Taxi Driver Online

Cabbies’ feud over taxi rank

Frustrated hackney carriage drivers have had a Bradford Road rank reinstated after protesting that its closure was unfair. The rank, near Hick Lane, Batley, was closed in March after complaints that too many taxis were parking near the two-car rank.

Its location, in front of several bars and nightclubs, saw private hire cars competing with hackney carriages for customers on Bradford Road. This was resulting in fighting between drivers, with one hackney carriage driver being assaulted, the meeting heard.

Kirklees’ Licensing and Safety Committee has now agreed to reinstate the rank after Batley councillors objected to its closure. Coun Hanif Mayet (Lab, Batley East), said the rank should have never been closed. He said: “People coming out from the nightclubs, where are they going to get a taxi from? It’s best that the hackney carriages stay where they are.”

Idris Adam, of Kirklees’ Hackney Carriages Association, complained that private hire taxis were overcrowding the rank, resulting in hackney carriages not being seen by customers. He said: “We are on that specific spot because that is where our trade is. We need to be there 24 hours a day to pick up our customers.”

Association secretary Akooji Badat added that private firms should not “interfere” with the rank. Councillors agreed to reinstate the rank for six months, but said meetings between hackney carriages and private firms were needed to find a way to prevent future disputes and traffic problems.

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