Taxi Driver Online

Durham Taxi rank 'not enough' to solve congestion

A NEW five-space taxi rank will do nothing to solve horrendous congestion problems blighting a city centre, critics claim.

Since Durham County Council deregulated the taxi trade last September, hundreds of cabs have been competing for trade in Durham City, causing long queues up Claypath and Gilesgate late into the night.

The council has announced a new taxi rank on the slip road between Leazes Bowl roundabout and Claypath, operating between 6pm and 8am from Thursday night.

A ban on private vehicles using the Market Place-bound carriageway of lower Claypath between 9pm and 4am will be abandoned. Other night-time taxi ranks will remain unchanged.

Owen Cleugh, the council’s consumer protection manager, said it had listened to people’s concerns.

"The introduction of the new rank will hopefully reduce the taxi queues. We are looking to move these queues to areas that will cause minimal disruption to residents," he said.

Superintendent Ivan Wood, of Durham Police, said he hoped the new rank would improve the quality of life of city centre residents and the police would take whatever steps were necessary to solve the problems.

However, Kirsty Thomas, of Claypath, said: "There should be no taxis parking beyond the delegated taxi rank. They won’t all fit on the new rank.

"We’ll be watching very carefully. The situation now is absolutely appalling."

Elvet councillor David Freeman said: "The taxi situation in Claypath is totally unacceptable. Residents’ lives are being blighted by the noise of engines, radios playing and car doors slamming until early morning.

"While the new taxi rank is welcome it will do little to resolve the problems.

"I want the council to ban any taxi queuing beyond the Claypath taxi rank. Taxis should be made to wait in a holding area until spaces in the rank become free. This new rank can only be the beginning of the solution rather than the end of the problem."

Adrian Fets, of STL Cabs, said the new rank was an accident waiting to happen and cabbies would shun it because passengers would ignore it.

Steve Pratt, of Pratt’s Taxis, said allowing private vehicles back onto Claypath would worsen the situation.

Taxi marshals will help the new system become established.


source: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/l ... ongestion/

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

pmsl

As my mam would say......it's like giving a cow a carlin

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_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

They moan when there isn't a cab, they moan when there are too many, no pleasing some folks, unless they can have their very own materialise in a moment cab awaiting 24/7 365, I think I should grow my hair, get some dreads and become a pain in the ass to society, just like it's become to me, only I'll do it much better because I'm driven and focused when I need to be.