Taxi Driver Online

Barrier causes anger among taxi drivers

COMMUTERS leaving Watford Junction Station are currently faced with an empty forecourt devoid of taxis, after train operator Silverlink put up a barrier to block drivers.

The company has put the barrier in place to prevent all cars picking up passengers from outside the station after hackney carriages began picking up passengers from the forecourt earlier this week. The move has left commuters having to walk to the station car park to use private hire vehicles or to Clarendon Road to get a hackney carriage.


A Silverlink representative said the barrier had been put in place to prevent hackney carriages operating alongside private hire firm AA United, which the train operator has contracted to provide taxi services from the station. He said commuters would not be inconvenienced by the move, as it is not far to walk to the car park entrance to get a cab.

The Silverlink representative added that the hackney carriages had no legal right to operate from the forecourt, as the land belongs to Silverlink and the contract belongs to AA United. He said Silverlink wanted to use a private firm, as it allowed them to regulate the taxi service running from the station for their passengers.

The barrier would not be removed until the situation had been resolved. The Watford Hackney Carriage Drivers' Association claims, however, that it does have a legal right to operate from the forecourt, supported by the town's by-laws and the fact that it purchased a third of AA United Taxis recently from the man who negotiated its contract with Silverlink. Shujait Sardar, chairman of the Watford Hackney Carriage Drivers' Association, said: "It is the passengers who are losing out here.

"It is very confusing to come out of the station and find an empty forecourt. It's the consumers who suffer. "I have always maintained that it is impossible to operate a proper taxi service at Watford Junction using a private hire firm, while staying within the law.

"Watford Borough Council, Hertfordshire Police and British Transport Police agree that it is our legal right to ply for hire on a station forecourt, it is just Silverlink that do not. "Putting up this barrier is a bully boy tactic. They would have got a court order banning us from the land if they had a legal case.

A representative from AA United Taxis was not available for comment.

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IDFIMH

Silverlink are wrong to call members of the public their passengers?

There are many members of the public who use Watford station who are not passengers and have no intention of becoming passengers. They might use the Station facilities for an entirely different purpose to that of rail passengers and perhaps make use of the Taxi service as they see fit?

A passenger only becomes a passenger when they are travelling in or on something. For example Virgin trains cannot be held responsible for a passenger once that passenger has left their train. What we have here is a company that runs a Rail station who wishes to maximise its profits by charging Taxis and or Private hire operators for the privilege of having a presence on the station.

A train passenger who purchases a ticket to travel from A to B is owed a duty of care to by the train company who supplies the service to get them where they are going. Silverlink are under no such obligation.

If I was on Watford station for any reason other than taking a train I would take great exception at Silverlink categorising me as one of their passengers. The use of the word "passengers" should perhaps be redefined as "persons using Watford station".

On the issue of bylaws, if the forecourt is part of Railway property then it comes under Railway jurisdiction, the simple fact that Silverlink has the authority to put up a barrier demonstrates that the forecourt is on Railway property.

Mr Sardar is incorrect to infer that it he can legally ply for hire there.

Regards

JD