A European legal ruling could reduce taxi drivers’ takings and create traffic chaos outside Watford Junction station, it has been warned.
Station owner London Midland is planning to remove a limit on the number of taxis authorised to collect passengers from one of the town’s most lucrative pick-up points.
The company has been forced to relax its licensing rules at station sites across the country after falling foul of European competition rules in a recent legal battle, when drivers without licenses elsewhere in the country successfully claimed they were being discriminated against.
Many Watford drivers, however, are concerned about the potential consequences of the decision, which they claim could saturate the market and increase traffic disruption.
Shafiq Ahmed, chairman of the Watford Hackney Carriage Drivers Association, warned: “The limit at the moment is 163 cars and that is bad enough as it is. The queue of cars already stretches halfway up Clarendon Road. We are getting hassle from the police and the traffic wardens as it is.
“We have to pay £500 for our permits already and business is not that good as it is. What is going to happen when every cab in Watford is allowed to pick up there as well?”
Mr Ahmed, who is also leading calls against violent attacks on drivers, stressed that he was not opposed to fair competition from other drivers but warned a permit free-for-all would not be in anybody’s interest.
He is asking London Midland to re-examine its ruling or, at the very least, greatly reduce the £450 it plans to charge all drivers to use the station.
Drivers are also demanding more official waiting space outside the station site in Clarendon Road, thus reducing traffic problems.
He added: “They only want to give us a £50 discount on the rates we pay. That is not enough to compensate for the impact of this. This will really hit drivers’ takings.
“We do not want Watford Junction to become a no-go area.”
Fellow driver Adil Butt explained: “With more than 350 cars instead of 163 we could be waiting up to four hours for a pick-up. Then that could be worth only £3 or £4.”
Fazal Karim added: “This will open the floodgates and really reduce the money we make.”
A spokesman for London Midland said: “We have met with and discussed this issue with the council and taxi drivers, but must comply with legislation and treat applicants equally.”
Councillor Jan Brown, chairman of Watford Borough Council’s licensing committee, expressed sympathy with both the drivers and London Midland.
She said: “We are firmly on the drivers’ side here and will do anything we can to help them, but London Midland has not other choice but to implement these rules across the country.”
Private hire vehicles are not allowed to apply for licenses.
source:
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/
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