Taxi Driver Online

I WAS in a black cab returning from the vet with a spayed bitch on my lap, wishing I had a bike trailer to tow the dog in. We were discussing the roads, as you do. The cabbie was no happier than I am about the fact that private hire vehicles - minicabs - will soon be allowed to use Oxford's bus lanes. He predicted a lot more accidents. I didn't disagree.

Just when you think it's safe to go out on yer bike again, the jungle gets denser. At the moment, Oxford's 100 black cabs are allowed in bus lanes, as are bikes. The city's 350-plus private hire vehicles (PHVs) are not allowed in bus lanes. Perceiving unfair competition, PHV drivers campaigned for nine years for permission to use bus lanes - and won. The council had been concerned about the effects of an increase in traffic within bus lanes on cyclists and buses, but a traffic survey last November apparently said there would be no harmful effects. Honest.

There are lots of reasons private hire vehicles should NOT be allowed in bus lanes. The main reason is the lanes were installed specifically to give buses the edge over other traffic and to attract customers to public transport and bikes.

advertisementI don't know why black cabs were ever allowed in them, but they were. But to permit potentially thousands of extra PHV journeys daily in bus lanes is crazy.

PHVs in bus lanes will mean a lot of dangerous manoeuvres as they weave in and out of the main traffic to pass buses and cyclists. Cyclists who cycle too closely to the kerb (don't do it!) can expect to have minicabs brush past them at speed. While cyclists may not have noticed the odd black cab in a bus lane, we sure as hell will notice the sheer volume of PHVs.

What next? Why not let motorbikes use bus lanes? They're always in a hurry. Or will delivery drivers now campaign to have access to bus lanes? It'd make as much sense as letting minicabs in. The only good news is that the PHVs in bus lanes gaffe is just for a year's trial. The council giveth and the council taketh away. Fingers crossed, they taketh away in a year's time.

To take the sting out of the bus lane fiasco, the council has this year taken huge steps towards making Oxford a better place to cycle. Cyclists are elated about the council's widely-reported bid for a special £4m grant to boost cycling. Bravo! If successful, Oxford will be able to boost its cycle journeys to north European levels. The council wants "to achieve the highest level of cycling in the country" no less.

Watch out for my new column. No longer "the view from the gutter" (although I do rather like that) but "the view from the cycle superhighway in the sky". The council plans to massively upgrade cycle parking facilities. Spot on. There is talk of training, and the proposal for a Paris-style cycle hire system. It also proposes to join up the holes and blackspots in the city's cycle route network.

Good job about the cycle routes. We're gonna need 'em if the bus lanes are full of private hire vehicles.

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Mick Hildreth (07814 032002)
GMB PDB P39 Southern Region Branch Secretary
mick.hildreth@gmbtaxis.org.uk
www.gmbpdb.org.uk

Cyclists shouldn't be allowed on the road unless they have insurance..... they're capable of causing damage to vehicles.... and recently one cyclist was prosecuted for killing a pedestrian..... insurance is something they should have.....

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Don't tar us all with the same brush Mr T.

I cycle regularly, in fact I was out and about today in London on 2 wheels, opposed to the taxi.

How many folks were killed in vehicle related incidents last year? 3700? a little more? Cycle related deaths run at about 1-3 a year.
How many thousands of those cars that are involved in RTA's have no Insurance? That's the main priority.

I have nothing Again cyclists..... it a good way of keeping fit.... but they do need to be insured....... every time a cyclist is involved in a accident with a motor vehicle and they go to court.... they will always win.... because the car has insurance..... and they don't..... so the courts play safe and award damages to the cyclist.......

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Because you daft tw** those cabs are full of people who don't want to go three times around the world to get from A to B.

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IDFIMH

In London pedestrians cause as much damage to vehicles as cyclists do. Where do we draw the line for Insurance?

We have had a very big and sometimes heated discussion on another forum that I use regarding cyclists insurance or shall I say lack of. You can be rest assured that if one of them runs into your Black Cab you are not going to be best pleased, yes sue them but if they have not got two pennies to scratch their proverbial with then you are going to be seriously out of pocket.

One other thing, people seem to fall into the trap of quoting stats re deaths between cyclists and peds, please remember no matter how small it comes up, it was one that was avoidable and one too many.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

I wasn't best pleased when a drunk ran out, collided with the front nearside mirror, and ran on into the night, but that's life.

If you go along with that train of thought, then why should anyone carry any insurance whatsoever. To go a little bit into the silly season we rarely have deaths because of accidental collisions between peds on peds, but we do with cyclists who want to ride on the roads pavements and anything else that will support their lack of consideration for others.

You are always going to be able to throw up instances whereby damage is caused to your/my car, but what I and many others are talking about is damage limitation i.e insurance. I am responsible enough to have I think adequate insurance, why should my life and that of my family be wrecked because someone else is too irresponsible.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.