Taxi Driver Online

Motorists criticised for parking in town centre taxi rank 'all day' for free

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/burton ... re-3623926

Cabbie claims they are doing it to avoid paying for parking


Image: Kamran Hussein/Derby Telegraph

A taxi driver has criticised motorists who park up in a taxi rank in Burton.

Kamran Hussein, who works at Burton-based iCars taxi firm, has said a section of High Street near the junction with Meadowside Drive is is a taxi rank, and is marked on the road as a taxi rank.

However, he has been left frustrated at being unable to park up because vehicles which are not taxis park there.

He claims some of the cars are left there all day by motorists who work in town to avoid having to pay in nearby car parks.

Mr Hussein also says he has never seen any of the offending vehicles receive a ticket from traffic wardens for wrongly parking the rank.

He said: "It is an official taxi rank that gets used in the day and night but because of these people parking there for free all day taxi drivers are having to park on the double yellow lines or elsewhere.

"I have never seen them getting a ticket even once or twice.

"I asked the ticket officers and they do not seem to be bothered.

"I think the council should be interested in keeping the taxi ranks clear but they do not seem to be bothered which is affecting taxi drivers.

"These cars are parking there for a free of charge all day.

"It really is a shame."

Only public hire taxis are permitted to park in taxi ranks. Private hire taxis are not permitted to park on a taxi rank and if they do are subject to enforcement like any other vehicle.

It is against contravention code 45 for any vehicle (other than a taxi) to be parked in a taxi rank.

If they do so they will be issued a penalty charge notice.

Staffordshire County Council has been approached for comment.

East Staffordshire Borough Council is also looking into the matter.


Image: Kamran Hussein/Derby Telegraph

Burton taxi rank at centre of parking row should not even be there

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/burton ... ng-3636699

Cabbies have been left fuming

A controversial taxi rank at the centre of a parking row should not even be there, council bosses have admitted.

Markings in High Street, Burton, close to the junction with Meadowside Drive, say the section is a taxi rank.

Taxi driver Kamran Hussein contacted Burton Live about his frustration that vehicles which are not taxis are often left there all day.

But now Staffordshire County Council has revealed the markings were painted on by mistake after the road was resurfaced last year.

James Bailey, assistant director for highways at Staffordshire County Council explained that the road markings were incorrect.

He said: "Following resurfacing of the road last year, the incorrect markings and lines were put down on the road.

"Crews will be returning to the site in the near future and will be installing the appropriate markings."

After being asked what the rank will be turned into, Mr Bailey added: "We will be raising the matter with the local member for the area to identify the most appropriate option."

Mr Hussein claimed some cars were left on the stretch by motorists who work in town and wanted to avoid paying for parking.

He also said he had never seen the offending vehicles get tickets from traffic wardens.

Only public-hire taxis are permitted to park in taxi ranks.

Private-hire taxis are not permitted to park on a taxi rank and, if they do, are subject to penalties like any other vehicle.

really ?

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

Yep.

I would say many, if not most, of the officially approved taxi ranks in this country are painted up wrong. Quite often the wrong colour paint.

The DfT have a very detailed book that shows what size signs should be, and how they should be presented. If any taxi rank doesn't mirror the one in the DfT's book, then they can't be enforced, as no one sitting on them is committing an offence.

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IDFIMH

Not wholly clear whether it's just a markings issue, though, or whether the rank shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Initially I thought it was the latter, but you seem to think it's the former, so I had another quick skim through the piece.

The newspaper's headline and bit at the end about "what the rank should be turned into" suggest it should never have been there, while the middle part of the statement from the roads department (below) could be construed as it being a markings issue. But not 100% clear.

I don't think the trade would be getting itself in a tiss if there was never a rank there before the resurfacing.

Who knows if the markings adhere to this, but I can't see from the limited pictures any signs.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 1028x2.pdf

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IDFIMH

Looking at this on Street View it looks like the one painted up is a feeder rank.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Hig ... 6?hl=en-GB

There is some signage on the post on the main rank, but that wont apply to the feeder rank, if that's what it is.

Funny thing is the only cab parked up isn't on the main rank nor the feeder.

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IDFIMH

This is it in September last year, presumably before the resurfacing.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.80518 ... 312!8i6656

Certainly not a taxi rank then, and I suspect the rank markings were painted there in error instead of the standard limited stay parking box, but who knows?

Our posts must have crossed

Didn't notice the rank markings on the other side of the road, but that's presumably the source of the confusion.

Whether they maybe just painted the rank on the wrong side of the road, or the parking spaces opposite were intended to be a new feeder, isn't clear.

But the bit featured in the article certainly wasn't a rank or feeder before the resurfacing, by the looks of it

Actually, forget all that, the word 'TAXI' can be seen beside the middle car on my earlier link, it's just that it's faded and can't quite be seen from the angle I linked to.

But I couldn't zoom in enough to read the plate, and it's marked like a standard short-stay parking bay, so I assumed it wasn't a rank before the resurfacing.

So at a rough guess I'd say the yellow box makes it look more like a rank now, but whether the markings/signage are still insufficient or it was intended to get rid of the rank completely on that side, I don't know.

I give up

This is the link to where the 'TAXIS' marking can be seen.

Certainly otherwise looks like a standard parking bay rather than a taxi rank then, but who knows?

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.80527 ... 312!8i6656

Might be easier to sort Brexit.

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IDFIMH

Whether or not the rank should be there depends on the Traffic Regulation Order as well as TSGRD (Traffic signs regulations and general directions) signage being done correctly. If it's not a taxi rank listed in the TRO then it isn't a taxi rank, simple as that, despite what the markings say.