It would be funny if it didn't remind me of some stuff at our own ranks in Fife
Reminds me vaguely of that rank in Southampton, which had raised kerbs at both sides, so the design assumed that drivers would never need to leave the rank to do a pre-booked run, go home, or maybe do a negotiated long-distance run.
The problems here are different. But, for example, imagine someone with luggage, or pished, or just clumsy, walking down the row looking for a cab that will take them
And you could just about imagine random people walking down that narrow gap just as a wind up
Looks like it's all the fault of the trade, though, at least according to the council
Swindon's new taxi rank deemed unsafe and inaccessible by drivershttps://uk.news.yahoo.com/swindons-taxi ... 00807.html
A new taxi rank in Swindon is not accessible for disabled people, and is putting drivers and passengers at risk, say Hackney Carriage drivers.Andy Lucas uses the rank on Beales Close and said he and other drivers have lost a large proportion of their customers since it opened.
The taxi rank opened in conjunction with the new bus boulevard on Flemming Way, with the rank located next to the National Express stop.
“We were promised a fully accessible rank that met the provisions of the Equality Act for the Carriage of Disabled People,” said Mr Lucas.
The Equality Act states, in relation to disabled passengers, that taxi service providers must ‘make reasonable adjustments to enable users to access their services’, and ‘to provide reasonable mobility assistance to enable a passenger to get into and out of the vehicle with their mobility aids’.
But getting wheelchairs in and out of cars at this rank has proved difficult.
A metal structure has been placed near to the first taxi’s door, making it very difficult for wheelchairs to make it down a ramp.
Image: Newsquest/Swindon Advertiser“If the front car is correctly parked, right up to the line, you can’t actually drop the wheelchair ramp, so effectively, you’ve got to park up to and over the line with the wheels to be able to get the wheelchair in,” said Mr Lucas.
“You cannot do this job now, without actually breaking the law in some way. You’ve either got to refuse a wheelchair, which then potentially could come under discrimination, or you push the car forward and then you are in danger of it being illegally parked on a double yellow line.”
The bus shelter directly next to the taxi rank has also proved a problem for taxi drivers – there is not enough space for passengers to walk down the side of the rank, or open the taxi doors properly.
Image: Newsquest/Swindon AdvertiserFellow taxi driver John Stocker, said: “You cannot walk down the side with a case [or a wheelchair] to get into a taxi.
"There is no dropped curb until the very end of the taxi rank, right at the opposite side.
"This means that passengers run the risk of having to walk into the road when loading their vehicle, or else, walk all the way down to the opposite end.
“People have to run up the road, with possibly bikes and cars, to get a wheelchair into the back of one of the rear-loading vehicles."
It is not only the accessibility of the taxi rank that is the problem for the drivers; they feel that the rank is not adequately signposted.
“We are stuck behind a couple of bus shelters, and nobody can see where we are,” said Mr Lucas.
Having complained to the council, the drivers said they have not been satisfied with the response – only very minor adjustments have been made.
“It’s hard enough, life as a taxi driver. At the end of the day, they’ve lost us a rank,” said Mr Stocker.
A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said:
“The designs for the rank were put out to consultation before the project began. At the time, the taxi companies did not take the opportunity to comment.
“However, we have been working closely with the Taxi Forum to address their concerns and met with them recently. This includes adding additional signs and wayfinding to show the taxi rank.
“The Council works with taxi drivers through the Taxi Forum, if any driver has any concerns they should raise them through this channel.”
Image: Newsquest/Swindon Advertiser
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