Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers threaten boycott

WATFORD'S hackney carriage drivers have threatened to boycott the town centre unless the council provide more taxi ranks. If it goes ahead on a Friday or Saturday, the move could paralyse the centre of Watford with thousands of revellers left without transport.

There are currently 25 ranking spaces for taxis in the town, a number which has not increased since the limit on the number of hackney licenses granted was removed.

Chairman of Watford's Hackney Carriage Drivers' Association, Shujait Sardar, said: "We used to manage fine when there were about 75 cabs using those spaces. "Now the number of licences has reached nearly 200.

"I asked Watford Borough Council to do something about this four months ago, and I was most disappointed nothing was on the agenda about this at the last licensing committee meeting." He called on the council to meet with the drivers and the police to come up with a solution soon.

Chairman of the council's licensing committee, Keith Crout, said: "There are a number of ranks that don't really get used in the town and we have to work to make people more aware of them. "We also want our cabs to be driving around the town so people can hail them. "Personally I would love to provide more ranks in the town.

"If it were possible I would like to take a chunk off the end of the high street and convert it into a much larger rank. "But, to buy the land as well, you're looking at £250,000 to do the whole thing."

_________________
IDFIMH

Clearly not a member of the Green party.

_________________
IDFIMH