Taxi Driver Online

Fife taxi trade struggles to recover after new restrictions introduced

The St Andrews taxi trade has been dealt two new hammer blows as it seeks to recover from the Covid-19 lockdown.
By Jamie Callaghan

Taxi drivers in the town have criticised the latest lockdown measures, which impact on pubs and restaurants, as well as Fife Council’s Spaces for People changes, which has seen the Bell Street taxi rank cordoned off.

Davidson Taxi Transfers is £52,000 down on this time last year. It would normally make most of its money from taking international tourists and golfers from the airport to St Andrews.

“Nobody is making any money doing taxis at the moment,” a spokesperson said.

“With the new lockdown, that’s all over.

“The town has never come back to life since lockdown ended.”

Taxis would often make most of their money at the evenings and weekends. With fewer tourists in the town, that business has dropped.

A driver could expect to make £100 minimum on a Saturday night – last weekend, one driver made just £29.

The situation has been made worse by the new rules, which include a nationwide ban on pubs and restaurants serving alcohol indoors, and those without outdoor areas having to close at 6pm.

The Spaces for People scheme – which aims to create more room for pedestrians by using room usually used as parking spaces – has also hit business.

The Bell Street taxi rank is being used for extra walking space, but means that taxis are now having to parking up at a temporary rank on Greyfriars Garden.

“The council never consulted us,” the spokesperson said.

Nigel Snow, one of the taxi drivers for the Independent Taxis of St Andrews, which has six vehicles, said the new regulations have had a “big impact”.

“We’re down about 70 per cent on a normal year,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be survival mode. But we’re not the only ones in this situation – we’re linked to the hospitality industry. We need restaurants and hotels to be full.”

He added: “Moving the rank – it doesn’t work. The ranks are moving slow enough as it is. It’s going to have a massive impact.”

Mr Snow warned that a second full lockdown would be “another nail in the coffin” for the taxi trade in the town.

“It’s going to be a difficult few months through the winter,” he said.

“Some will survive, others will not.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

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IDFIMH

Sounds about right.

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IDFIMH

Well at least some reasonably favourable publicity, but where to start with it all...

But the photo they used was obviously taken during the day, if not evident by the daylight, then at least by the queue of traffic:



And I'd actually taken a photo of that A-board as well - nothing much in the grand scheme of things, but typical of some of the nonsense of it all

And took photo below about an hour ago, showing the temporary rank. Public just parking there as normal, as far as I can make out, which is maybe one reason I've seen maybe a maximum of three taxis on that rank.

And the taxi driver below just reversed back into the corner, because he knows that if he goes up to the front of the rank proper (beyond the private cars parked) then people won't see him or won't walk up anyway, and will take the back car.

So if he sits right on the corner, those problems disappear. But if another cab comes along, what do they do...take the space in front of him, in which case risking a kick off. Or go to where the front of the rank proper is, and maybe sit there all night without a single fare



But that's why I'm avoiding the temporary rank, and there's now cars ranking here, there and everywhere

things are not too clever everywhere except Notlem Yarbwom

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Spelling lesson for Sussex there

Two clever by half, in fact

Makes me think about having a Krop Eip.

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IDFIMH

I can hear the Brighton fans singing now "who eat all the pies" as they celebrate getting a point at palace

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Oh, I see - I didn't get Edders' joke first time round - obviously name recognition isn't my gig

So maybe nobody got my lame joke about the typo - it should be 'too' in the thread title, not 'to', and Edders spelt it correctly

But which was why I deliberately misspelt 'two clever by half'. Hilarious, eh?

Anyway, just thinking earlier that the *one* good thing about Covid and the local trade was that it was a bit easier to get a space on the rank, and to move up it without so much of the obstacle course of parked cars (both because there's fewer taxis around and there's less traffic around generally, obviously both because of lockdown).

In fact that's one of the few good things that's happened in the trade during my twenty years - I could write a book about the negatives

But, of course, not only have the council put a stop to this one good thing, they've gone and made it a whole lot worse

If everything is closed just about, why waist money on spaces for people, when nobody is about

wrong thread ?

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector