As congestion grips York, taxi driver Paul Nacey says the problems that have left him on the verge of quitting

"IF THINGS get any worse, I am going to have to go on Income Support."

That's the opinion of taxi driver Paul Nacey, commenting on the difficulties being experienced by cabbies in the city.

"I've seen takings drop by about 15 per cent recently and it makes you wonder whether it is worth staying in the job. It is not easy being a single parent at the best of times, but these new problems are costing me dear.

"Living in Copmanthorpe doesn't help. It takes me a good half-hour to get in to the Ebor office and that is time lost that could have been spent picking up fares.

"It is not just taking ages to get people to their destinations, it is taking time getting to pick-ups, and that is dead time for us.

"As the main taxi firm for the university, a lot of our work is on the side of the city that is worst hit.

"The congestion is slowly strangling York and it is going to kill this city.

"A lot of passengers in my taxi have said what a lovely place York is, but that they wouldn't come back here because they spend so much time sitting in traffic.

"Some pensioners are going to end up housebound as the £4 fares into town go up to around £7 because of the terrible problems on the road. This is more than some people can afford. And fares to the train station can no longer be guaranteed. The 15-minute journeys from the university to the station are now taking up to an hour.

"People are missing trains and there is very little that can be done. Passengers are getting frustrated and so are the drivers.

"The traffic in York has got progressively worse over the seven years I have been a driver here, and the last few weeks, and I expect the next few, are going to be even worse.

"I would love this Highways Agency fellow David Phillips to come and spend a day with me in the cab - then he could see for himself what is happening to the city."

Updated: 11:00 Monday, October 29, 2001