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| Black cab drivers threaten strike action http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=28109 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:18 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Black cab drivers threaten strike action |
Black cab drivers threaten strike action over plans to move taxi ranks in Hull BLACK cab drivers in Hull are threatening to go on strike following a fall-out with the council over taxi ranks. They say their livelihoods will be destroyed due to a planned move of the ranks as part of the UK City of Culture 2017 regeneration effort in the centre of Hull. The Hull Hackney Drivers Association (HHDA) will meet with Kerry Ryan, of the Highways Department, today to discuss their concerns. Alan Bradford, chairman of the HHDA, said the group feels betrayed by the council after being told of plans to remove the ranks in Ferensway and outside the Empress Pub in Alfred Gelder Street. He said: "We have been meeting with them for about a year to discuss the plans. "We thought we had an agreement, but now we have been told they want to take the ranks away outside the Empress Pub and in Ferensway. "It just seems like all they want to do is kill our trade off." The taxi rank by the Empress Pub could be moved to the Warren in Queen's Dock Avenue while the rank in Ferensway, outside House of Fraser, may be completely removed. Due to the planned changes, Mr Bradford said the city's 170 black cab drivers will be left with 14 taxi rank spaces in the city centre. By law, if a taxi rank is full, the driver must move on to another rank. "All it means is that the taxis will just be driving round and round in circles. "It's going to completely kill off our livelihoods. "If today's meeting with the council doesn't go some way to sorting that, we will be going on strike." He said, since receiving a letter from the council with the proposed changes, 120 of the 170 drivers have signed a petition to air the grievances. A further petition will also be circulated to the public, which they hope will give their views extra weight. Mr Bradford said that, originally, a car park in Alfred Gelder Street had been confirmed for the move of taxi ranks but, after review, the idea was scrapped. In addition to the shortage of spaces, Mr Bradford cited visibility as an issue. He said: "As taxi drivers, we need to be seen to pick people up. "The new location will mean we're tucked away from everything and that's really going to hurt us. "When people come to the city for the first time, taxi drivers will often be the first people someone sees, so the council has asked us to be 'brand representatives' for the City of Culture. "It doesn't feel like we're being treated that way at the moment." A council spokeswoman said discussions with the drivers had been going on for more than a year. She said: "We have been liaising with representatives of the Hull Hackney Drivers Association for over a year in order to discuss the relocation of taxi ranks as part of the city centre transformation project. "Any options identified to relocate the current rank outside the Empress pub will be reviewed in the coming weeks by representatives of the police, council and the association to ensure any future site is fit for purpose." Read more: http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Black-ca ... z3tFuHO3t8 |
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