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ANGER IN RANKS OVER BUSES


12:00 - 16 November 2004
Police have moved to defuse a legal row with taxi drivers over plans to ferry revellers from Plymouth city centre over Christmas.

It began as Plymouth City Council announced new night bus services, to operate in the run up to Christmas.

Members of the Plymouth Licensed Taxi Association threatened court action over the joint city council and police scheme to run the night buses.

Association secretary Roy Hamilton claimed that when the buses were run during the summer, they used taxi ranks and prevented some of his members from making a living.

But city police said yesterday that the buses would run from different venues during Christmas to avoid blocking the ranks.

Mr Hamilton, whose organisation represents 200 drivers, said yesterday: "I've got nothing against the scheme, as long as they do it legally.

"If taxi ranks are used by buses this time, then we are going to be looking at legal action, because we are talking about people losing their livelihoods."

He added: "I think we provide a safer service than the buses, as they stick to a fixed route, while we deliver people to their doors."

A city police spokesman said: "There was a dispute over taxi ranks, but we are looking to run the buses from different locations to prevent that happening."

Plymouth City Council has agreed to police requests to repeat the night bus scheme.

Buses, with police officers on board, will be running from this Friday.

They will operate every Friday and Saturday until Christmas Eve.

The scheme, funded 50/50 with the police, will cost the council £3,500.

The plan is for four buses to leave the city centre, in different directions, twice a night. For a flat rate of £2, revellers will be able to catch a bus at 1.15am or 2.30am.

Police and the council believe the buses reduce crime and violence by removing people from the city centre en masse. The council and police had to heavily subsidise the summer service, on which police officers also travelled.

Running buses on just two Saturdays required nearly £10,000 from the police and council.

On August 28, the average subsidy for each of the 127 passengers paying a flat £2 was £35.54. The subsidy per passenger per bus throughout the two-week trial in the summer ranged between £1.33 to £169.

However, councillors rejected suggestions that they should not subsidise the night buses. Councillor Sue Dann, Cabinet Member for Transport said: "The council is supporting the police and other partners in managing the night-time economy and hopes this will make Plymouth a safer place to be."

It kicked off on our buses on Saturday night, 17 were arrested for fighting on the Mansfield Woodhouse bus, I bet the driver is looking forward to this weekend.

I don't think it has quite dawned on this councillor that people spend a lot of money when they go out on the [edited by admin]. So should those that can't afford to go out on the razz subsidise their bus fares home?

Wouldn't that money be best spent on schools and hospitals?

But then we are talking about a council that spends hundreds of thousands of pounds trying to stop a person getting an operators license, just because they don't like his mate.

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IDFIMH