TICKETING TRAVESTIES PHV DRIVERS FINED FOR GOING IN LEICESTER
STATION DROP-OFF POINT DUE TO MISLEADING SIGNS
Private hire drivers in Leicester have been left angry and confused after signs were put up at Leicester Railway Station seemingly banning them from entering its drop off and pick up point. The signs were installed last month by
the station operator East
Midlands Railway (EMR) which said ‘no private hire vehicles’ could enter the taxi rank accessed from Station Street and many were handed fines for doing so. The drivers have said they had never been stopped from going into the station before and the signs have had a “huge effect” on recent business. EMR has since admitted the signs were “misleading” but confirmed that the vehicle access rules have not changed and all taxis are entitled to drop off and pick up inside the rank. Karmjit Sahota, 50, from Birstall has worked for local taxi service Swift Fox Cabs for the last 25 years and was one of the drivers who was handed a ticket. He alleges he was stopped and given a £70 parking fine on Wednesday July 26 by a warden after he entered the station to drop off passengers. He claims the warden pointed to the ‘no private hire vehicles’ sign after he asked what the fine was for. But the ticket issued to Mr Sahota, seen by LeicestershireLive, said the issuing reason was because he was ‘causing an obstruction’. He said: “This has been ridiculous, our company [Swift Fox Cabs] has the contract to take railway drivers to stations and we have done so for
32
“Or what about when we
had
disabled passen- gers - what were we supposed to do there?
The
station is one of the most com- mon drop off points and it has really affected busi- ness. I really can’t understand any of it, it is not fair.”
years, but then suddenly we weren’t allowed in the station at all. “I have appealed the ticket and have asked them to provide me evidence with what I have actually done wrong, as I didn’t park. “Multiple drivers have told me they got fined for going into the station early last week and I can understand if you actually park in the disabled space, you deserve to be fined. But I didn’t do anything wrong, I just went into the one way system. “I’ve been a private hire driver in the city for nearly 30 years and never had a problem before. It’s crazy.” Muhamed Arif Cassam, a fellow private hire driver from Leicester, added the signs have
caused
“significant disruption”. He said: “This has caused real trouble for the people of Leicester. With all this rain we have had recently, we were scared about dropping people off close to the station but passengers kept asking us can’t you drop me any closer? “If Station Street was really busy, we would have to park so far away or stop on the double yellow lines, which is extremely dangerous.
The signs have since been taken down, according to
local taxi
drivers, and private hire vehicles have started to re-enter the station. Drivers can be fined for improperly using the taxi rank by committing offences which include staying for more than 20 minutes or for park- ing incorrectly in a disabled bay. A spokesperson for EMR said in response to the drivers: “We can confirm that vehicle access to Leicester Railway station hasn’t changed, however we are aware that signage advising restrictions for private hire vehicles is misleading and we are making the necessary changes to ensure this is clearer for permit holders and private vehicles who access the station.” EMR also told LeicestershireLive it could not confirm whether all the fined drivers would have fines rescinded or refunds paid. The rail company did clarify that all those who were fined can appeal the tickets and the details of how to do so are on the back of the ticket. If a ticket was issued by the Rail Pay app, the appeal process is on the bottom of the printout, EMR added.
SEPTEMBER 2023 PHTM
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