Taxi Driver Online

Cabbie's parking ticket quashed amid claims taxi ranks are targeted



A BOROUGH taxi driver is celebrating after having a parking ticket - issued while he was parked in a taxi rank to pick up a disabled passenger - quashed.

Lee Denny, aged 46, who works for Solihull Radio Taxis, which specialises in transporting disabled people, parked his cab in a two-bay taxi rank in Mill Lane outside the House of Fraser store in Solihull on February 4 at about 12pm and left his vehicle to collect a customer.

When he returned he was outraged to discover he had been issued with a £35 parking ticket.

He was given 14 days to appeal but the ticket was cancelled by Solihull Council after Mr Denny contacted your Solihull Times yesterday.

Mr Denny, a Solihull resident who has clocked up 20 years experience as a taxi driver , said: “Obviously I am glad Solihull Council have dropped the matter but the issue still needs to be addressed.

“I still want to be able to park in a taxi rank and leave the taxi to collect a disabled person and not get a parking ticket. In all my years as a taxi driver, I have never experienced this before.”

Trevor Bloxham, co-director of A2B Radio Cars, based in Sterling Road, Monkspath, who runs a private hire car company, said his drivers had experienced problems with stopping to pick up passengers in Solihull town centre - being issued with parking tickets on three occasions.

He said: “There was one incident on October 27 last year where a driver had a call to pick up an elderly lady from a bank in Poplar Road and left his cab to help the lady outside and when he returned, he had a parking ticket. Later, after he challenged the council, it was cancelled. There have been similar cases in Drury Lane and Mill Lane too.”

“Solihull town centre is turning into a no-go area for private hire cars.”

Solihull Council said it would contact Mr Denny to inform him of the decision to cancel the ticket.

Councillor Ted Richards, cabinet member for transport, highways and infrastructure, said: “We have considered the grounds of Mr Denny’s appeal and will be cancelling the Penalty Charge Notice he was issued with.”

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

That happened to my driver,he also got of with paying parking ticket for parking on a rank.He said he was parking there so he could go and help a wheelchair passenger.But in truth he was doing his shopping.

So it was a PH car parked on a Hackney rank, too bloody right he should a ticket.

If it was PH.....why didnt the HC trade set fire to it?

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Is that what it's like up there?

We politely ask them to move first.

Not in Brum....no, but in fairness I think the vehicle from the original article was an HC

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

i had my parking ticket quashed from transport of london.

For dropping a w/c person off at kings cross stn. on a red double lines.

Silly an'it because i don't have one of those blue underground stickers in the windows

i told them you can see my plate on the postcard they sent me.

Possibly, I probably read it wrong.

I think he deserved the ticket, you should not leave your cab un attended on a rank.

_________________
stressed controller!!!

I would think that not only is this illegal, but, it is also criminal.

At at risk of having my head bitten clean off my shoulders I don't see any problem with PH dropping off in a taxi rank so long as they don't loiter. I know it is illegal for them to do so before everybody tells this, but I still can't see why it should be so. If that is where the customer wishes to be dropped off what exactly is the problem apart from the legality which of course could be changed

_________________
Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!