically, not that much. But it’s paying for maintenance, wear and tear, and look how many years it’s been since we last raised them. Realistically it’s the cost of living. Fuel’s gone up and insurance has increased by at least 30%.” Cllr Care said: “The council has managed to paint the yellow lines white which has added to the problem. They
need to be
repainted as soon as possible, it’s not fair. Normally this means, ‘You can park here’.” A spokesperson for Derby City Council said: “We take the reinforcement of parking restrictions in taxi ranks seriously and recognise the importance of keeping designated taxi ranks clear to allow taxi drivers to wait for potential passengers. “Whilst on duty, our parking teams enforce the city centre taxi ranks daily. So far this year our teams have issued 93 Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) to vehicles breaking the rank parking restrictions and have moved on many more vehicles. “As ever, we will continue to enforce parking restrictions and encourage taxi drivers to report any vehicles which are illegally parked through our website .”
MARCH 2023 PHTM
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