Taxi Driver Online

Stortford station taxi rank shake-up sees cabbie income slashed

NEW pick-up charges at Bishop’s Stortford’s railway station have slashed taxi drivers’ incomes by up to 50 per cent, claim frustrated cabbies. On October 1, train operator National Express East Anglia gave exclusive control of its rank to Station Road firm Omega Taxis, which is charging almost £5,000 a year on top of a £450 registration fee from rival cabbies to be able to pick up passengers there.

Although the controversial change was scheduled to start on April 1, the drivers staged a series of high-profile protests to claim the six-month notice period they were entitled to under their existing contract. But with their grace period now over, they must either pay the charge – which is more than five times higher than the amount they used to pay NXEA – or clear off the rank.

Those who have opted out of the scheme say they have seen a three-figure fall in their daily takings, with some losing up to half of their previous income. One said that he and about 30 of his colleagues – just under half the number of registered drivers in Bishop’s Stortford – were losing £150 or more a day, while another said his daily takings had plummeted from £100 to £50.

The day after the changes came into effect, those who had not signed up with Omega were cleared from the station by NXEA enforcers, under threat of fine. The rebel drivers have asked Stortford MP Mark Prisk, who helped them fight for their six-month stay of execution, to look into their case again and to discover how the Omega contract was awarded.

However, other drivers who have since sided with Omega said this week they were happy with the new arrangement.

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IDFIMH

Workers united.

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IDFIMH

A rat race is for rats.

You snooze you loose in this game at the moment, will those who are happy now be happy when there's a hundred more care serving the station?

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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Believe me, don't get Mercury X2

It's like awarding a monopoly when they give exclusive rights to one company but I guess it's no different to when designers give manufacturers a licence to produce their goods. Money talks and I'm sure it cost a pretty penny for the company to get exclusive rights to the station

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

railway companies are increasingly under pressure to find sources of revenue that make up for shortfalls in government subsidy so its no surprise that deals like this are done with a nice big chunk of cash guaranteed each year for the franchise operator

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector