Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers will burn letters in station fee protest

TAXI drivers will be staging a protest today against a new permit scheme that will charge them £375 a year to pick up from Bristol Temple Meads.

First Great Western will introduce the charge in January despite objections from the trade.

So to show their disgust at the scheme, taxi drivers will gather at Temple Meads today to set fire to the permits.

Hackney drivers believe the permit scheme is just a money making exercise that lead will to long queues for passengers waiting to catch a cab.

Tim Lloyd, chair of National Taxi Association, said: "First Great Western have sent letters with a bill to be charged. As far as they are concerned we will be ejected from Temple Meads – there will be a great deal of problems. They say it's their land and for us to access it we need a permit.

"The city council legal team regard it as a highway so we cannot be charged for reasonable use. Access for a taxi is reasonable use, ingrained in law.

"We feel this letter is a way of intimidating drivers."

But First Great Western told the Evening Post the company was satisfied the proposal was within the law. The rail operator also says the charge is considerably less than it should be.

Spokesman Dan Panes said: "We've been negotiating since January but negotiations are not ongoing.

"Taxi drivers have raised a number of legal issues, not least the suggestion that the land is public land – which it is not.

"We are satisfied there is no legal objection to going forward. So from January 1 we will be charging £375 for a permit to ply their trade.

"That compares with £600 at Bristol Parkway and £600 at Bath Spa. It includes a reduction of 50 per cent because we recognise this is the first time we've asked them to do this.

"As it is busier than those other stations the going rate should be more like £750. That will stay until the end of our franchise in 2013."

First Great Western says the charge will help cut congestion.

The company is planning improvements to Station Approach Road, which it owns, and says part of the money raised from the permits would be used to improve the access and exit points onto the A4 main road.

Council spokeswoman Vicky O'Loughlin said the authority was aware of the plans and was exploring the legal issues.

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Taxi-dri ... story.html

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

So the cab trade has got to pay for the Station Approach road which is also used by members of the public when dropping people off?

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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Believe me, don't get Mercury X2

Didn't think he'd use his screen name

CC

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

The land is either public or private. It's not that hard to check with the land registry.

Of course if a rank can be moved onto agreed public land instead, then that would be good.

If not I wonder how long the workers will remain united?

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IDFIMH