Taxi drivers furious as council slash pick-up spot with no warning

Taxi drivers furious as council slash pick-up spot

Town centre taxi drivers have spoken of their fury after the council slashed their parking spaces and put up public parking signs with no warning and no communication.

The ‘Hackney Carriage’ drivers, who usually park on both sides at the top of Yorkshire Street, said that they arrived to work one morning to find that one side of the street had been transformed into a one-hour free public parking area – but was instead filled with private hire taxis who were intentionally trying to take their clients.

The move, they say, has cost them countless jobs and has resulted in their livelihoods suffering, as shoppers “instinctively” go to the area for a taxi and don’t realise what is happening.

The Council has promised to investigate any “private hire issues” but insists that the Yorkshire Street rank was only ever a temporary measure while the Metrolink was being built. The temporary parking area has been in place for three years and has become a go-to spot for local shoppers.

A Hackney Carriage can be 'flagged down' on the street or at a rank, but Private Hire Vehicles must be pre-booked through an operator. If a Private Hire Driver accepts a fare off the street without it being pre-booked, they are liable to prosecution.

Driver Abdul Salam said: “We have been fighting with the Council for ages over this, no one wants to know. They keep saying that they have provided us with alternative parking areas on other parts of Rochdale, well what use is that when all our clients come here?

He added: “They say that it was a temporary measure. Well temporary is a couple of weeks or a month – not three years. That to us and to our clients is a permanent measure. We have lost so much work because of this ridiculous move and we want our parking back.

“To top it all off – why was there no warning? Nobody told us anything, they just did it and left us in this mess.”

Steve Reay, Rochdale Borough Council’s head of highways, said; “The taxi rank on Yorkshire Street was a temporary measure during the building of the Metrolink and has now been removed to allow shoppers to park in the area. Alternative taxi ranks are available at Milton Road and River Street and the highways team will be meeting with trade representatives shortly to explain the situation. Our licensing team will also continue to monitor the rank and deal with any private hire issues.”

In Rochdale, the two types of vehicles, Hackney Carriages and Private Hire Vehicles, are easily distinguished from each other by the fact that Hackney Carriages are either purpose built 'London style' black cabs, or white saloons with a roof sign.

Anyone taking a journey in a Private Hire Vehicle which has been flagged down is not insured for the journey.