IN THE
NEWS...IN THE NEWS..
CHICHESTER RAILWAY STATION TAXI RANK TO BE SCRAPPED TO CREATE MORE CAR PARKING SPACES
Extra parking spaces will soon become available at Chich- ester Railway Sta- tion but taxi drivers will now have to share one rank, it was confirmed last month. Southern Railway confirmed the deci- sion by Network Rail to resurface both of the station car parks ‘as part of a pro- gramme covering over 30 Southern stations.’ A spokesman told the Chichester Ob- server: “At Chich- ester there has been high demand from our passengers for more parking, pick-
up and drop-off spaces, so we are taking the opportu- nity to reconfigure the smaller car park on the south side, and to create still more space by con- solidating the two taxi ranks into one on the north side. “Network
Rail’s
business tenants will also benefit from new dedicated bays.” The
statement
comes after current and previous taxi permit holders were contacted by email ‘with advance notice of these changes’, citing the ‘perma- nent removal of the rank on the South-
side car park’. The email added: “The car park areas will be resurfaced from February 11 and the rank on that side of the station will be replaced by much- needed
parking
spaces. “The Chichester Sta- tion taxi rank will therefore only be operated from the northern car park/ station front. As a result of this we will be reducing the number of permits available for sale with
immediate
effect.” In a statement to the Observer, a South- ern Railway spokes-
man said: “Access will be managed by an Automatic Num- ber Plate Recog- nition system, which will cover only the taxi rank, not the car parks. “Failure to purchase and display a valid permit will result in postal
penalty
notices being issued (£100 per penalty/ per day),” an email to current and previ- ous
taxi permit
holders has warned. When asked to com- ment on its in- volvement in the changes, Chichester District Council said its responsibility, as a licensing authority,
is to ‘ensure that hackney carriages are safe for the pub- lic to use’. A spokesman added: “This includes en- suring that drivers are displaying the right signs, drivers are fit and proper to operate and ensur- ing drivers are updated regarding changes in regula- tions and safety information. “Because we do not own the land, the way the ranks are being reorganised does not fall under our control. Each driver would have to apply to Indigo for a permit which allows
them to wait on the rank.” Mmmm… Questions: Did the taxi drivers who hold permits at the station register their disagreement with the changes when “they received advance notice”? Was there a site visit conducted at the station prior to the re-surfacing of the road and complete reorganisation of the ranks? Will dis- abled train passen- gers wishing to con- tinue their onward journey be disad- vantaged by the moving of the old rank spaces? Just wondering… Ed.
38
MARCH 2019
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