I'm rather pleased the whole thing is a shambles,The stations got what it's owners deserve...CHAOS!!
The place worked just fine for all and sundry before the tinkering.
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| Number of Waverley’s taxis cut in half http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23859 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Fri Jan 31, 2014 2:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Number of Waverley’s taxis cut in half |
Number of Waverley’s taxis cut in half STATION bosses sparked fury today as they slashed the number of taxis allowed into Waverley and told passengers to walk to the street to catch a cab. Taxi permits for the Capital’s main railway station are being cut from 200 to 100 in a move which rail chiefs say should help tackle the congestion caused by new anti-terrorism barriers. But city transport convener Lesley Hinds said passengers with heavy luggage, elderly people and parents with small children and buggies could not be expected to walk up to Waverley Bridge to find a taxi. And she said she was seeking an urgent meeting with Network Rail. The new security measures at the station have caused traffic chaos around Waverley Bridge. Cabs are held up as they are forced to negotiate two barriers one by one, resulting in long queues. Network Rail said reducing the number of vehicles will stop tailbacks – often spanning the full length of the 250ft ramp. The company insisted there should still be enough taxis to meet demand. A spokesman said: “A majority of people should be capable of getting a taxi at street level at the rank on Waverley Bridge.” But one taxi driver, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s not the cars that are an issue, it’s the barriers. The whole thing is a shambles. “If they reduce the number of permits and cars going into the station, how are they going to service their customers? Bearing in mind that a week tomorrow you have got England here for the Calcutta Cup, they’ll have a queue of thousands and that’s just the test run before the Festival’s on.” Councillor Hinds said there were no lifts to Waverley Bridge, meaning the ramp was the only way for people to reach the taxi rank there. She said: “It’s not an option for a lot of people to walk up there. You have people with suitcases, children and buggies, and elderly people.” And she questioned what effect the reduction in permits would have. “Does it mean massive queues of people to get a taxi, which we have had in the past?” She said there were plans for a taxi rank at Market Street but Network Rail had introduced the new measures before that was in place. She said: “This should all be about people who live and work in this city and people coming to visit getting the best possible service. I’m asking for an urgent meeting with Network Rail to see how we take this forward.” source: http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/n ... -1-3288861 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Number of Waverley’s taxis cut in half |
Fears taxis may boycott Waverley over barriers TAXI chaos caused by Waverley’s new security system will lead to cab drivers boycotting the station, a taxi boss has warned. Cuts in the number of taxis allowed into the Capital’s main station and congestion caused by the anti-terrorism barriers are predicted to cause a taxi drought at the rank inside the station. Tony Kenmuir, pictured, director of Central Taxis, said drivers paying £1800-a-year for the privilege of servicing the station will decide it is not worth the money and hand back their permits. He said: “It’s an incredible amount of money people are paying for permits – £5 a day or £1800 a year to go and pick someone up from the rank. “We’ve always said that if they’re going to restrict traffic at all then they should forget having a rank inside the station, it’s just not viable as it can’t be serviced. “There’s going to be a big queue and no taxis so people will leave the station and get their taxis from outside – from drivers who haven’t paid for the permits. “Why on earth would 100 guys give them £1800 when the majority of people are going to be getting taxis from outside? I predict what will happen is people will start to give the permits back and there’ll be even fewer taxis inside the station.” Taxi permits are being cut from 200 to 100 in a move which rail chiefs say should help tackle congestion problems. The traffic snarling problems stem from the newly operational anti-terror barriers. Because of their restrictive nature, long queues of taxis have been forming. We told yesterday how rail chiefs were responding to scenes of chaos by telling passengers to walk to Waverley Bridge to hail cabs. However Mr Kenmuir said the delays are not just inconvenient and are costing drivers in terms of petrol and lost time – if they were queuing to get in with an empty cab. “While you’re empty and your wheels aren’t turning you’re not making any money,” he said. He said they had written to customers warning they could not guarantee being able to drop them off or pick them up from inside the station. It advises them their meeting point is now in Market Street, below North Bridge. Raymond Davidson, secretary of the Edinburgh Taxi Association, agreed cabs would stop driving in if they could pick up the same fares from outside. He said: “If everyone starts walking out to the street entrances then taxi drivers are going to sit there, so why go in? “The real problem will come next weekend when Six Nations supporters start coming up by train, arriving in their hundreds. There’s going to be major problems. I hope they do away with them for the weekend – that’s certainly what I’d suggest.” City transport convener Lesley Hinds said the council is designing new taxi ranks for outside the station. She said: “We were working very productively with Network Rail on plans to make sure access to Waverley station was properly managed once the barriers became operational, but unfortunately their decision to start using the barriers without sufficient advance notice has created a number of otherwise avoidable problems.” A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Whether or not taxi drivers wish to use the new system is a commercial decision for them.” http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/n ... -1-3289892 |
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| Author: | bloodnock [ Sat Feb 01, 2014 7:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Number of Waverley’s taxis cut in half |
I'm rather pleased the whole thing is a shambles,The stations got what it's owners deserve...CHAOS!! The place worked just fine for all and sundry before the tinkering. |
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| Author: | skippy41 [ Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:46 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Number of Waverley’s taxis cut in half |
They are fecking idiots for paying for a permit in the first place, if they had said no, the public would have brought the station to its knees and they would have had to let all taxis in, for free, just like at all Londons central stations |
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