Taxi Driver Online

New Street braced for 'taxi wars'

BIRMINGHAM'S New Street Station could be hit by "taxi wars" with council chiefs set to let any hackney carriage pick up passengers there. Currently only up to 1,000 members of the Birmingham and Solihull Taxi Association can use the lucrative New Street ranks, which cater for 135,000 passengers per day.

But from July 31, all hackney carriages licensed in Birmingham - about 1,600 - will be able to use it. Network Rail is aiming to install a barrier when drivers will swipe a card to be allowed in. Each entry will cost 20p, which will be added onto the taxi fare.

The B&S Taxi Association today predicted gridlock, with potential flashpoints between rival drivers. Secretary Mike Shingler said: "It could be chaos. They already queue out onto the street and it will only get worse, especially if there is a barrier to further slow things down. "It will cost the passenger more and if there are traffic problems, how can they evacuate the place quickly enough if there is an emergency?"

In the past, police have been called to confrontations between drivers around the station area. Ron Pearson, a cab driver with the Transport and General Workers Union, said he had been pushing for the change. He said: "They have controlled the ranks for a long time so it is good that everyone else can have a chance."

Jackie Kennedy, head of trading standards and licensing at Birmingham City Council said: "The extra 20p for passengers will mean an improved service and there will be more taxis. "Plus if a taxi picks a person up and there is a problem, then we will be able to trace which cab this was."

A spokesman for Network Rail, which runs the station, said: "The taxi association pays £20,000 each year and we hope to bring in more than ten times that, which will be ploughed back into rail improvements." The change is set to be rubber stamped at the Licensing Committee meeting next Wednesday.

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IDFIMH

Exactly Mr Pearson, exactly.

Yet another honorary member of the 'TDO Hall of Fame'.

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IDFIMH

Like London, any Taxi should be able to ply for hire at any station.

Don't like this 'one firm covers all' lark.

Mind you the turn around at the London termini (?) would dictate no single company, Taxi's or miniscabs (oops) could cover the volume of work generated there. (except Jan!)

Maybe they could share the spoils, one LPH firm doing one terminal, one doing another.

Just a thought.

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IDFIMH

it must be spreading.
first Brighton station is going to allow all cabs to pick up there. and now the same in Birmingham.
one question though.
how can the T&G say one thing in birmingham and another in Brighton.

[quote="Sussex"]New Street braced for 'taxi wars'

BIRMINGHAM'S New Street Station could be hit by "taxi wars" with council chiefs set to let any hackney carriage pick up passengers there.
Each entry will cost 20p, which will be added onto the taxi fare.




Jackie Kennedy, head of trading standards and licensing at Birmingham City Council said: "The extra 20p for passengers will mean an improved service and there will be more taxis. "Plus if a taxi picks a person up and there is a problem, then we will be able to trace which cab this was."

A spokesman for Network Rail, which runs the station, said: "The taxi association pays £20,000 each year and we hope to bring in more than ten times that, which will be ploughed back into rail improvements." quote]

Entry costs 20p, once the council approve of adding the 20p to the fare
whats to stop the railway operators of upping the price, we all remember when it was £80 per year to gain access to rail stations to ply for hire not to long ago, then it crept to £365, now near £500
20p this year how much next year, heard rumours they want eventually £1 per job out of it, you wait and see, it's ok, you can add it on the fare, I think the railways are trying to work on the Tesco system, ie. out of every £8 spent in UK, £1 is spent at Tescos

Network Rail run all railway stations don't they, then franchise them out to operators, greedy b@st@rds, taking money of hard working taxi drivers,especially when a large % are not rail passengers, just people off the street going for a taxi at the railway rank after a night in the town, sorry but the railways make my blood boil, whats next on the cards a charge for bringing customers into the station, no wonder some of the drivers at York station charge tarrif 2 to run out on a day time out of the station rank to try and get their money back, they can't even charge for luggage and or extra passengers in the taxi

quote "Plus if a taxi picks a person up and there is a problem, then we will be able to trace which cab this was." unquote
how, are they going to take down names and adresses

sorry but railway station ranks are a sore point with me

Of all the ways that stations charge I think this is the best way, in that the customer pays. And if the local trade use their loafs then they can put the blame fairly and squarely on the station folk.

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IDFIMH

If station congestion by taxis is a problem then a charge could help solve this, but clearly not by passing it on to the customer - if there were less taxis because of the charge then it would pay for itself.

I would certainly prefer that to the historic Brighton arrangement, since that was really just a version of the plate premium scenario.

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

The barrier system is by far the best. Here in Manchester we have experienced both permits and barriers and without doubt the Barrier is more user friendly to cab drivers. The method used makes no difference to punters except that it may take a few seconds longer to exit the barrier than under normal circumstances and they have to pay the 20p charge.

A barrier system does away with restrictive permit practices and they should be implemented in every Railway Station that uses a payment method.

No individual hackney carriage driver should be excluded from plying for hire on a Station forecourt, the barrier system gives everyone the same status.

Regards

JD