Residents and taxi drivers join ranks in row over space for carsTHE row over taxi rank spaces in Arnold has taken another twist with residents and drivers alike calling for a limit on licences.
There are currently 707 taxi plates registered in Gedling, with just 15 spaces available for parking at four ranks across the borough of Gedling, one of which is part-time.
Hackney carriages, which are allowed to use the designated taxi ranks, account for 474 of those plates while 243 are private hire cabs, which are not supposed to wait at ranks but rely on phone bookings.
The popular rank among Arnold taxi drivers is outside Asda, on Front Street, where many have been given fixed penalty notices recently.
Arnold resident John Shepherd, 69, says there are too many taxis waiting on Front Street and believes the sheer amount of them leads to mischievous driving.
He said: "I have seen two people nearly get knocked down when drivers have been pulling out of the bay, and once I was crossing the road when one of them backed into my trolley.
"My wife has a disabled badge so we park across the road and see them reversing down the one way road and parking on double yellow lines, which they know is illegal."
Some of the hackney carriage drivers resort to parking where they shouldn't, citing a lack of allocated space on Front Street, for the only spot that guarantees regular fares in Arnold.
An Arnold taxi driver, who didn't want to be named for fear of losing his licence, said: "Almost five hundred drivers simply can't park in only 15 spaces. You can't expect them all to just circle around aimlessly – the fuel costs end up outweighing the price of a fare."
He said that for many years there were no issues before the number of taxi licences exploded.
"Surely they could have seen it coming? If you double the supply it doesn't make a difference to the demand," he added.
Gedling Borough Council is discussing the possibility of introducing an NVQ qualification for taxi licences, including a knowledge test of the local area.
Councillor Marje Paling, chairwoman of the environment and licensing committee said: "The role of Gedling Borough Council is to ensure that drivers who apply to work in Gedling are fit and proper and can provide our residents with a safe service.
"We understand that this area of business is a competitive one, however it is not for us to limit applications.
"We are always looking at ways to improve the application process, for example, possibly introducing a knowledge test that will require applicants to have a knowledge of the local area in order to work in the borough."
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