Taxi Driver Online

Nothing particularly new here in terms of insight into the legal and regulatory aspects. And certainly nothing about the plying for hire angle.


Winchester hackney drivers celebrate return to rank outside station

https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/ne ... e-station/


Image: Adele Bouchard/Hampshire Chronicle

INDEPENDENT taxi drivers in Winchester are “thankful” to be returning to the prime spots outside the railway station, after an eight-month “struggle” on the other side of the road.

As previously reported, hackney carriage drivers will be picking up passengers at their original taxi rank directly outside the railway station from March 1.

The independent drivers, which require no bookings, were forced to the opposite side of the road after Wintax, which has pre-booking only vehicles, purchased a four-year tender for the taxi rank from South Western Railway.

However, following eight months of disputing the decision the hackney drivers will be reclaiming the rank after Wintax agreed to a new deal.

The hackney drivers, who lost customers when they moved, are relieved to be going back to their original spots.


Image: Adele Bouchard/Hampshire Chronicle

Paul Jeneway, 74, who’s been a hackney driver in Winchester since 1972, said: “Being over here has affected our business massively. We have really struggled. The customers would go to the pre-booked taxis first because they were right there.

“I’ve lost quite a bit of business because of it. Regular customers got used to it eventually but visitors had no idea and wouldn’t come over here.

“I’m very very thankful that we’re going back over there. It should have never been allowed to happen. The taxi rank has always been for independent drivers ever since I’ve been here and that’s more than 30 years.

“When Covid happened a lot of drivers had to give the job up. There’s so much paying out in this job that we can’t afford to lose customers like this.”


Image: Adele Bouchard/Hampshire Chronicle

Waqas Ali, 39, who’s been an independent driver for 16 years, said: “It’s been awful over here, disastrous for us. It’s been really difficult for us and a problem for the passengers too as most of them didn’t know how to scan the QR codes for Wintax.

“It will be back to normal now which will be amazing for us. Hackneys should always be on the right side, we should be given priority.

“South Western Railway should have asked us drivers because we have been paying them for more than 25 years.”

Mohamed Babul Miah, 54, who’s been a driver for 17 years, said: “We’ve been fighting and we got the deal. We’re very happy and so are our customers.

“We’ve been having to drive all the way around the one-way system to use this temporary rank. It’s been very hard and very difficult for us and our customers. We couldn’t help elderly people who were on the other side struggling with their luggage. I just want to say a huge thanks to our customers we’re so grateful to be going back to our spots.”


Image: Adele Bouchard/Hampshire Chronicle

Matt Batten-Harris, an ecological contract from Fareham, aged 36, said: “If anything, all the drivers should be able to share. There is plenty of space and custom here so I don’t see why they can’t use it together. Competition is a good thing.

“In my experience, it’s only ever been the pre-booking taxi on this side and I haven’t had any issues. I’ll use whatever is closest so that will probably be the hackneys now.”

Richard Cordell, from Winchester, gets the train five days a week for work. He said: “I don’t mind what happens, it’s no problem to me. I just want whatever is easiest and with the least pollution, we need fewer idling engines.”

A spokesman for South Western Railway previously said: "We can confirm that, following feedback from our customers and colleagues, Hackney vehicles will provide taxi services for our customers at Winchester station from Friday, March 1."

So one minute he says 'competion is a good thing', next it's just whichever is closest

Sounds like convenience is what he's after, so surely it would be easier just to cross the road and get into an HC rather than go through the pre-booking rigmarole and finding the right car on the 'rank', or whatever.

But you get the distinct impression from it all that it really was just a PHV rank, effectively

(And what's an 'ecological contract' in terms of a person anyway )

Maybe one of those reps should thank those of us that know something about taxi licensing law, and whose rumblings may have made their way to those whose job it is to ensure those laws are adhered to.

Or just maybe they are mug enough to believe the station folks had a kind change of heart.

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IDFIMH

Well the newspaper certainly seems to think that it's all about 'common sense', Sussex, and again no mention of the legal angle in this leader column.

But, of course, it will suit all concerned to spin it rather than state the facts. I mean, for a start, assuming it was the legals wot done it, the HC trade, the railway company, the PH operator and the council all look a bit daft for letting it get to the stage it did, and all have egg on their face.

Thus better to make it sound like something other than the actual facts


Chronicle comment
Comment: Common sense prevails at Winchester railway station taxi rank

https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/ne ... taxi-rank/

Last summer the Chronicle reported the row at the railway station over the use of the taxi rank on the city side.

For decades it had been used by the hackney carriage drivers before the right to park was transferred to Wintax. The issue was that hackney carriages can be 'hailed in the street', passengers just get into the vehicle and away you go. Wintax vehicles have to be pre-booked, these days via smartphones and apps. The hackney cabs were pushed away from the forecourt further up Station Road to a shorter rank.

Some people, probably young people, might say 'so what?' But it caused confusion for many, especially as there little if any public consultation. Old people and the disabled are much less likely to have smartphones and to be familiar with how modern booking work. For the disabled the hackney rank was further away from the station.

So we welcome the news that South Western Railway has backtracked and handed the forecourt back to the hackney cabs. This how it should be. Change is not always good and in this case the previous set-up worked well.

The hackney drivers kicked up a fuss and the public reaction was such that South Western Railway felt it had to act. Whether financial reasons were a factor is unclear as that is confidential.

But as the spokesperson for Wintax refreshingly told us: "If they (the hackney drivers) are willing to put up this much of a fight we thought we should let them have it. They rely on picking up from the station and do not have the same luxury as we do as a company. We don’t need the train station, we are a very good and well-known company. With all the grief we have had it’s just not worth it.”

Alastair campbell would be proud

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

Join the campaign to get April fools jokes banned for 364 days a year !

I know, adhering to the law is such an onerous thing.

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