Anger as cabbies take over parking spaces at Temple Meads
Taxis using parking bays at Temple Meads railway station
PARKING for people picking up friends and relatives from Bristol Temple Meads station is being swamped by taxis, commuters say. The short-stay car park outside the station's main entrance is being filled up by taxis during busy periods, passengers say, leaving no space for paying customers.
Commuter Kate Beej told the Bristol Post she counted 21 blue hackney cabs parked in the short stay car park at 10.20am waiting for a space in the nearby rank, with only a few spaces left for paying customers.
She said: "I took pictures of Temple Meads customer car park at 10.20am. Twenty-one taxis were parked there and no new customers were able to park.
"What on earth do they think they're doing? I'm pretty sure it's against regulations."
The car park allows customers 20 minutes' free parking. Taxi driver Mike Power said that does not apply to hackney cab drivers, whose permits only allow them to wait in the designated ranks.
But Mr Power, who has been working as a taxi driver in the city for 13 years, said he believed the short-stay car park was the least of the problems at the station.
He said: "Of course it happens – but it's only for five or ten minutes a day.
"When big London trains come in there are always lots of taxis waiting, especially if the train is delayed by five or ten minutes, as there isn't enough space for all the taxis in the ranks so they do wait in the car park.
"But it soon clears. It's the least of the problems we have down here."
Colleague Ray Phillips, who has been a taxi driver in Bristol for 30 years, said: "We pay £450 for permits to work here, but there is not enough room for all the drivers.
"Sometimes drivers wait in the car park but it's only ever during the busy time, from about 9.45am until 11am. There are always enough passengers for the amount of taxis waiting, so we are just trying to provide a service."
Both drivers added that there was still a problem with taxi drivers from outside of the city coming in illegally to pick up work, as previously reported by the Post.
Mr Power added: "The problem is getting worse. More and more drivers from outside Bristol are coming in, and they don't have to abide by the same rules we do. People just see a taxi sign and presume they can operate here and be flagged down but that's not the case."
Fellow driver Tim Lloyd, 53, said the problems at the station would continue to worsen if the council didn't put a cap on the number of drivers obtaining permits to operate at the station.
He said: "The problem is there are far too many permits for the amount of spaces in the ranks.
"But everyone has paid for their permits and so wants to come at the busiest times to get the most business, which sometimes means waiting in the parking bays.
"Sometimes we are moved on, and of course we then abide by that. But the demand is there, so it's a case of just waiting for a couple of minutes."
A spokeswoman for Network Rail, which owns the car park, said the company was aware of the problem.
She said: "We own the car park but employ a contractor to run it for us.
"We have terms and conditions that the taxi drivers have to sign up to when they apply for a permit to be on the premises.
"These terms and conditions include the fact that they are only allowed to park in the designated taxi rank area.
"If it is full, they have to leave the station until space becomes available in the rank.
"As part of our agreement with our contractor, a member of their staff is assigned to manage the taxi rank and ensure they adhere to this rule.
"We are aware that on occasion some taxi drivers do not and so we are working with our contractors to take action against these drivers."
Read more:
http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Anger-cabb ... z3IvuLFZBF
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