4 Jan 2008
Yellow Cab Drivers Call For Access To All City Bus Lanes
Cab drivers are urging council bosses to let them drive in all city bus lanes
to speed up journey times.
Taxis are currently not allowed to use several bus lanes throughout the
city.
But drivers say they want to be able to use the routes so they can make
journeys faster and shorter for passengers, saving them time and money.
The application to use all bus lanes is being made by the city's Hackney
carriage drivers, whose cars can be hailed in the street, as opposed to
private hire cars, which can only be pre-booked.
Wayne Everly, manager of Yellow Cabs, which runs a Hackney service in
Derby, said being able to use all bus lanes would make a huge difference
to journey times.
"At the moment we can use some bus lanes but not all and there are some
key ones which would make a massive difference to journey times and
therefore costs to passengers as well," he said.
"Also, if we are stuck in traffic, the meter is still running so it is still costing
the passenger money.
"One lane which we would really like to be able to use is the one which
runs from the Wyvern to the West Meadows Industrial estate.
"At the moment if we go from the Wyvern to Chaddesden, we have to use
the A52 and can be stuck in traffic for ages.
"But if we could use the lane which runs to the industrial estate we could
save ourselves a lot of time, at least 10 minutes, which would be a saving
of £2 for the customer."
Cab drivers sent a request to Derby City Council's general licensing
committee calling for the changes.
The chairman of the committee, Councillor Hardial Dhamrait, said it was a
highway issue which the committee was not able to decide.
But he said he would be writing to the highways department urging them
to consider the proposal.
Mr Dhamrait said: "I think this is a good idea because a few taxis using
the lanes will not cause any disruption to the buses using the lanes and will
mean that drivers will be able to cut journey times, which could even pass
on savings to the customer.
"For example, if they were allowed to use the bus lane along the Phoenix
Street underpass, it could save about 70p on a journey from the centre of
the city out to Chester Green.
"It would be more economical and provide a faster service to customers."
Cabinet member for planning and highways, Councillor Ranjit Banwait,
said the council would not be making all bus lanes open to cabs as a
matter of course.
He said: "Where we can we try to accommodate Hackney carriages in bus
lanes but each lane has to be considered individually, taking into account a
range of factors such as the impact on the buses."
Source: Derby Telegraph
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