National Taxi Association

CAB drivers are furious about plans to give Manchester United control over traffic on the road running past the Old Trafford stadium.

If council chiefs approve the proposal, Sir Matt Busby Way – which runs right past the main entrance to Old Trafford – is to be blocked to all motorised traffic between Railway Road and United Road, except for fans driving into the club’s two paid car parks.

Cab drivers fear that giving United control over the road lead to the club charging them for access to taxi ranks outside the ground.

The plans will also cut access for drivers, who want to travel past the stadium between Trafford Park Road and Chester Road.

A closed council meeting discussed the proposals just before Christmas.

It was argued that the plan was still just in its very early stages. But documents seen by Messenger say that the plan could be implemented as early as February.

Paul Brent, a Trafford-based cabbie and chairman of the National Taxi Association, said: “We fought for years to get a decent taxi rank in there. The minute they put that behind closed barriers, they have control over everything.”

But David Acton, councillor for the area and leader of the opposition on Trafford Council, said he could not see a problem with the proposals, as long as a proper consultation took place.

“You have to think about the safety of people,” he said. “There are legitimate reasons for it to be blocked off. It’s a bit similar to a town centre with a lot of pedestrians. There are routes around, and they have a big gyratory up the road.”

No-one from Manchester United was available for comment.

source: http://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/

TAXI drivers have welcomed the opening of two new taxi ranks in Colchester, having called for the new facilities for three decades.

But the new chairman of Colchester Hackney Carriage Association, Tony Saunders, says it will take a while for members of the public to realise they are not allowed to park there.

And he said an initial period of leniency from traffic wardens, on the request of Colchester Council, while the message got round, would soon end.

“People are still parking on the new one in Head Street, by Sir Isaac’s Walk, and for the most part they are saying they did not realise, but there are signs up now,” said Mr Saunders.

“The traffic wardens are giving them a couple of weeks grace and then anyone using it will get a ticket.”

Along with the new rank in Head Street, another, for the night time, has been created in Queen Street.

This is a loading bay during the day and becomes a taxi rank after 6pm. The proposal for the ranks was put forward by Colchester Council’s licensing committee and then investigated at county level.

Chairman of the committee, Barrie Cook, had put the idea forward 18 months ago and permission was officially given in August last year.

Mr Saunders said it would take a while before taxi drivers began to use it as regularly as the ones in the High Street or North Station, but it was good news.

He added: “They just think about where the main business is, but I think after a while the ranks will take off. People on a night out will be grateful.”

source: http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/

Trowbridge disabled driver hits out at fine

source: http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/4841135.Trowbridge_disabled_driver_hits_out_at_fine/

A disabled man has criticised the lack of consideration for disabled people in Trowbridge after being fined for parking in an empty taxi rank.

Neil Gumm, 40, of Westfield Road, suffers from cerebral palsy and is not able to walk more than a few yards without resting.

He was given the £35 fine after parking in the taxi rank outside Nationwide Building Society, Castle Street, on December 17, while visiting The Shires shopping centre.

He said: “I was only going to be a few minutes. I have a wheelchair but it is a lot of work to put it in the car just to go to one shop.

“I can’t walk any distance, and I went into The Shires for only 10 to 15 minutes.

“If there had been taxis in the rank I wouldn’t have considered parking there, but as it wasn’t in use I thought it would be okay.”

Mr Gumm’s blue badge does not cover parking in such areas, but he felt the traffic warden should have taken account of his disability and retracted the fine.

He has since had an appeal turned down. He said: “If the council hadn’t refused to fund the Shopmobility in a growing town, I would have parked at the multi-storey and used that. There isn’t anywhere else to park that is close enough. It is wrong that they prioritise taxis over disabled people.

“It is difficult for disabled people in Trowbridge, there are many shops which I can’t get into.

“I was just in Superdrug and there were big baskets blocking the aisles, a wheelchair couldn’t get through there, and the new Gateway development has no disabled parking.

“They say it is equal opportunities but I don’t think it is.”

Jayne Webb who works for charity Disabled On Line, which runs the Trowbridge Internet Café for Disabled People, said: “There is definitely a lack of parking for disabled people in Trowbridge. Despite being here 10 years Wiltshire Council won’t allow us any parking spaces, which makes it very difficult for our customers.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “We are unaware of any requests to increase the amount of disabled parking. We would encourage Mr Gumm to get in contact if he has any complaints. We are currently reviewing parking restrictions in the town and will consider any suggestions people make.

“It is important there is parking available in Trowbridge which meets the needs of everyone in the town.”

A taxi driver was so intent on squirming his way into a rank space that he blocked up traffic, completely ignored a garda rapping on his window, and then dangerously edged his car in “on top” of the garda who had to take evasive action to avoid being hit.

The Galway District Court also heard that the 42-year-old defendant caused a scene by roaring and shouting, resisted arrest, and that it took three gardai to eventually put handcuffs on him.

Before Judge Mary Fahy last Monday was Samuel Amankwah of 110 Coill Tire, Doughiska, who denied the charges of resisting Garda Eric O’Donnell and of dangerous driving at Eyre Square on February 7, 2009. However Amankwah failed to contest the charges and was fined a total of €1,150 and disqualified from driving for two years.

Garda O’Donnell gave evidence that at 11.30pm he had been responding to reports of taxis obstructing traffic. The taxis which were vying for a space on the rank in Eyre Square had queued up making Forster Street impassable. Garda O’Donnell spotted one taxi double parked with the engine running and he approached the driver, tapped on the window, and directed him to move on. However Amankwah totally ignored him and started to move his car “on top” of Garda O’Donnell. Concerned that his legs would be hit by the car, Garda O’Donnell tapped a second time on the window but the driver kept moving his car forcing Garda O’Donnell to jump out of the way and onto the footpath.

“He ignored me at all times. He took out his driving license but refused to give it to me. I cautioned him but he refused to get out of the car. He then started roaring and shouting. He eventually stepped out of the car but continued to roar and shout. He was making a scene,” said Garda O’Donnell, who then explained that he had to request the assistance of two gardai who were passing in a patrol car. Together the three gardai attempted to arrest Amankwah but a struggle ensued. They eventually got him to the Garda station where he continued to be abusive and un-cooperative. Under cross-examination by the defence barrister, Garda O’Donnell explained that Amankwah seemed to not want to lose his space on the rank, however, he added that there was actually no space for him as the rank was full.

When the defendant took the stand he said that he drove to the end of Forster Street and that when the traffic light was green he took a chance to get a place on the taxi rank in Eyre Square. He then insisted that a female garda spoke to him first, that she had opened the taxi door, and released the seat belt. He said that when he stood up and got out from the car his phone and wallet fell from his lap. He went to pick these items up and that was when he saw the other gardai.

Inspector Michael Coppinger put it to the defendant that he had been blocking all the traffic and that when told to move on by the garda he got annoyed because he could lose a place on the rank.

“I didn’t even see that guard,” Amankwah replied.

The court then heard that Amankwah, who has no previous convictions, is married with five children, and that the taxi is the only source of income for him and his family.

Judge Fahy said that as a taxi driver the defendant had an obligation to move aside and co-operate with gardai. Leave to appeal was granted.

TAXI drivers have been picking up more than fares in a city centre rank – after police dished out 30 parking fines to them.

The move came as officers targeted the “hotspot for the obstruction of vehicles” in St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, issuing the tickets to taxis for “over-ranking”.

They were acting after a meeting of Cambridge City West’s neighbourhood policing panel in August, where residents asked officers to make the move a priority.

Joint patrols were carried out in the evening peak times with Legion Parking wardens. There were 72 prosecutions of motorists and 104 fines dished out to cyclists.

Taxi drivers have previously threatened to bring gridlock to the city because of a shortage of taxi ranks.

Karl Stamper, a committee member of Cambridge City Licensed Taxis, said: “This problem has been ongoing and until the city council do what 45 per cent of other local authorities do and limit the number of taxis, the problem won’t go away.

“There are 316 taxis in Cambridge and only 36 spaces. There is a slow build-up in numbers which will make this sort of chaos only get worse until the council do something.”

The difficulties of taxi drivers at the rank came to a head earlier this year.

As the News reported, a driver dragged a police officer along the street when he pulled away.

Pc Steve Hinks had tried to stop Fazlollah Khoshmanesh moving off but his hand got stuck in a door handle, forcing him to run alongside until he could free it. Khoshmanesh, 59, of Harding Way, Cambridge, was sentenced by city magistrates to 120 hours of unpaid community work in September.

He was also convicted of failing to stop when required by a constable, wilful obstruction of a highway and obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty.

He denied all charges arising from the incident, which happened when he was illegally parked near the rank in St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge.

BATTLE lines were once again drawn at a Fenland council meeting as the chairman of Wisbech and District Hackney Carriage Drivers Association pleaded for taxis to remain on the Horsefair Bus Station.

But Dave Patrick’s pleas could next week fall on deaf ears because Fenland District Council’s licensing committee is set to pick one of three schemes that will see the current system scrapped.

Weeks of consultation have ended with the council drawing up three options:

• Retain two taxis in the Horsefair, scrap the waiting area and create on-street ranks across the town.

• Create a new rank in East Place next to The Case pub including a drop-off/waiting area in Canal Street.

• Retain two taxis on the Horsefair and create additional ranks in Canal Street and East Place.

The options come despite protests from taxi drivers, Wisbech Town Council, Wisbech Chamber of Commerce and The Case.

Mr Patrick, however, is refusing to give up - and he called for the licensing committee to reject all three options when he spoke at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting in support of a petition he presented at the full council meeting on November 5.

He said: “What is the council going to do with what was our waiting area? It has little potential for any other use except maybe for large buses to reverse with difficulty into the area.

“If two of the proposals allow us to continue to use the ranks, why take away the waiting area? Us waiting there to go over to the rank is a better option than taxis continually circling the roundabout and continually riding on and off the Horsefair in the hope of an empty rank space.

“The Horsefair has operated in its present format for years without any serious incidents at all with relation to the taxis and no member of the public has ever been injured in a taxi-related incident in that area.

“The cost of the scheme to develop the area around The Case is estimated to be around £75,000. Is this money that could be considered well-spent when we are at present in such difficult financial times? With council revenues expecting to drop and savings of £2million being sought is this really a time to fix something that is not really broke?

“Why common sense cannot be allowed to prevail I have absolutely no idea but then maybe this smacks of Big Brother: you do as we say with absolutely no consideration of what the people of Wisbech want.”

Councillors referred the petition to next Tuesday’s licensing committee meeting as part of the consultation.

But Councillor Simon King said: “If we don’t redevelop the site by The Case it is quite possible that at some point in the future we will be forced to move the taxis from the Horsefair. If we don’t have somewhere else we are going to be in a far worse situation.

“We ought to develop that site and ought to allow the drivers and customers to choose where they pick up their taxis.”

He added: “A lot of this has been driven not by Fenland, but by legislation made elsewhere (the European Union) and by the demands of Cambridgeshire County Council.

“It is a very difficult balancing act, but we must in my view develop The Case area because we could easily be left with no taxi spaces at all.”

Councillor Mac Cotterell said: “The licensing committee has an extremely difficult task. Whatever decision it comes to will be wrong.

“I am not sure putting the taxis behind The Case is the right answer. It may cause further problems in the future.

CABBIES have hit back at claims they are breaking parking rules by saying there are not enough taxi rank spaces in Torbay.

Hackney cab drivers working in Torquay town centre yesterday said a promised council crackdown is unfair.

Torbay Council licensing officer Steve Cox has said ‘rude’ cabbies would be hauled before the committee if they did not stop parking in bus lanes, clogging parking spaces and abusing traffic wardens.

But cab drivers say they have no alternative but to break the rules because there is not enough space for them at the ranks.

The Herald Express spoke to taxi drivers working by the harbour and at the GPO roundabout on Fleet Street.

Michael Franks, who has worked as a cabbie for 27 years, said: “It is probably true some break the rules. But if you have a couple of hundred guys there are bound to be some who try it on a little bit.

“The fact is there are not enough ranks.”

He said weekends see hundreds of people pour out of nightclubs looking for taxis to take them home.

“The police are happy to have all the nightlife here because it makes it easier to control, but Saturday is a big problem. When buses are finished there is not enough space at the rank so we tend to park outside Debenhams.”

Councillors have complained about the attitude of some cabbies to traffic wardens.

Taxi drivers and their companies have been written to warning them that officers are gathering evidence. One councillor, Alan Faulkner, has called for rank spaces to be taken away.

Jimmy Kelly, a cab driver at the GPO rank, said: “I think that is unbelievable. What are we supposed to do? You can’t expect us to drive around all day.

“November is the worst month for us so we tend to get a bit of clogging at the rank. But it’s no use being rude to wardens, they’ve got a job to do and are pretty good.”

Darian Davies, a cab driver for 40 years, said: “I don’t think the cab drivers are rude to traffic wardens. You take a chance on parking illegally to get a chance of work.”

He said too many private hire taxis had been given licences which meant Hackney cabs were often left waiting around for trade and squeezing on to ranks.

Another driver said claims by Cllr Christine Scouler that Hackney cabs were using street parking bays in Preston were wrong.

“Those are private hire cars, not Hackney cabs,” he said.

Cabbie Shazad Ramzan said: “There is definitely not enough space and the council should make more for us. To say spaces should be taken away is crazy. We just want to earn a living.”

Torbay Council provides about 32 spaces after midnight, this drops to 23 spaces before midnight.

A spokesman said: “We will continue to work with the taxi trade about rank space.

“However, it must be understood that there will be conflicting demands on the harbourside, with residents, taxis, buses, businesses, disabled space and loading bays all competing.

“There simply isn’t enough space for all, so a compromise has to be reached.”

NIGHT time taxi ranks in Hereford city centre have more than doubled after demand outstripped supply.

An extra 17 spaces on Commercial Road should mean vehicles no longer have to park illegally.

The total amount was raised to more than 30 by Herefordshire Council, West Mercia Police and Herefordshire Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Association after late night numbers grew.

Superintendent Kevin Purcell said: “Although the enforcement of parking restrictions on the new ranks will fall to the council, police officers will still enforce all other road traffic regulations and, in particular, the unnecessary obstruction of the highway.”