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Taxi drivers in Bolton win late-night battle over parking
TAXI drivers banned from parking on a busy street in Bolton by police decided to make an immediate stand — by swamping a police station entrance.
And it worked.
On Saturday night, around 90 Hackney Carriages took part in the spontaneous protest by congregating around Bolton Police Station.
Drivers took the action after they were initially prevented from parking on Bradshawgate earlier in the evening, and it resulted in a climbdown by police.
There is currently no marked taxi rank on Bradshawgate due to road repairs.
But taxi bosses claim they have been given permission to park on the street by Bolton Council highways bosses until the work is finished within a month.
Police, however, disagreed.
At about 8pm, a row began when officers on patrol in the town centre told cabbies they could not park in Bradshawgate.
As the evening went on, tempers flared and some drivers declared an unofficial strike, threatening to leave hundreds of revellers stranded when nightclubs closed in the early hours of yesterday.
Bolton Taxi Drivers Association chairman Arfan Khan said: “We reached an agreement with the council on Thursday and there were no problems on Friday night — it was the same as it’s been for 20 years.
“But then the police started making life difficult for us on Saturday. Eventually, we couldn’t take any more.
“We represent 110 Hackney carriages in Bolton and 90 of them came to Bolton Police Station in Manchester Road.
“Three of us met with police after midnight and said unless we were left to do our jobs, we would leave people leaving the clubs at 2am with no way of getting home.
“Thankfully, common sense prevailed.”
One driver, who asked not to be named, said: “We’ve parked there for years.
“It’s where we get a lot of our business, especially at busy times at weekends.
“Police have never moved us on before, so why now?
“Thankfully the process worked. We just hope that it stays that way.
“Our livelihoods depend on weekend trade.”
Mr Khan said he would meet with council bosses at noon today to resolve the issue.
Bolton Council and Greater Manchester Police were unavailable for comment.
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