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Ruined by fast lane
By Corinne McPartland
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David Samson wants taxi drivers to be able to use the Fastrack bus lanes NK6049
TAXI drivers have criticised Fastrack for not letting them use its "empty" bus lanes as traffic continues to drive down trade.
Hackney carriage drivers say they have seen business reduce since the £35m Fastrack bus service started in March.
Fastrack is a high-speed bus service which links Dartford and Gravesend though Bluewater shopping centre and Darent Valley Hospital.
Taxi driver Lorraine Golding, of East Hill, Dartford, says she has lost an estimated £10,000 in earnings since it started.
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She believes the drop is due to the extra traffic which has been created by the service.
"It has been terrible for us since the Fastrack bus service started.
"We get caught in jams at traffic lights which have been put up for the buses to go by.
"Also there is less room for traffic flow since the bus lanes have been put in."
Mrs Golding, who works for ASAP Taxis, based in Temple Hill Square, Dartford, said: "People don't want to pay to sit in traffic when they could just get on the Fastrack service and go straight through without stopping.
"I used to earn around £150-a-day before but now I'm lucky if I take home £80."
The 44-year-old claims buses hardly use the lanes during the day.
She said: "The buses only seem to run every 10 to 15 minutes between 7am and 10am and then start again at 3pm until about 8pm.
"If we can't use the lanes during the busy times, why can't we use them when they are empty?
"I really think if this goes on and we are not allowed to use the Fastrack lanes people will see an end to the traditional Hackney carriage."
Former Dartford Taxi Association member David Samson has been driving taxis in the area for 20 years and estimates a 20 per cent drop in trade since Fastrack started.
The 63-year-old, of Bramble Avenue, Bean, says the association disbanded on November 9 due to low morale among drivers.
He said: "We can't compete with Fastrack.
"There are around 150 taxi drivers in Dartford and all of them are losing out.
"If we could use the lanes then maybe we might have a chance to survive."
He added: "We are allowed to use the lanes from Station Approach to the bottom of East Hill, so why can't they allow it for the rest?"
But Fastrack, which celebrated its one millionth customer in October, say there is no chance of taxis ever using the bus lanes.
A spokesman said: "We only have one service called Route B using the lanes between Garrick Street in Gravesend, through to Dartford via Bluewater and Darent Valley Hospital.
"If we start letting taxis use the lanes they would block them up and then we would not have the fast, reliable service we have in place now."
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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