Taxi Driver Online

Batley Today

May 17, 2007

Taxi firms lift their evening estate ban

TAXI drivers are finally lifting a long-standing ban on visiting the Wilton Estate thanks to an increase in police attendance.

Birstall-based firms Town Cars, Oakwell Cars and Harrison Taxis have announced they are returning to the area in the evenings, following a meeting this week.

Arfan Aziz, a taxi driver with Town Cars, said: "We have sat down together and decided it was time to go back in.

"It's to do with the high visibility police presence.

"We've had a really good response from police."

The firms had imposed a ban on visiting the estate last year after a series of high-profile attacks on taxis.

But the ban left people living in Wilton unable to return to their homes by taxi after dark.

And it seemed vandals simply relocated to the Wilton Park area of Bradford Road.

As the News reported this month, Oakwell Cars taxi driver Nazir Mohammed was hit by a brick and his passenger was also injured in a spate of attacks on Bradford Road.

Mr Aziz said the ban had been unfair on the law-abiding majority of people living in Wilton.

"It's not the people in our cars making life a misery, it's the people outside," he said.

"At the end of the day we are providing a service and we have not been providing much of a service for people on the Wilton Estate.

"We've also been losing out ourselves."

He said the ban on entering the estate after 6pm was being lifted immediately.

"We can only try it out and see what happens," he said.

"If, in future, anything like this happens again, we would like people to point out those responsible so we can continue to visit Wilton."

Officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team welcomed the positive feedback from the taxi companies.

Chief Insp Jon Carter said: "We are pleased with the feedback and the community acknowledging the work that officers have been doing in the area.

"We shall continue to work closely with local people to ensure that their feeling of security continues to improve."

Insp Neil Money said: "We have arrested key offenders on the estate during the last 15 months and they are now in prison, which has obviously had an impact.

"While we appreciate that people are feeling more secure, we acknowledge that there is still more work to do, and our team will continue patrols in the area as well as putting into place measures to tackle anyone committing anti-social behaviour."
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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Why would taxi firms ban estates in the evening

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

I'm surprised they kept to the ban that long, if they really did.

As for he police presence, methinks that will last as long as the press's interest.

Maybe a month.

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IDFIMH

Personally i wish them luck then and hopefully no harm will come to them!

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Legal and proud

Loads a love from BERTIE !!