Taxi drivers 'threaten lives of cyclists': I have been forced off road, says Green Mayoral candidate
18 April 2011
The Green Party's Mayoral candidate risked angering thousands of taxi drivers today by suggesting they were putting the lives of cyclists at risk.
London Assembly member Jenny Jones said that reckless drivers had twice forced her off the road and had hurled abuse from their black cabs.
The delightful Ms Jenny Jones on her bicycle.
Rage victim: Jenny Jones claims cabbies have hurled abuse
"I think taxi drivers find cyclists very challenging," she said. "And there is a perception among taxi drivers that cyclists break the law a lot but of course being a cyclist myself I have been on the other end, the receiving end."
"Taxi drivers have cut me up. One pushed me off the road into some railings, just by coming over so close I had nowhere else to go. Others have shouted at me and abused me when I've been cycling."
"It is time for something to change. I have been invited by the RMT union to talk about the problems cyclists face in dealing with cabs. There has to be a dialogue. Neither of these groups are going away so they have to learn to live together."
She added that she was very supportive of the "great institution" of London's black cabs but added: "I am not very happy about the way they treat cyclists." Transport for London statistics show that last year, 10 cyclists were killed on the capital's roads and there were 13 deaths in 2009. The Standard's Safer Cycling campaign is pushing for more to be done to protect cyclists.
Steve Mcnamara of the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association said he was disappointed with Ms Jones's comments: "This is not the best way to start an election campaign by making such a generalisation about 24,000 licensed taxi drivers. It's like me saying that all cyclists are Lycra-wearing loons based on one or two bad experiences."
Cyclist Bruce Whitehead, 52, from Hackney, has been involved in a number of Critical Mass events where cyclists meet in large groups to disrupt traffic. He said: "I'm sure Jenny will wish she hadn't said that. Some cabbies are great, some aren't. There needs to be more communications and tolerance between different groups."
"But I would be surprised if cab drivers were genuinely trying to make life difficult for cyclists. More bikes means less congestion and surely that is a good thing."
Source; http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/ ... ndidate.do
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