Taxi Driver Online

December 19, 2007 Wednesday

New taxi rank will be trialled

Watford Observer

A new taxi rank will be trialled in the town centre in January.

Watford Borough Council will trial the new rank between January 8 and February 4.

A part of the ground floor of the Gade multi-story car park will be changed into a night time taxi rank operating from 11pm to 3am on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Funded by a £5,000 grant from Hertfordshire County Council's Partnership Alcohol Fund, the scheme has the support of The Harlequin shopping centre (who operate Gade car park), police, Watford Hackney Carriage Drivers Association and Watford Town Centre Pubwatch.

Three taxi marshals will be on duty each night, to ensure that intending passengers form an orderly queue for waiting taxis.

Passengers who are excessively drunk, eating, smoking, do not have the correct fare or do not know their destination will be refused service.

The experiment is designed to take some off the pressure from the main Rickmansworth Road rank, which suffers from large numbers of passengers and vehicles trying to use one small area at once.

The Gade taxi rank will double the number of taxis that can wait, with passengers being able to queue in safety monitored by the marshals and CCTV cameras.

Temporary signage will be installed during the trial, and leaflets are being distributed through town centre pubs and clubs.

What do you think of the proposed location for the new taxi rank?

To share your views on this story, fill out the form below.
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I just wish the governments in England and Scotland would make it compulsory to take the first taxi from any rank.
FFs all the cabs in there areas are the same price this would stop folk from trying to stop cabs in the middle of the road like they do in the Borders while trying to get to the front

Compulsory for who? the customers who have the right to choose!!.

I walk past some driver's on the rank because they or their cars are often dirty/smelly and their standard of driving is abysmal.

Others working the same rank are clean, pleasant with customers and drive in a sensible manner, that is why they get my custom ( including the return booking when required).

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you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Not all taxis are the same price in any area. They may have the meters set at the same rates but they don't all charge the same price.

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Grandad,

Well what is your taxi inspector for, take down the plate numbers and complain, if the drivers dont conform to your high standards get rid of them

grandad wrote: Not all taxis are the same price in any area. They may have the meters set at the same rates but they don't all charge the same price.


Fooking tell me about it!!!

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Why don't you get a proper job???

Well if the driver could not pick up until he was at the front this would soon stop, If the punter wants a particular cab from the rank they should either wait until its at the front, or call it off

Exactly which planet do you come from?

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Grandad,

Not yours anyway it must be fecking boring talking to yourself

I would get the right hump if a car behind undercut me, or took a fare outside of his turn.

And if a driver ever did that to me without reason, then he will made well aware of the errors of his way.

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IDFIMH

Where I used to be in Colchester it was strictly a case of first car on the rank got the next job which IMO is the way it should be.


Where I am now the schmucks would cut your throat for a fare!

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Why don't you get a proper job???

Or just ring the local friendly PH firm at get them to pick you up

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you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

I agree that punters should take the next taxi on the rank but if the punter has a preference for a particular company they will just go to that taxi. Now in some areas drivers on here say they have to wait over an hour for a fare so is this punter expected to wait that length of time for the taxi they want to get to the front of the rank? Coz that isn't going to happen. I doubt that anyone could force a punter to use a taxi they didn't want to use.

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Grandad,

If a punter wants a choice then he should ring for a car.

I can't think of many things that would cause more grief at ranks than allowing punters to by-pass the ranking system.

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IDFIMH

Maybe it's just round my way then but punters choose which car they like. Front of the rank, back of the rank or middle of the rank.

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Grandad,