CALLS were today made for a radical shake-up of the taxi system in Aberdeen.
Ordinarily, taxi drivers are strictly limited to either working in the city or at the airport to
protect the trade of both groups.
City taxi drivers can only pick up from the airport using the “green light” system while
airport drivers can only pick up customers from city streets on a Saturday between midnight
and 5am.
Now an MSP has called for the council’s licensing committee to rethink part of its taxi
zoning policy.
Kevin Stewart, has asked Aberdeen City Council to look at allowing airport taxi drivers to
pick up customers from city centre streets more frequently.
He said: “I have been speaking to some local business folk, they
are saying that customers are finding it very, very difficult to get
from the centre of town to the airport.
“If airport taxis were able to get people out to the airport it would be incredibly helpful.
“I think we could relax the rules – it will put off certain business folk if they
find it difficult to get to the airport, especially in the mornings.”
The different zones have been in place since 1991 to ensure there
are enough taxis for airport passengers.
Mr Stewart said he felt the current operating policy was having a “negative” affect in the city.
He said: “I would like the licensing board to look at this issue in the next few months.
“It’s common sense as far as I'm concerned, if we have got a shortage of taxis at a certain point
of the day, why couldn’t we have people take them back out to the airport?”
Stevie Robertson, from Unite, said he was not sure of the long-terms benefits of making any
changes. He said: “I don’t see any benefit of any changes, if they are going to make changes,
they need to be very careful that they don’t upset the current strategy which is in
place.” City taxi driver Abbie Birket, 61, said he felt the proposed changes would create
an unfair advantage for airport taxis.
He said : “ The green light policy is pretty limited , you don’t often pick people up from the
airport. “I think that it would be unfair because it would
just allow more airport drivers to pick up business
from the town,

De zone the whole area that way anyone can pick up from anywhere simple
No more green light system just stop pick and go

Just how many people who want to go to the airport actually flag down a taxi in the street in Aberdeen?

You've never been to Aberdeen airport, this much is obvious.