Hope in taxis row
http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2009/03/27/hope-in-taxis-row-97319-23243197/
TAXI drivers have welcomed moves for a top level meeting aimed at curbing a town’s traffic nightmare.
Tamworth Borough Council has called a meeting between Tamworth Hackney and Private Hire Association, Staffordshire County Council and Staffordshire Police in a bid to resolve concerns about a severe lack of taxi rank spaces in the town centre.
Since the council took over civil parking enforcement from the police earlier this week, taxi drivers claim they have been forced to circle the town centre for fear of getting ticketed if they park up.
It comes after a local agreement that taxi drivers could park in a designated street with double yellow lines expired as the new Civil Parking Enforcement came into force on Monday.
Despite a two year campaign, there are just 24 rank spaces for 137 licenced taxis in the town and the drive to rule has caused traffic chaos by clogging up town centre roads.
The borough council’s chief executive, David Weatherley, said: “Although the provision of taxi ranks is a county council function we accept the need for the borough council to become involved in an issue which is impacting on not only the taxi drivers but also businesses and residents.
“We have found in the past that the resolution to these issues can usually be found through negotiation and discussion and are happy to take the lead in bringing together all of the interested parties for this issue”.
Taxi association secretary Judith Frost said: “We absolutely welcome this move to resolve this situation.”
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