Taxi Driver Online

Second time around for late buses

A new late night bus service starts in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, on Friday. The five Nite Rider routes are being started to help transport thousands of revellers home quickly and safely after a night out.

A similar scheme two years ago failed on the first night because passengers had to buy their tickets in advance. This time the trial service has the backing of the Stagecoach bus company, the police and the council who hope it will help prevent late night trouble.

Mansfield District Council is also introducing traffic calming measures which mean only buses and taxis will be allowed access to the main drinking area of Clumber Street and Leeming Street. The taxi ranks will be extended and monitored by special marshals who will ensure people queue safely.

The new bus services will run on a three-month trial every Friday and Saturday night. It comes after a council working group attributed a lot of anti-social behaviour after pub closing time to a lack of public transport to get people home.

The cash for the project has been obtained from Nottinghamshire County Council and the government's Liveability Fund, which aims to improve town centres.

Andre Camilleri, councillor and chairman of licensing at Mansfied District Council said: "Waiting for transport home can turn a very good night into a bad night and we have found as people wait for their lift home, anti social behaviour is more likely to happen.

"The taxis are under pressure from increasing numbers of people coming to Mansfield and so we hope these buses will make a massive difference and alleviate some of these problems."

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ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

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These really went down a storm last night, after thousands of pounds advertising the buses on radio, tv and the press plus the thousands of pounds given to Stagecoach as a sweetener to do the routes the total persons using the buses was a joke, the first ones pulled off you could count on one hand how many were on the whole five, the second lot pulled off and that was the same hardly a soul on them. We will wait and see if they take off but after asking the public last night they said F**K the buses we want to get home to the door not be dropped off 1 mile from home in the middle of the night. Isn't it amazing when something new starts you get coppers all over the place, licensing officers all over the place, all wanting to feather their caps. Even after being forced onto the buses by the bus loaders IMHO last night they failed. I like the bit where he said, waiting for transport home can lead to unruly behaviour, the unruly behaviour occurs outside the takeaways when people are milling around eating their food, close the takeaways and there won't be any milling around thus leading to people going straight to the Taxis and going home.

That Licensing officer is a prize pillock the day he goes can't come soon enough.

Nidge it may be an idea to ask the council if you can also use touts to try and force people into taxis, not that I would condone this action but in a free marketplace everyone should have a level playing field

It's a success, or so they say.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displ ... K=11248094

Alex

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ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

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They will do with the amount of money the Council have ploughed into it plus, we have not been asked about it by the press or the Council.

yes you have there is a quote from a taxi driver

Nige iT ISNT COMPULSORY TO ASK SOMEONE WHO IS AGAINST THE COUNCIL, and totaly biased but a taxi driver was consulted.

No one was consulted Geoff. Oh they didn't mention one of the taxi marshalls getting a good hiding did they on Saturday night??

the story said there was

this taxi marshal which driver belted him and why?

It was a member of the public who belted him, the marshall said I can get you a cab in 5 minutes, 15 minutes later the punter was still there so he had a go at the marshall.