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Minicab firms call for rethink to bus lane Minicab firms in Stoke-on-Trent are campaigning for their drivers to be allowed to use the city's bus lanes.
Operators claim Hanley has become a 'no-go area' for private hire vehicles in the wake of recent changes to the road layout.
They are now asking Stoke-on-Trent City Council to review rules which allow Hackney carriages to use bus lanes but ban minicabs.
Dave Currie, regional secretary of the National Private Hire Association, is leading the campaign.
He said: "The people of Stoke-on-Trent are paying out £1 million a year in private hire fares that they would not need to pay if drivers were given access to the bus lanes.
"Since the road changes in Hanley the situation is even worse.
"At the moment they can only drop off and pick up on the outskirts of Hanley.
"If private hire could use the bus lanes it would mean revellers were cleared from the city centre more quickly late at night, and also reduce pollution.
"We've been banging this drum for a long time and I haven't heard one councillor say they don't think it's a good idea, yet the council will do nothing about it."
Mr Currie will meet members of the local authority's City Renewal Overview and Scrutiny Panel tomorrow – along with representatives from private hire firms – to ask for the situation to be reviewed.
Sue Riley, manager of Burslem-based Magnum taxis, will attend the meeting.
She said: "If people want to go into the centre of Hanley they either have to get the bus or a Hackney.
"All the time we have to say to customers, 'walk here' or 'walk there', and some of them really aren't mobile enough.
"The idea of private hire is you are taken door to door and you don't have to walk to a taxi rank in the first place. Since the road changes came in our base operators have a lot more hassle off people because we can't get to where they want to go.
"The situation is only going to get worse in the winter with the bad weather."
A report to the overview and scrutiny committee states that the issue was last considered by the council in October 2010, when the cabinet decided not to allow private hire vehicles to use bus lanes.
It adds: "There have been major changes to the road layout in the city centre, including proposals to better cater for private hire vehicles at night, and this needs time to settle down before considering any further changes."
The meeting starts at the Civic Centre at 10am.Read more: http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Pr ... z2fspgbPXo
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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