Taxi protest chaos in town centre
Jul 8 2010
Pontypridd town centre almost ground to a halt as taxi drivers staged a go-slow protest against what they see as “unfair competition” from a bus company.
About 150 cabs drove at 5mph through Taff Street just as its pedestrian bollards were due to raise, keeping the circuit open until 11.30am.
The “rolling protest” was organised to pressure Rhondda Cynon Taf council into moving Heart of Wales Travel’s pick-up points away from Taff Street.
The cabbies say the bus firm – run by ex-Shamrock Coaches boss Clayton Jones – is taking away their trade and could drive them out of business, leaving them unable to run school services when the next term arrives.
Mr Jones sympathised but said: “We were overwhelmed and had to put out more buses because pensioners get to travel free and others for £2 compared to a fiver for a taxi so it’s a very popular service.”
One of the protest organisers Michaela Debenham, of Manor Chase, Beddau, said: “If the council doesn’t do something, many firms won’t survive through to September to provide RCT with Home to School transport.
“That’ll create another problem.”
RCT council told the Observer they did not have the power to interfere with Heart of Wales licence and company operator Clayton Jones said he “empathised” with the cab drivers, and his firm would have prefered to be placed in the bus station, less than 100 yards from Taff Street.
But, he said, RCT Council instead allocated them a stop next to the new Co-operative store, opposite the taxi rank.
“We honestly did not want to be on the precinct,” he said.
“We fought tooth and nail to be allowed to operate from stand 13. However, the council was most insistent we would not be allowed into the station.”
In February, Heart of Wales were fined £4,800 after a day-long regulatory hearing at Pontypridd County Court was told buses, operated by them under the trading name St David’s Travel, had failed to show up when timetables said.
Wales Traffic Commissioner Nick Jones pointed out that 55-year-old Clayton Jones, from Hopkinstown, had already appeared before the transport tribunal five times.
Veolia Transport withdrew from “unprofitable” bus routes around Pontypridd, but from June 27 – three days before the taxi drivers’ protest – Heart of Wales replaced the French firm’s hourly service with buses every 20 minutes.
Edwards Coaches Ltd, who are based on Newtown Industrial Estate, in Llantwit Fardre, have also taken over some of Veolia’s former routes.
Mr Jones said his firm had gone to great lengths to inform the public their services picked up passengers on Taff Street, and had even delivered timetables door-to-door explaining that.
“I’m afraid it’s ‘no going back’ time,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said the issue was outside local authority control.
“Clayton Jones has secured his license, and had his route and timetable approved, by the Traffic Commissioner for Wales.”
Source; walesonline.co.uk
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