PROTEST PLIGHT
BRISTOL TAXI DRIVERS HOLD UP CITY CENTRE TRAFFIC IN PROTEST AT RANK CLOSURE
Taxi drivers in Bristol caused traffic chaos on Wednesday September 1, when they blocked off major roads in protest against Bristol City Council. According to the Bristol Post, Bristol Blue Licensed Taxi Association and Bristol Hackney drivers organised the demonstration to pressure the council into reinstating the Hippodrome rank. Around 40 cabs stopped their cars at the Bearpit at 8.15am, where they brought traffic to a standstill. Saif Hussain, chairman of the BBLTA, was one of the taxi drivers who held up traffic during the protest. He said that he worries about what could happen if the council continues to stop blue taxis from picking up customers outside the theatre, an area which he says accounts for two thirds of their income. Mr Hussain said: “I think this is gonna be the last straw for hackney drivers.” The protest, which follows a similar
demonstration in April, was ito pres- sure the council to review the decision not to reinstate the Hippodrome rank, and to suspend all enforcement actions until their complaints are reviewed. Cabbies held up the roundabout for over an hour, causing frustration for other drivers. Mr Hussain said: “I’m getting really wor- ried about people getting angry. I told the drivers, don’t argue with anybody. “They have a right to be annoyed and we’re sorry for that but we have to do
our demonstration.” At 9.45am, police arrived on the scene and ordered the taxis to move and within 15 minutes, most of the protesters had moved and traffic began to flow normally again. The taxi drivers went to the Hippo- drome, where the demonstration ended. A spokesperson for the council said: “We have worked with representatives of the taxi trade to install an evening/late night rank with a shelter and improved signage 50 metres away from the Hippodrome. “A larger rank with shelter and signage opposite the Cenotaph has also been installed. However, we have been clear that concerns for public safety and congestion outside the Hippodrome make it an unsafe location for a rank.” However, one taxi driver described the rank which is 50 metres from the Hippodrome as “dead”.
PROTEST OUTSIDE LEEDS CIVIC HALL AS CABBIES SLAM PLAN TO MOVE TAXI RANK
Taxi drivers and disabled campaigners came together to protest a council plan to move a taxi rank further away from the entrance to Leeds Railway Station. LeedsLive reports that as part of a 340m revamp of the Leeds station area, New Station Street is set to be pedestri- anised all the way to Boar Lane. This would mean moving the rank at the station entrance onto Bishopgate. While the plan includes provision for two passenger lifts and “wider, safer steps” to help elderly and disabled passengers reach the new taxi rank, protesters outside Civic Hall argued they had been excluded. “For many people passenger lifts are inaccessible,” explained Tim McSharry from Access and Use-Ability Group (AUAG). The AUAG wants to bring
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Leeds City Council, Network Rail and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority back to the table to find a solution. Taxi drivers are not happy about the proposals either. Currently, there is space for 33 cars at the New Station Street rank, while the new rank on Bishopgate will have room for just six. Drivers waiting to join the rank will need to queue on Sovereign Street, around the back of the station, but the Leeds branch chairman of Unite, Vasim Akhtar, said this will not work. Vasim said: “When those taxis are called from Sovereign Street they’re going to have to negotiate through traffic, through the general public. How long is that going to take? “People are going to try steal taxis, it’s going to cause fights.
“You don’t want to be heading under the arches waiting for a taxi, you want to be next to the station. “It’s not going to work for disabled people, it’s not going to work for people with young children, it’s not going to work for young girls on a night out, it’s not going to work for taxi drivers.” A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “The proposed move means that people will no longer have to cross a busy road to access the taxi rank. “Throughout this we’ve worked with representatives from disabled access groups across the city to discuss the proposals and helped shape the design to address their needs. “We will continue to consider any proposals to enhance the design further, as we finalise our scheme.”
OCTOBER 2021
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