Taxi Driver Online

Leeds private hire' parking ticket protest

Private Hire drivers in Leeds claim they are being unfairly slapped with parking tickets when they are collecting fares in the city centre.

Javaid Akhtar, president of the Leeds Private Hire Association, has hit out at Leeds City Council, claiming that its parking enforcements,
particularly at night, are unfair on passengers.

Mr Akhtar, a representative of the GMB trade union, claimed that wardens are taking down the registration plates of private hire vehicles without informing them when they are dropping off or picking customers up.

He said that most drivers do not know they have been slapped with a fine, which ranges between £35 and £70, until they receive a letter in the post weeks later.

Mr Akhtar added that some drivers are being given up to two or three fines a week – one driver received two tickets in 10 minutes in Leeds City Centre.

He said: "The wardens don't give you the tickets on the spot. They post them out to you maybe a month later, but by that time the drivers can't recall if they were in that place or not.

"We will not accept the parking tickets for our members.

"I want Leeds City Council to cancel these tickets and sit down with us to see if we can find pick-up and drop-off points for private hire drivers in the city.

"If they are going to issue the tickets the council need to send a warning to drivers and private hire firms to let them know where they can and can't park."

Mr Akhtar said that one of the main areas where drivers were being fined was Cookridge Street, in the city centre.

He added: "It is unfair on the customers, especially for vulnerable women or the disabled.

"Taxi drivers are the backbone of this city's economy and now enough is enough."

Secretary Aurangzeb Qabal added: "When people book a taxi they say to collect them from a specific point. You don't just drop them off half-a-mile down the road.

"Taxi drivers are just an easy and soft target."

A spokeswoman for Leeds City Council said: "There have been well documented problems in the city centre with taxis waiting on yellow lines, parking in bus stops, blocking junctions and generally causing congestion.

"We decided to adopt a more robust policy when other approaches failed to deal with the problem and this has been ongoing since the summer.

"We also do a lot of joint working with the police to tackle the problem, which includes the issuing of tickets.

"We have regular meetings with the taxi drivers themselves and their representatives and if a ticket has been issued incorrectly they can contact us in the usual way."

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

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I did change the headline to this story.....the silly paper called them Cabbies......it still goes on to call them taxi drivers

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

CC this is so annoying ,no wonder people get confused with ph/taxi.

I used to regularly email the editor of our local rag about it, I gave up in the end......but your right, no wonder the public are confused.

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I don't think the public are that confused they simply do not care

_________________
Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Don't traffic wardens have to observe a vehicle for a certain amount of time before they can issue a ticket? I'm sure there's something about which states they can't issue tickets to vehicles dropping off or picking up.

We got our lot on the observe issue plus, if your vehicle does one full motion of the wheels within 5 minutes they can't ticket you.

I'm also sure they can't ticket a vehicle that's got a driver at the wheel.

I have also emailed our local paper on this subject and your right they are not interested i have also contacted the press complaints commission same thing not interested.I wonder if they would change there tune if one of there family was hurt after into a car thinking it was a private hire.
I still say people should be educated on the difference between pH/ taxi and the papers should not make it even more confusing.

The union rep is calling them taxis as well.

_________________
Grandad,

Toots wrote




The whole fecking country is confused and they SIMPLY don't give a f***k either.....

If the yellow lines have a little yellow line on the pavement alongside that means there is no waiting or loading time. A bit similar to London's red lines.

That said at least their unions is fighting their cause. Unlike some unions who are only interested in creaming money from Go Skills training.

_________________
IDFIMH

Isn't that a measure of acidity and alkalinity?

Litmus paper.

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

If they can prove they were on a genuine job then the ticket might be cancelled but can they prove they were on a job or just plying for hire, the location mentioned and also on a night time would be outside the Leeds Academy concert venue so I don't suppose for 1 minute they would be plying for hire by any chance would they. As for the union rep calling them taxis, will the GMB re-educate him or are they happy to go along with it

They want to call them selves taxis, ply for hire like taxis (uninsured) so why not have them all in £30,000 WAV's which the equality bill seems to think it would be unfair and impracticle for private hire to have but it is ok for a hackney carriage.

The next complaint will be defending the drivers who have been caught plying for hire recently.

The picture in the paper makes me laugh, they are parked in a bus stop. I hope he gets a ticket

Which night clubs would they like them outside !!!!