Taxi Driver Online

Micro-local kind of stuff.

But I'm sure we can all identify with a lot of this, particularly those on the HC side who rely on taxi ranks for work.

And the usual blather from both sides. Of course, if personal experience is anything to go by, the official spiel may be hiding what is basically an attempt to sideline the trade in favour of public transport etc.

And the difficulties portrayed here for HC drivers may be partly due to other factors like cross-border competition, as per the other article from York recently. (Which I think was sourced from a different HCA.)


York taxi association calls for urgent action over Station Gateway

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/york-taxi-ass ... 00936.html

YORK City Taxi Association (YCTA) have called for urgent action from the council and other bodies over the construction of Station Gateway – which it says has "substantially" impacted York Hackney Drivers.

The Association is appealing to City of York Council, LNER, Network Rail and other transport partners to take "concrete" steps to support the city's taxi trade as the York Station Gateway development reaches its final stages.

Drivers said "years of disruption" surrounding York Railway Station had "significantly" affected their business.

The YCTA added that this was "placing further strain on an industry already battling rising costs" - with construction, changing traffic arrangements and "ongoing" congestion "negatively impacting" drivers.

Responding, Garry Taylor, director of city development at City of York Council said the authority had worked hard to minimise disruption as much as possible, including the addition of temporary signage to help people find the location of taxi pick up points in the area.

He added: "We have also tried to time the most disruptive works at quieter times and keep the amount of time the road is closed as low as possible."

The Station Gateway project is now in its third phase of road works this month.

These involve night-time closures of roads surrounding the station, which are being resurfaced and linked to cycle lanes.

Chair of YCTA, Arshad Mahmood, said: "York's taxi drivers have supported residents, visitors and businesses throughout the entire duration of these works, but the reality is that many drivers have paid a heavy financial price.

"For some, station work formed a significant part of their daily income and that business has been affected for an extended period."

Arshad and the YCTA said these challenges had come at a time when drivers were "already facing soaring operation costs" – including fuel, insurance, vehicle maintenance, licensing fees and financial repayments.

Arshad added: "We fully support improvements that enhance York's transport network and create a better gateway to our city.

"However, we believe that contribution and concerns of taxi drivers must be properly recognised.

"York's licensed taxi drivers are an essential part of the city's public transport network.

"We transport thousands of rail passengers every year, provide mobility for elderly and disabled residents, support York's night-time economy and play an important role in the visitor experience.

"As the project nears completion, we want to see practical and meaningful action.

"This includes ensuring clear signage for taxi facilities, improving passenger awareness of taxi locations, reducing unnecessary traffic bottlenecks and involving the taxi trade in future transport planning discussions."

The YCTA said the completion of the Station Gateway project presents an opportunity to "rebuild confidence and strengthen cooperation" between the taxi trade and local transport authorities.

Speaking about this, Garry Taylor said: "We are hugely grateful to everyone, including taxi drivers, for their patience while work to transform the area around York Station takes place.

"As we near the end of the highways works on the Station Gateway project, we are grateful for the comments from the York City Taxi Association as to the benefits and improvements to the city the changes are bringing.

"Our Project Team and stakeholder partners welcome further discussions with the York City Taxi Association, and other Taxi groups, to see what can be done to support their operations across the city and around the station as areas open up and future phases are planned."