Taxi Driver Online

Firms fighting over station taxi rank bid


Cabbies and private hire drivers are at loggerheads over whether Shipley railway station should have a hackney carriage rank.

Mehrban Khan, a member of the Bradford Hackney Carriage Association, thinks the facility would benefit disabled passengers – saying that 95 per cent of the districts hackney cabs are wheelchair-friendly.

But manager of taxi firm AA Shipley, Craig Brook, which has a contract to provide a taxi service at the station, said his company was more than capable of providing wheelchair access to customers.

In April 2012 Bradford Council’s Regulatory and Appeals Panel instructed officers to look into setting up a hackney carriage taxi stand at the station. Now, Mr Khan is questioning why it has not happened.

His frustration is shared by the deputy leader of Bradford Council Imran Hussain, who blamed Network Rail for the delay.

Coun Hussain said: “We have been pursuing Northern Rail to get taxi ranks at Shipley and Keighley stations for the past two years.

“The key issue for me is the gross unfairness for disabled people who are not able to access taxis at these stations. We are disappointed with the action from Northern Rail and will continue to lobby them about this issue.”

Mr Khan added: “Quite a lot of trains come through Shipley. People change there for Bradford, Bingley and Keighley and at the moment people have to phone for a taxi. We can be there all the time.

“It would be better for disabled people if they had that,” he said.

Mr Brook insists that disabled access is not an issue and that his drivers get to customers within about 20 seconds of being called from a free-phone line at the station. He said a hackney carriage rank would mean his drivers could not pick-up there, as private taxis are not allowed to drive into cab ranks.

“It would cause traffic chaos,” he said.

“We have four minibuses that have been made wheelchair accessible from our company alone and I know there’s a couple more.

“We’ve regular customers that use us to transport wheelchairs. It’s not a call we get often though just out of the blue.”

Mark Nicholson, the general manager of Disability Advice Bradford, which is based in Dockfield Road, Shipley, said a hackney carriage rank would be beneficial for all passengers, but that there was no issue with disabled people using private hire vehicles.

“Some of our clients that come to see us on Dockfield Road, do have to call for a taxi from the station, so to have any form of rank there for anyone – disabled, the elderly or otherwise, from a convenience point of view would be of great benefit,” he said.

He added that the quality of disability access across taxi firms throughout Bradford was extremely high.

Network Rail did not provide a comment.

source: http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/n ... _rank_bid/

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

That seems fair a Train Station without a rank,ph firm must have paid well

+1

time law put it foot down an educate that only public hire vehicle able to rank regardless

ph is private an a contract between customer and firm so ranking is by definition not allowed by any form of ph car

Who's saying those cars are ranking?

And what's the difference between a contract between a PH driver and the customer, and a taxi driver and the customer?

_________________
IDFIMH

it say the station are tendering which will be for a rank regardless

local ph has these ranks in hospital and supermarket

i just think it wrong an the loop must be the addition of the free phone but it still change ph into partial public hire imo

The difference is simple. The contract should be between the operator and the customer, not the driver.

Are they ranked or just parked.

TIN HAT ON..........

It is time all were given the right to rank and pick up off the street. no more PH /hackney just TAXI, better for the punters , any vehicle that has a plate should be able to stop and take a fare.
Time to stop discrimination , All doing the same job ,all it does is give arse whips jobs to police it , Councils would be able to do away with half there licening team if this was applyed.

TIN HAT ON ........ now for the flak.

If that was the case then why are we paying for liability insurance?

_________________
IDFIMH

ok i try not to flak you but.....

doing it that way will mean a city center full of touting cars an will also mean drivers fighting over fare

see nidge thread about asians ramming each other that is what this wood be on very large scale

it wood be bad enough if it happen ten year ago but with the trade full of do as i please types now you be reading about cabby stab cabby over fare row daily

wonder how many of the hackneys have done disability awareness and learnt how to strap in a wheel chair the right way.

_________________
Live life with a smile

Wonder how many private hire drivers have done the you must not tout test? hmmmm big fat ZERO.