Taxi Driver Online

Cabbies threaten strike action after vehicles damaged on 'narrow' taxi rank

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/st ... er-2054953

Customers are bashing taxi doors on concrete posts and seats on Newcastle-under-Lyme High Street


Image: Stoke Sentinel

Taxi drivers are threatening to go on strike after slamming the design of their town centre taxi rank.

They are complaining that Newcastle-under-Lyme's High Street rank is too narrow.

It means customers are bashing cab doors into new concrete posts and seats and damaging the vehicles.

Now Newcastle Hackney Carriage Association wants the taxi rank to be moved to Hassell Street.

Association vice-chairman Bashir Choudhry said: “Staffordshire County Council has moved the markings closer to the pavement which means the taxi rank is too narrow.

"Our cars are damaged by the street furniture, including lampposts, seating areas and benches, as people bang their doors on them. People sitting on the benches also kick our doors.

“We are totally fed up with this council. It is not interested in talking to us.”


Image: Stoke Sentinel

Fellow Hackney carriage driver Anwarul Ahli said: “If there is a delivery then people cannot get around and we struggle to get disabled people out of our vehicles.”

The association says it will go on strike if it does not get a meeting with the council.

Hackney carriage driver Muhammad Sidique said: “Hassell Street was convenient because there were no traffic jams. We don’t have space on High Street for queuing. It was also more convenient for older people who don’t want to walk all the way from the market to High Street. We had more business on Hassell Street.

“People are also parking here illegally all the time. They park here for the market as they don’t have anywhere else to park. We are losing business and our livelihood.


Image: Stoke Sentinel

County council bosses say moving the rank to Hassell Street is not possible because that has now been pedestrianised. A section of High Street - between Paradise Street and Hick Street - was closed earlier this year for pavement works which saw taxis diverted along Hassell Street.

County Councillor Helen Fisher, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “The taxi rank in High Street was installed in 2013 following consultation with the taxi drivers’ association and police. Hassell Street was pedestrianised as part of the recent town centre regeneration works so is not a viable location as a day-time taxi rank.”

Have I missed something?

Surely you would position the car so that the doors don't hit posts when customers open them?

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IDFIMH

looks to me as if it has been marked wrong should it not be a single wide yellow stripe ?

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

On the car, you mean? No, the stripes are white, not yellow

Didn't notice them at first, but never seen a colour code like that. Bet that's popular.

Can't work out if the stripes are better or worse than the white bonnets and boots, or whatever

Presumably, but if there's lots of obstacles and the cars are having to leave a lot of space, then that can result in quite a loss of rank space, which is no doubt at a premium anyway

And if it's anything like the ranks here then if there's a big gap opens up then punters won't cross the gap, so it pays cars to hang back, and thus if there's lots of obstacles on the rank in the article then it could all get a bit messy, particularly if drivers are using any excuse not to move so that they can grab a fare mid-rank

We have a parking meter on our main nightime rank which encroaches part of the way across the rank

Most cars straddle it because of the lack of space on the rank, and I've had a couple of close shaves with drunks flinging the doors open against the meter And it's a worry anyway, because you have to get quite close to the meter while moving up the rank

The occasional driver won't straddle the meter, so they don't have to worry about damage to their doors, and it also makes it more likely they can grab a fare mid-rank

So can sympathise with what the drivers in Staffs are saying, but suspect they're exaggerating the potential for damage

I thought that as well.

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Grandad,

I think if that happened I would either thump the driver, or leave the trade.

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IDFIMH