Cabbies’ dismay at York Station taxi rank changes (From York Press)

Cabbies’ dismay at York Station taxi rank changes

7:48am Tuesday 5th February 2013 in News By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

ANGER is growing among York taxi drivers and passengers over the moving of the drop-off point outside York Station.

Barry Hamer, chairman of York Private Hire Association, has called for a meeting with officials at rail company East Coast to discuss the two-week experiment.

The drop-off point at the front of the station has been blocked off to private-hire drivers, who now have to leave passengers round the corner from the station in Tea Room Square.

Mr Hamer also wants passengers and drivers to write to East Coast to demand the permanent reopening of the vehicle access in the covered area at the entrance to the station.

“They didn’t tell anybody they were going to do it,” he said.

“The first we knew about it was when a minicab driver tried to get down there with a disabled passenger and couldn’t.

“What are disabled people, pensioners and tourists going to think when they come to this city?”

Mr Hamer said he understood the land at the front of the station historically belonged to City of York Council but that it had been handed over to the railway companies to use.

“I’m getting a lot of drivers coming to me asking what we are going to do about this. I am asking every passenger of every taxi company to ask why this has been done.

"There was no consultation. I want a meeting with East Coast to establish a different way of going about this because everybody is complaining about it,” he said.

An East Coast spokesman said the changes were part of a two-week trial by the company, which runs the station, and would continue until Monday.

He said: “Its purpose is to improve vehicle and pedestrian safety at this very busy location.

“The trial is being conducted with full involvement and support from City of York Council as the highways authority, who are installing additional signage to ensure the trial relocation is clearly understood by everyone using the station.

“We have also liaised with the major taxi operator at the station.

“At the end of the trial, we will revert to the previous arrangements and assess the results, including consulting fully with the taxi proprietors, before considering any longer-term revisions to the layout.”