Taxi driver takes on Plymouth City Council over drop-off ban crackdown
FIGHT: Taxi driver Andrew Ash has written to MPs, council members and the media
A TAXI driver has launched a campaign against a crackdown on drivers stopping in Plymouth city centre.
Plymouth City Council's new camera car is imposing £35 fines on private hire drivers who drop off or collect passengers outside some parts of the city centre and Mutley.
Driver Andrew Ash said: "This could mean a young girl leaving a club late at night and worse for wear and having to go to an isolated street.
"Or an elderly person leaving the Theatre Royal on a dark winter's evening might have to make their way to the rear of the building to wait for their taxi because we can't stop on Royal Parade."
Mr Ash said many disabled people used taxis to go to the post office in the city centre.
"We now have to drop them 150 metres away in Whimple Street and they have to cross Royal Parade.
"In bad weather this will be hazardous enough, not to mention the fact they will get soaked on the way.
"Many of my customers have said they will stop going to the city centre altogether and this will affect many businesses."
Council traffic boss Clive Perkin defended the crackdown in Old Town Street/New George Street, St Andrew's Cross roundabout, Royal Parade, Derry's Cross and Charles Street outside the northern entrance to Drake Circus.
"These all lie on a signed bus clearway and we cannot allow picking up and dropping off in these locations," he said.
"The situation has got out of hand. If a bus has to stop on the main carriageway because a taxi is in the bus lane it's very dangerous for passengers and makes congestion worse.
"We are not focusing on side streets where there may be loading areas. We are only focusing on the key streets.
"It isn't a free-for-all. Taxi drivers have to abide by the laws of the road."
Mr Perkin said the council had not changed the rules but was only enforcing existing laws.
"We are just trying to keep traffic flowing safely."
He said there was a mistaken belief that disabled drivers were allowed to park in Royal Parade.
The council was talking to private hire owners to try to resolve their difficulties, he said. "We are trying to be balanced and reasonable."
Fines are now issued automatically where parking rules are clearly broken.
"The new camera car is being used to tackle illegal parking in school 'Keep Clear' zones, pedestrian crossing zigzags, and to assist in reducing congestion through the enforcement of bus lanes and helping to keep bus stops clear," a council spokesman said.
"No fine will be imposed for stopping to offload or collect passengers in areas where any driver may legally stop as there are no loading restrictions, such as the loading bay behind Marks & Spencer and Colin Campbell Court."
Mr Ash has written to MPs, councillors and the media and is calling on fellow taxi drivers to join his battle.
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Ta ... ticle.html
Login
Register
FAQ
