Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers strike in protest against nightbus



TAXI drivers in Camberley town centre went on strike on Friday night in protest at the new nightbus which has been introduced at weekends.

The drivers claim that the bus will ruin their livelihood by taking income away from them on their busiest nights, and they warn that further action will be taken if their views are not heard.

The nightbus was launched last weekend by the Safer Surrey Heath Partnership, including the borough and county councils and the police, in order to clear the town centre of people as quickly as possible to avoid trouble.

It runs every half-hour between 10.45pm and 2.45am on Friday and Saturday nights and takes passengers from Camberley to outlying areas such as Frimley, Mytchett, Lightwater, Bagshot and Farnborough.

The single-deck buses are run by Centra and a fixed fare of £2 or £3 is operated regard-less of the distance travelled.

But a spokesman for the Surrey Heath Taxi Drivers Association, who did not wish to be named, said it had never been consulted about the new service and are furious at the effect it will have on their business.

He added: “We withdrew our services on Friday night between 11pm and 3am in protest at the nightbus.

“The bus service will take a good percentage of our earnings. The association called the strike on Friday and 95–97% of our drivers turned out on our busiest night.”

He said the nightbus was not a safe alternative to licensed taxis and for groups of people travelling together it would be more expensive.

“On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve the bus is going to be free but it only goes once every half hour which means that the groups of people waiting around will be even bigger than usual. It will cause more trouble than waiting for taxis,” he said.

Ch Insp Mark Adams defended the nightbus but admitted it would cause problems if taxi drivers voted to strike again.

“If they don’t provide a service it will have an impact on the town centre because there will be one less option for people to disperse at the end of the night,” he said.

He stressed that the bus is safe and said that two police officers had been on the buses over the first weekend.

For the future a rota has been drawn up with town centre pubs for them to provide door staff as security.

He added that the nightbus had been brought in to take up the shortfall of taxi availability in the town centre at weekends and said the drivers should see it as complementary to their service.

Ch Insp Adams said: “The taxis perform a vital service for the town centre. They should not see the nightbus as competition.”

But the taxi drivers association spokesman said: “The only time the town is short of taxis is at 12am when the pubs kick out and even then people only have to wait about 15 minutes.” He criticised the police for not keeping the second taxi rank in the High Street clear, saying this prevented them having more taxis waiting in the town centre. He said: “We don’t want to cause any trouble but we do want our views to be noticed.

“I could lose my livelihood. Friday and Saturday nights are my only real income and if they get the support they want for the nightbus then I will be really struggling after a month.

“There will be more action taken. Either we will flood the town with taxis or we will be striking again.”

source: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-n ... st-4847489

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

Knee jerk reaction.

What they have really done is force people onto the night bus, many of whom wouldn't have dreamed of using it.

_________________

http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

They had to do something, and it might have put more people on the buses those nights, but sitting around watching your trade disappear isn't something they or me think is on.

I'm not happy with the police and others riding on the bus to prevent trouble, maybe if they supplied taxi marshals that would be a better use of resources.

What the police don't understand, or choose to ignore, is the problem people have when they get off the bus and have to walk the rest of the way home.

Let's home no vulnerable lady pays the price.

_________________
IDFIMH

We have night buses, not very popular to be honest but time will tell. Are these buses subsidised?

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

nice to see the investigation of the journalist is based on solid facts

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

Perhaps there are differing fares depending on what time you use the bus

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

perhaps they should explain that in the article without me and you having to guess?

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

Perhaps they didn't think it would come under scrutiny

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

maybe - but its a sloppy piece

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

Around here we heard all the same bs when the night buses started.
They aren't very popular and tend to attract the worst punters that you probably wouldn't want.
Are they subsidised? I have no idea. Perhaps an FOI to the council concerned would clarify?
Think they must be, since they run sometimes with only a handful of people aboard.
Cops on the buses will only last until someone decides it's a waste of police resources.

TBH Sussex, I don't see how your anti-restriction views can sit comfortably with your views on this.
Surely the bus company should have a right to compete in a free market, just as we should have?

_________________

http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

It's only free market competition if none of the above providers are susidised otherwise we might as well all join the community transport not for profit scam

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

It doesn't matter if they're directly subsidised or not - the way the system works is that somewhere down the line the bus company will profit - probably from a profitable route or suchlike.

Its a very fair point in respect of the rozzers being on the buses - because as soon as people queried their presence on our night buses and the rozzers left - the bus drivers refused to work.

The obvious point is that picking up the sh*t matters if your a bus driver - but as cab drivers we aren't really given a choice - although personally - I look forward to the day my one real nightshift will end.

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

They will be,

They won't be doing the rural routes or going onto the estates so I wouldn't worry about them losing trade. A Taxi provides a door to door service, the only people who will be using these buses are the ones who live on the main bus routes or just off them.

If they charge £3.50 per person X 4 or 5 do the maths it would be cheaper to book a cab.

They might take a little hit in the first few weeks then, people will go back to using the cabs when they realise how far the buses drop them off from home.

Night buses IMO are Councils shifting the problem from one Council to another.

We've had instances round here where people have gotten off the night buses in the adjoining district and started fighting in residential areas.

CCTV had to be installed on the buses before they could run round here.

Well I do.

There is a massive difference between wanting open access to everyone who is 'fit and proper' to operate a 'fit and proper' vehicle, and not wanting customers to go elsewhere for their home bound services.

And is it a free market when buses are subsidised by the council, the fuel is subsidised by the government, and it appears the buses are being protected for free by the police?

_________________
IDFIMH