Cabbies flouting rules of the road (From Worcester News)
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Cabbies flouting rules of the road
9:31am Monday 3rd September 2012 in News
By Richard Vernalls, @rvernallsWN #worcsnews
TIGHT FIT: A car squeezing its way past a taxi sitting partly on the pavement on double yellow lines in Trinity Street
WORCESTER cab drivers are flouting the rules of the road by queuing on double yellow lines, as these photos show.
Up to three taxis at a time were pictured parked unlawfully in Trinity Street in Worcester this month and were taken by sharp-eyed disabled blue-badge holder Keith Rowberry.
The cabs were queuing, apparently because the taxi rank around the corner in St Swithin’s Street was full.
Ironically that cab rank was only recently installed to give taxis more room to wait.
But the city’s taxi drivers association say cabbies are only waiting for “a few seconds or a couple of minutes” and only when it gets very busy in the city centre.
Worcester City Council parking chiefs say they will be cracking down on cabbies caught breaking the rules, after seeing our photos.
Mr Rowberry, of Warndon, Worcester, took the snaps on weekdays between 5pm and 6pm, while collecting his wife from work.
He needs walking sticks to get about as he suffers with chronic osteoarthritis, so uses the disabled bays opposite where the taxis have been parking.
“They were parked in such a way that women with pushchairs had to walk down the middle of the road, because the taxis were blocking the pavement,” he said.
“And at times it was difficult if not impossible for people like me parking opposite to reverse in or pull out, because the cabs had not left enough room to get the nose of the car round.”
Mr Rowberry, aged 54, has written to the council about the issue, which said it was investigating.
“I don’t want to hear their excuses – if anyone else was caught flouting the rules we’d be fined and made to pay,” he said.
Tariq Mahmood, Worcester Taxi Drivers Association chairman, said: “The drivers shouldn’t be waiting there because there’s room for 10 cabs in the rank.
"But occasionally, when it is really busy and traffic is queuing, drivers will be waiting for a couple of minutes for a space in the rank, otherwise it’s a half-mile loop to come back round.”
Andy Chinn, the council’s civil enforcement team leader, said: “We do have some problems with queuing on Trinity Street.
“When it does happen our civil enforcement officers will treat them like any other vehicle.
“They will ask the driver to move the vehicle, and if they don’t comply a fixed penalty will be issued.”
Comments(79)
molecat
says...
9:39am Mon 3 Sep 12
Jackie Barry
says...
9:41am Mon 3 Sep 12
matttaylor
says...
10:04am Mon 3 Sep 12
Hwicce
says...
10:05am Mon 3 Sep 12
The Enforcement Officers and the Police are both at fault in that they can’t be bothered with the hassle of enforcement and continually look the other way. Until they do their jobs properly there won’t be any improvement.
Case in point – I was walking past the Whitehouse Hotel in Foregate Street last week and there was a taxi parked on the double yellow lines. An Enforcement Office was coming towards me and I thought “ha he’ll get moved on”. The Enforcement Officer glanced at the taxi and carried on down the road. Not a word not a tap on the window, nothing. A Police car passed at the same time and had to cross the solid white line to get round the parked taxi. He made no effort to move the taxi on either.
So there you have it a complete failure by both enforcement organisations to do anything about an illegally parked taxi. No wonder they just do what they want. Proper enforcement is what is needed.
More Tea Vicar
says...
10:22am Mon 3 Sep 12
molecat wrote:Your point being....?
Back to taxi drivers again? Have we run out of Allah Ditta stories already?
More Tea Vicar
says...
10:26am Mon 3 Sep 12
Hwicce wrote:There are many problems here. Obviously I can't vouch for your story, but I have no reason to disbelieve it, and it does seem to tie in with the general picture.
This is really an issue with enforcement rather than the taxis. People will try it on if they are allowed to get away with it. The Enforcement Officers and the Police are both at fault in that they can’t be bothered with the hassle of enforcement and continually look the other way. Until they do their jobs properly there won’t be any improvement. Case in point – I was walking past the Whitehouse Hotel in Foregate Street last week and there was a taxi parked on the double yellow lines. An Enforcement Office was coming towards me and I thought “ha he’ll get moved on”. The Enforcement Officer glanced at the taxi and carried on down the road. Not a word not a tap on the window, nothing. A Police car passed at the same time and had to cross the solid white line to get round the parked taxi. He made no effort to move the taxi on either. So there you have it a complete failure by both enforcement organisations to do anything about an illegally parked taxi. No wonder they just do what they want. Proper enforcement is what is needed.
It seems odd to me that there are so many taxis, with so little to do.
And the council does seem to bend over backwards to help them, for reasons I find hard to understand.
Maybe it's time for a cull in taxi numbers, and a re-evaluation of policy towards taxis in future.
I find it hard to believe they are making a living from the amount of passengers they carry. Many people I know don't use them, because of price, drivers seeming not to know their way around etc.
Sir Smeg
says...
10:32am Mon 3 Sep 12
It doesn't matter how long they're there, they are causing an obstruction to road users and pedestrians alike and even a couple of seconds is too long, note the yellow curb line in one of the photo's.
And the only connection to the Allah Ditta story that I can see is that of a similar race of people acting in a completely irresponsible way and having absolutely no respect for anyone else or the laws of this land.
clubber2000
says...
10:39am Mon 3 Sep 12
More Tea Vicar
says...
10:51am Mon 3 Sep 12
Sir Smeg wrote:I just wonder how the enforcement officers would react to 'mere mortals' taking 'just a few minutes' like this?
Tariq Mahmood said "But occasionally, when it is really busy and traffic is queuing, drivers will be waiting for a couple of minutes for a space in the rank, otherwise it’s a half-mile loop to come back round.” It doesn't matter how long they're there, they are causing an obstruction to road users and pedestrians alike and even a couple of seconds is too long, note the yellow curb line in one of the photo's. And the only connection to the Allah Ditta story that I can see is that of a similar race of people acting in a completely irresponsible way and having absolutely no respect for anyone else or the laws of this land.
More to the point, I wonder how taxi drivers would react to 'us' spending 'just a few minutes' in their parking spaces?
No doubt they'd just adopt a common sense, we're all in this together, type approach, and let sleeping dogs lie....or maybe not-:)
More Tea Vicar
says...
10:51am Mon 3 Sep 12
Sir Smeg wrote:I just wonder how the enforcement officers would react to 'mere mortals' taking 'just a few minutes' like this?
Tariq Mahmood said "But occasionally, when it is really busy and traffic is queuing, drivers will be waiting for a couple of minutes for a space in the rank, otherwise it’s a half-mile loop to come back round.” It doesn't matter how long they're there, they are causing an obstruction to road users and pedestrians alike and even a couple of seconds is too long, note the yellow curb line in one of the photo's. And the only connection to the Allah Ditta story that I can see is that of a similar race of people acting in a completely irresponsible way and having absolutely no respect for anyone else or the laws of this land.
More to the point, I wonder how taxi drivers would react to 'us' spending 'just a few minutes' in their parking spaces?
No doubt they'd just adopt a common sense, we're all in this together, type approach, and let sleeping dogs lie....or maybe not-:)
Sir Smeg
says...
10:57am Mon 3 Sep 12
EconoXL
says...
10:59am Mon 3 Sep 12
More Tea Vicar wrote:They get irate and aggressive if you park even for a moment on one of their precious ranks. There are simply too many of them.
Sir Smeg wrote:I just wonder how the enforcement officers would react to 'mere mortals' taking 'just a few minutes' like this?
Tariq Mahmood said "But occasionally, when it is really busy and traffic is queuing, drivers will be waiting for a couple of minutes for a space in the rank, otherwise it’s a half-mile loop to come back round.” It doesn't matter how long they're there, they are causing an obstruction to road users and pedestrians alike and even a couple of seconds is too long, note the yellow curb line in one of the photo's. And the only connection to the Allah Ditta story that I can see is that of a similar race of people acting in a completely irresponsible way and having absolutely no respect for anyone else or the laws of this land.
More to the point, I wonder how taxi drivers would react to 'us' spending 'just a few minutes' in their parking spaces?
No doubt they'd just adopt a common sense, we're all in this together, type approach, and let sleeping dogs lie....or maybe not-:)
Tim Woodward
says...
11:03am Mon 3 Sep 12
Their anaolgy is like the Seagulls, who hover around town for scraps, they have no regard for the law and regularly clog up the streets, they block access for ambulances,firebriga
de, buses and oridnary folk alike.
Time to cull (excuse my analogy) the taxi's far too many and far too many plates issued. Come on Mr Denham Taxi Licensing Chair are you a man or a mouse?
daned
says...
11:15am Mon 3 Sep 12
Hwicce wrote:I understand that traffic wardens cannot issue a ticket unless the driver is on the yellow lines. So the taxi drivers just wait for the five minutes and then move on if there is a warden present. The wardens don't have a chance.
This is really an issue with enforcement rather than the taxis. People will try it on if they are allowed to get away with it.
The Enforcement Officers and the Police are both at fault in that they can’t be bothered with the hassle of enforcement and continually look the other way. Until they do their jobs properly there won’t be any improvement.
Case in point – I was walking past the Whitehouse Hotel in Foregate Street last week and there was a taxi parked on the double yellow lines. An Enforcement Office was coming towards me and I thought “ha he’ll get moved on”. The Enforcement Officer glanced at the taxi and carried on down the road. Not a word not a tap on the window, nothing. A Police car passed at the same time and had to cross the solid white line to get round the parked taxi. He made no effort to move the taxi on either.
So there you have it a complete failure by both enforcement organisations to do anything about an illegally parked taxi. No wonder they just do what they want. Proper enforcement is what is needed.
There are two taxi ranks in St Nicholas Street but I've never seen a taxi in them - they're too far for able bodied people to walk.
The council acknowledges that there are too many taxis in the city but that it would cost £10,000 to assess the situation. So they have decided to cut down on Blue Cards instead!!
More Tea Vicar
says...
11:46am Mon 3 Sep 12
daned wrote:Haven't we seen this before? The council deciding not do things, and then using cost as an excuse...?
Hwicce wrote: This is really an issue with enforcement rather than the taxis. People will try it on if they are allowed to get away with it. The Enforcement Officers and the Police are both at fault in that they can’t be bothered with the hassle of enforcement and continually look the other way. Until they do their jobs properly there won’t be any improvement. Case in point – I was walking past the Whitehouse Hotel in Foregate Street last week and there was a taxi parked on the double yellow lines. An Enforcement Office was coming towards me and I thought “ha he’ll get moved on”. The Enforcement Officer glanced at the taxi and carried on down the road. Not a word not a tap on the window, nothing. A Police car passed at the same time and had to cross the solid white line to get round the parked taxi. He made no effort to move the taxi on either. So there you have it a complete failure by both enforcement organisations to do anything about an illegally parked taxi. No wonder they just do what they want. Proper enforcement is what is needed.I understand that traffic wardens cannot issue a ticket unless the driver is on the yellow lines. So the taxi drivers just wait for the five minutes and then move on if there is a warden present. The wardens don't have a chance. There are two taxi ranks in St Nicholas Street but I've never seen a taxi in them - they're too far for able bodied people to walk. The council acknowledges that there are too many taxis in the city but that it would cost £10,000 to assess the situation. So they have decided to cut down on Blue Cards instead!!
I remember them giving inflated costs for a zebra crossing in St Peters, for example. And I've asked them to deal with rubbish/pavement blocking greenery in the past, same answer.
I suspent that the reason for the numbers and treatment are largely driven by political considerations.
Cull the numbers, and I can imagine a fairly strong reaction from certain local politicians.
It really is hard to see why we have so many taxi drivers in the city anyway, and I find it hard to imagine they are actually earning a living off their trade. They certainly don't provide a particularly good or reasonably priced service.
imustbeoldiwearacap
says...
12:22pm Mon 3 Sep 12
skychip
says...
12:28pm Mon 3 Sep 12
skychip
says...
12:28pm Mon 3 Sep 12
nicki1967
says...
1:20pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Hwicce
says...
1:46pm Mon 3 Sep 12
It's the same as the story recently about dropping litter and cigarette ends. The Enforcement Officers are ineffective so the law breakers get away with it.
Hassle the Council to get more/better Enforcement Officers, ones not afraid/too lazy to give out tickets.
This is a failing of the Council to do their job properly, no more, no less.
jb
says...
1:56pm Mon 3 Sep 12
"But occasionally, when it is really busy and traffic is queuing, drivers will be waiting for a couple of minutes for a space in the rank, otherwise it’s a half-mile loop to come back round.”
I'm sure this was the excuse given by the taxi drivers which led to the rank in St Swithin street being taken from the disabled drivers and given to the taxis. What next, allow them the whole of the city centre? It's a complete insult to other drivers and the city council who allowed them to use St Swithin street. Taxi drivers should be given no lea way at all in respect of illegal parking.
mayall8808
says...
2:06pm Mon 3 Sep 12
mayall8808
says...
2:10pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Some cars have no proper back lights and i suspect not properly insured either.
Maggie Would
says...
2:15pm Mon 3 Sep 12
mayall8808 wrote:Can you back any of this up, mayall? You are making some fairly serious allegations there.
In my experience Worcester taxi drivers persisently break the law and they don't care as they no there will be no consquence due to no one wanting to cause an incident, at night i am sure some of the drivers have never passed a test as they seem too young and do not even no there way around, i have had instances of trying to over charge too.
Some cars have no proper back lights and i suspect not properly insured either.
More Tea Vicar
says...
3:11pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Maggie Would wrote:The allegations in the pictures in the newspaper are serious enough.
mayall8808 wrote: In my experience Worcester taxi drivers persisently break the law and they don't care as they no there will be no consquence due to no one wanting to cause an incident, at night i am sure some of the drivers have never passed a test as they seem too young and do not even no there way around, i have had instances of trying to over charge too. Some cars have no proper back lights and i suspect not properly insured either.Can you back any of this up, mayall? You are making some fairly serious allegations there.
I stopped using taxis because of cost, the fact so few of them seemed to know their way around, many had a fairly poor grasp of English.
It seemed odd that they should be allowed to be acting as taxi drivers and I suspected that their were people other than those the licence had been issued to.
I couldn't back any of that up, but it would fit in with what's generally known - too many vehicles, oddly preferential treatment from the council, obvious widespread abuse of parking..
trevor_s
says...
3:18pm Mon 3 Sep 12
This is the only way to deal with persistent offenders if traffic enforcement officers can't deal with the problem.
dulon
says...
4:05pm Mon 3 Sep 12
dulon
says...
4:17pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Check the times when parking is allowed
Park fully within the markings of the bay
Check that the bay is not suspended – especially if you park here frequently
Do not leave your vehicle to go and get change for the pay and display machine
Check that your pay and display ticket shows the expiry time before leaving your vehicle
Do not leave more than one ticket on display – always remove expired ones
Check that your ticket, permit or badge is properly displayed before you leave your vehicle
Do not come back to your vehicle and insert additional coins into the pay and display machine if buying extra time is not permitted
Before parking on a single yellow line, check the time plate allows you to do this
Do not park on double yellow lines anytime day or night
Do not park in taxi bays or taxi ranks
Do not park in bays designated for use by disabled users without displaying a blue badge
Do not park in a loading bay without loading or unloading
Do not park in a dual use bay during restricted times
Do not park in residents parking bays without displaying a residents parking permit
Hwicce
says...
5:04pm Mon 3 Sep 12
dulon wrote:Unless you are a taxi in which case none of the above applies. :)
This is taken from Wcc website obviously it is selective in its administration !How to avoid receiving a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)
Check the times when parking is allowed
Park fully within the markings of the bay
Check that the bay is not suspended – especially if you park here frequently
Do not leave your vehicle to go and get change for the pay and display machine
Check that your pay and display ticket shows the expiry time before leaving your vehicle
Do not leave more than one ticket on display – always remove expired ones
Check that your ticket, permit or badge is properly displayed before you leave your vehicle
Do not come back to your vehicle and insert additional coins into the pay and display machine if buying extra time is not permitted
Before parking on a single yellow line, check the time plate allows you to do this
Do not park on double yellow lines anytime day or night
Do not park in taxi bays or taxi ranks
Do not park in bays designated for use by disabled users without displaying a blue badge
Do not park in a loading bay without loading or unloading
Do not park in a dual use bay during restricted times
Do not park in residents parking bays without displaying a residents parking permit
TDH123
says...
6:04pm Mon 3 Sep 12
norman73
says...
6:10pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Along came mr taxi driver down the left hand lane and turned right jumping the que towards the round about.
he drive the same one in the picture with number 940 on the back.
o well. be calm
Fifty
says...
6:35pm Mon 3 Sep 12
mayall8808
says...
7:12pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Yes i can and as i said in my experience, you look at the taxi's in town and you will find things, i found one had an out of date licence plate, i reported it and it was dealt with so you only got to look.
mayall8808
says...
7:14pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Sir Smeg
says...
7:15pm Mon 3 Sep 12
worcswolf
says...
7:31pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Lew Smoralz
says...
7:40pm Mon 3 Sep 12
The first people to suffer the consequences of this idiocy were the disabled who were kicked out of The Cross area in a most dubious manner. I will never forget trying to read the council notice of intent tied to a post 12' above the ground! Obviously trying to sneak in the expulsion without anyone realising.
Now we are seeing that this was not enough. How many more parking spaces will this morally spent council take away from the disabled?
If the council had any gumption they would put their hand up and acknowledge that they made a grave error of judgement and start a process of reducing the number of taxi licences down to a level that is appropriate for this city.
The councils poor judgement is the problem here; not the disabled who have been made to suffer for their stupidity!
Thorn1979
says...
7:55pm Mon 3 Sep 12
"ever tried to get a cab with no notice, between 8 and 9am on a weekday?" he said.
Turns out that almost all the cabs out there are busy working for the council ferrying problem kids to school, that would otherwise not turn up without "door to door delivery".
Make of that what you will.
Baldrick1955
says...
8:29pm Mon 3 Sep 12
I wonder why??, can't be a shortage of them, can there
Ctrl Alt Del
says...
8:37pm Mon 3 Sep 12
davidsmallwood
says...
10:22pm Mon 3 Sep 12
ideas4all
says...
10:24pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Amir7868
says...
10:38pm Mon 3 Sep 12
The City Licensing Department does need to look into issuing more taxi plates.
The Moan
says...
11:00pm Mon 3 Sep 12
Thorn1979 wrote:Offense taken ... Actually a lot of those kids have special needs or disabled, so check your facts first. I'm a parent of one of them and they are not and should not be labeled problem kids. The council are using more and more taxis to ferry our children to their special schools, I'm not in favour of it and prefer the escort buses. I know its a bit off topic but I don't feel that was a fair comment.
I have often wondered about the sheer numbers of taxi drivers there are in Worcester. So one day I asked a taxi driver.
"ever tried to get a cab with no notice, between 8 and 9am on a weekday?" he said.
Turns out that almost all the cabs out there are busy working for the council ferrying problem kids to school, that would otherwise not turn up without "door to door delivery".
Make of that what you will.
Jabbadad
says...
1:13am Tue 4 Sep 12
Coun Paul Denham is the City Labour Councllor and Chair of the License committee which is responsible for controlling the Taxi's over ranking on the Cross and can issue a hefty fine for this. Coun Lynn Denham, Labour, is a City Councillor for the Cathedral Ward, (where a large number of Taxi Drivers are based) so no conflict of interest there then.
For the Taxi rank at Shrub Hill there is a Franchise paid of several £Thousands per year for the whole taxi rank and is held by someone from the Asian community, who then allows, for a hefty payment, cabs to operate from there.
And yes the Taxi's on all the ranks and those queuing to join the ranks do leave their engines running while they sit inside, causing a serious health issue to anyone with breathing problems who need to walk past, again the Police say NO NOT US, the Wardens Say NO NOT US, the Environmental Health Department well DO WE HAVE ONE? must be aware of this problem. And Coun Simon Geraghty was the councilor responsible for throwing the disabled off St Swithun Street disabled parking, in favor of the taxis.
The Traffic wardens can be seen constantly pursuing the Blue Badge holders for any infringement, even not displaying the badge the right way round for them to read.
So we have traffic Wardens , Police, and a licensing chairman who had promised to address this problem, and then we have the taxi drivers who ignore them all. And we also have Mr Starkey the Managing Director of Worcester City Council on the local radio, stating the political handout from the council over the numbers of Blue Badge parking places, while conveniently forgetting to mention where the double yellows were removed from, which of course could and were used in a reasonable manner by the Blue badge holders to previously park.
And yes an agreement on sharing the Taxi rank in St Swithun Street, with Blue Badges from say 9am until 5pm and then the Taxis from 5pm until 9am was discussed, all legalities were checked on split enforcement rules and initially agreed with County Councillor John Smith, but was over ruled by Simon Geraghty.
Answers please on the back of a Fag packet.
brooksider
says...
9:05am Tue 4 Sep 12
Thorn1979 wrote:One taxi firm in Worcester was paid almost £58,000 in July.
I have often wondered about the sheer numbers of taxi drivers there are in Worcester. So one day I asked a taxi driver.
"ever tried to get a cab with no notice, between 8 and 9am on a weekday?" he said.
Turns out that almost all the cabs out there are busy working for the council ferrying problem kids to school, that would otherwise not turn up without "door to door delivery".
Make of that what you will.
Jabbadad
says...
9:21am Tue 4 Sep 12
140354
says...
9:31am Tue 4 Sep 12
(and the bit about parking for 'a couple of minutes' is just a lie - I've seen them there for 15 minutes and more!).
More Tea Vicar
says...
9:55am Tue 4 Sep 12
ideas4all wrote:They clearly aren't all law-abiding citizens - this is precisely about them breaking the law, frequently.
Mayall I suspect most of ur accusations r made up as u only comment when certain groups of ppl r involved and if most of these drivers were white then u and many others wouldn't take any notice cos on the whole these hard working ppl r law abiding citizens who clear the city centre on weekends (the police clearly appreciate this as it makes their job easier ) mayall I can assure u that grasp of English is very good many of them have degrees but end up in this position because like many commentators the council and other employers prefer to employ eastern Europeans that might explain y there's too many drivers many r born here but r restricted
As for the 'grasp of English' issue. Well, your posting and my experience of these people suggests there have to be a few question marks about that one.
And regarding degrees - even degrees from this country don't mean that much any more, and I would love to see you publish figures to back up what you are implying.
EconoXL
says...
10:16am Tue 4 Sep 12
ideas4all wrote:Deep irony contained within your anti-racist, racist rant.
Mayall I suspect most of ur accusations r made up as u only comment when certain groups of ppl r involved and if most of these drivers were white then u and many others wouldn't take any notice cos on the whole these hard working ppl r law abiding citizens who clear the city centre on weekends (the police clearly appreciate this as it makes their job easier ) mayall I can assure u that grasp of English is very good many of them have degrees but end up in this position because like many commentators the council and other employers prefer to employ eastern Europeans that might explain y there's too many drivers many r born here but r restricted
Arthur Blenkinsop
says...
10:37am Tue 4 Sep 12
More Tea Vicar
says...
12:39pm Tue 4 Sep 12
It's inexcusable and it is serious. If the restrictions are there, it should be because they are needed. If the Council is, as usual, failing in its duty, then it is wasting our money on enforcement officer salaries. It is also undermining its own, and the law's, credibility.
But regarding the taxis, the big issue is that there are so many of them, often parked wrongly, and prominently. Given that they depend on a licence from the council to ply their trade, it is clearly something the council should act on, even more so than for ordinary offenders.
cabby2007
says...
8:14pm Tue 4 Sep 12
Thorn1979
says...
9:47pm Tue 4 Sep 12
Didn't intend to cause offence by repeating what I was told - I have no beef with anyone who has legitimate use of council-funded transport. Why on earth would I?!
I *do* resent the idea that there are so many cabs in worcester, and that due to that quantity, other road users are not treated the same, because the council are funding the use of taxis for provising transport for kids that would otherwise truant. No wonder the council-run enforcement staff have their hands tied, I suppose..
davidcollier1
says...
8:07am Wed 5 Sep 12
The racists surface like a turd in the canal.
You should be thankful these taxi drivers are on hand to carry the drunk and innebriated back to their abode safely.
I just wish the taxi drivers went on strike on a saturday night - wel see how much you miss them then.
nicki1967
says...
9:49am Wed 5 Sep 12
Sir Smeg
says...
10:35am Wed 5 Sep 12
davidcollier1 wrote:Odd....I didn't see any mention of race when I read the story, are you sure you're not the racists here?
AH how nice.
The racists surface like a turd in the canal.
You should be thankful these taxi drivers are on hand to carry the drunk and innebriated back to their abode safely.
I just wish the taxi drivers went on strike on a saturday night - wel see how much you miss them then.
Jabbadad
says...
11:34am Wed 5 Sep 12
mayall8808
says...
1:30pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Typical comment from someone who really ought to get out more instead of misreading the comments on here, you only have to read others comments who have very similar experiences to me.
My experience comes from day and night and no they are not all asian drivers.
ideas4all
says...
2:45pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Jabbadad
says...
3:10pm Wed 5 Sep 12
If it does we will have to go and join other family members who live in Australia, a country where the Australians rule, and those who wish to live there without any dogooders interventions, have to conform.
Sounds right to me.
More Tea Vicar
says...
4:24pm Wed 5 Sep 12
The Moan wrote:Using taxis to transport special needs or disabled children is utterly wrong.
Thorn1979 wrote: I have often wondered about the sheer numbers of taxi drivers there are in Worcester. So one day I asked a taxi driver. "ever tried to get a cab with no notice, between 8 and 9am on a weekday?" he said. Turns out that almost all the cabs out there are busy working for the council ferrying problem kids to school, that would otherwise not turn up without "door to door delivery". Make of that what you will.Offense taken ... Actually a lot of those kids have special needs or disabled, so check your facts first. I'm a parent of one of them and they are not and should not be labeled problem kids. The council are using more and more taxis to ferry our children to their special schools, I'm not in favour of it and prefer the escort buses. I know its a bit off topic but I don't feel that was a fair comment.
This is a job for specialist vehicles, I would have thought, with vetted, trained, staff. If these people can do this
http://www.worcester
news.co.uk/news/9654
891.Cabbie_dumped_me
dical_records/
with documents, who knows what they could do to a vulnerable child?
If I were a complete cynic, I might suspect that someone in the council thought this policy was a way of funnelling funds to members of a certain community, from which so many of our taxi drivers seem to be drawn.
Maybe this is one of those jobs best left to the local authorities, not the private sector, or certainly not this way.
More Tea Vicar
says...
4:38pm Wed 5 Sep 12
ideas4all wrote:Though in fairness it was the Cllr who made it all about race, wasn't it.
Mayall just admit it u have it in for these ppl do u remember the severn Trent story where u criticized a whole community whilst ignoring the complaint against the water company ppl like u only come out of the woodwork when certain race is involved
He could have just reported on a water cut, but he chose to report on it with special emphasis on the fact that it affected members of 'his' community.
He could have pointed out that water cuts happen occasionally, they are inconvenient, but most people just grin and bear it, get on with their lives.
I've never seen a councillor make a big deal about a water cut affecting white people, or claiming to speak for white people, or with any particular reference to white people's concerns.
Fifty
says...
6:17pm Wed 5 Sep 12
irresponsible.
Wh1t3Kn1ght
says...
8:46pm Wed 5 Sep 12
They are mostly around 10 years old and falling apart. Seats torn, bangs and scrapes along the bodywork. Filthy inside and worn away.
Oh and overpriced... I travel quite a bit with my career and I have to say Worcester has to be the most expensive place in the UK for taxis. So what are we paying for? dirty old second hand cabs and some of them aren't even safe or roadworthy (see previous stories in Your Worcester News for operations involving the Police and vehicle agency).
ray1111
says...
12:37am Thu 6 Sep 12
mayall8808
says...
7:53am Thu 6 Sep 12
2:45pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Mayall just admit it u have it in for these ppl do u remember the severn Trent story where u criticized a whole community whilst ignoring the complaint against the water company ppl like u only come out of the woodwork when certain race is involved
Rubbish; the water being off was the same for everyone not just muslims, it was poor reporting by WEN.
I did not mention race at all, show me where i did? You are the one looking to play that pathetic card, it was a Councillor who mentioned it too, get your facts right.
I am no way a racist and resent you saying so, i think you should take a look at yourself.
mayall8808
says...
8:48am Thu 6 Sep 12
Its always the same in any job i am afraid that the decent people are tarred with the same brush as the worst one's,
Its always the minority who spoil it all for the majority.
Perhaps we should all report when we see things are not as they should be and not just shrug shoulders and say nothing by doing that it will just get worse.
Fifty
says...
9:26am Thu 6 Sep 12
Jabbadad
says...
9:52am Thu 6 Sep 12
Paul Denham is now the Chair of the licensing Committee, prior to the last local election, he was active over the overall Taxi problem, coming up to the local Election the pressure was taken off the Taxi problem perhaps in order to appease the Taxis, and Lynn Denham was elected to represent the Cathedral Ward. You may read into this whatever you wish. Perhaps this is just an example of politics, only the Labour group know on this issue, perhaps there was a change of policy.
Sir Smeg
says...
10:19am Thu 6 Sep 12
t would seem that these people are above the law and will continue to park just where they **** well please!
raggedrobin
says...
11:36am Thu 6 Sep 12
Pavements are for people. Those of us who are disabled houldn't be forced onto the road in order to get round cars parked so they obstruct the pavement. We shouldn't have to try to keep an eye out behind us because of the stream of silent cyclists taking short-cuts on the pavement. We should be able to cross roads at marked pedestrian crossings when the lights are in our favour, without queues of nose-to-tail traffic obstructing the crossing, or cars jumping the lights at us.
Time for a concerted attack on antisocial vehicle users: saturation enforcement concentrating on one area of the City each day, so that no offender in the area goes unpunished seems to be needed.
mayall8808
says...
8:21am Fri 7 Sep 12
That says it all to me after reading the comments on here.
davidcollier1
says...
7:14am Sat 8 Sep 12
Sir
why does Worcester seem to have alo of closet racists and an inflated level of EDL membership?
is the WN the official mouthpiece of the EDL
Jabbadad
says...
9:34am Sat 8 Sep 12
Everyone should be allowed, to challenge, criticise, oppose things or people that they disagree with.
What has happened is the loose words thrown about like yourself encourage unfounded accusations when all that has to be recognised is the freedom of speech, which has been seriously and legally curtailed by slick lawyers, police, and do-gooders. In the eyes of some it is wrong to address someone using the persons country name.
There are those who are happy to come to live in the Uk for financial reasons, but then decide to instill their political, religious and soon lawful beliefs upon the existing population, while ignoring the law that already exists. They openly chant in the streets Death to The Police, and those who oppose them are then classed as racists. I do not support any unlawful actions taken against any nationality/person, but it has to work both ways. The moment there is an organised anti British demonstration on the streets, The Islamic Leaders rush to say that their members are not involved and they have no jurisdiction over them, even though they chant Islamic views.It is my understanding that the Mosques are very powerful and do control their followers, as seen even in this city.
Sadly David you have turned my day of rest into a rant, I wish I had not read your immature comment.
BlogIT
says...
4:04pm Sun 9 Sep 12
Yes you do have problems with queuing, just as they were queuing 2 years ago before you and the County Council came up with a master plan to cure it, not. Start issuing PCN's!
keeneye
says...
7:39am Mon 10 Sep 12
jenny001
says...
8:38am Mon 10 Sep 12
More Tea Vicar wrote:I agree with most of the faults of what's been mentioned abvout how the Taxis's are allowed to run in our City but it's the same old problem with the morans who run it ie yet again Simon Geraghty. If l went down town and could not park but decided to double park and wait for a space l would be given a ticket - why not do the same to Taxis and after so many with draw the license. This Council does not realise the damage they are doing to our town by driving people into other areas rather than support our own shops keepers, many because of the parking fiasco
Interesting. I notice that in some places, too - generally a bit out of the way, and in the evening.
It's inexcusable and it is serious. If the restrictions are there, it should be because they are needed. If the Council is, as usual, failing in its duty, then it is wasting our money on enforcement officer salaries. It is also undermining its own, and the law's, credibility.
But regarding the taxis, the big issue is that there are so many of them, often parked wrongly, and prominently. Given that they depend on a licence from the council to ply their trade, it is clearly something the council should act on, even more so than for ordinary offenders.
RogerLFC says...
9:36am Mon 3 Sep 12