Minicab drivers say 'ridiculous' crackdown drives customers away Minicab drivers branded parking restrictions outside Stoke station as 'ridiculous' after it emerged hundreds of people have been fined for using double yellow lines.
Private hire firms waiting to pick up train passengers are among those who have fallen foul of Stoke-on-Trent City Council's CCTV enforcement.
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Since April, 622 penalty notices have been issued to motorists there.
Although there is a taxi rank along Station Road, there is no dedicated area for private hire drivers to park.
Andrew Harriss, aged 49, from Leek Link Taxis, said: "If the spaces across from the station entrance are taken, then you have no choice but to park illegally or far away. It just seems unfair that they have made it so difficult.
"And now they are targeting people trying to make a living, especially when it only takes seconds to drop people off – it's ridiculous."
Adnan Alyas, aged 27, from Newcastle-based Roseville Private Hire, said: "I normally park by the taxi rank because you will get a ticket if you stop for even a few seconds outside the entrance to pick someone up.
"I don't understand why they got rid of the parking bay where we could briefly stop near to the doors.
"We have a lot of students who bring luggage for the new term, and they can't lug heavy bags all the way down the street. Yet they will have to because we don't want to risk getting fined."
Stoke-based taxi driver Hossein Nasrolahi, aged 46, said: "If you are not there to pick people up fromthe station you will lose out on business. I don't think the system around the area is a good one for commuters or taxi drivers.
"You cannot stop next to the station to drop someone off, even if they have big bags, because you will get a ticket.
"It annoys a lot of people. I don't think they considered elderly or disabled people when they made the changes."
The council stepped up parking enforcement as part of a £790,000 revamp outside the station that began earlier this year.
Mohammed Amin, a taxi driver from Hanley, was given a £35 fine when he briefly stopped to reverse into a space.
The hackney cab owner uses the rank off Station Road, and feels that because he cannot stop nearby he is losing out on business to private hire companies, who still wait on the restricted areas and take their customers.
The 34-year-old said: "I don't think it is fair that taxis are being targeted.
"But if the enforcement vehicle stops private hire companies from ignoring the rules, then it is a good thing."
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