29/03/2010
South coast taxi operators have been left angered and out of pocket by the relocation of a key rank in Portsmouth.
With a 95-store shopping centre, 30 different places to eat, a 14-screen cinema, fitness club, bowling alley, hotel and nightclub, stylish new Gunwharf Quays is a major focal point for shopping and leisure. At 170 metres tall, the eye-catching Spinnaker Tower is higher than Blackpool Tower and the London Eye and has attracted over a million visitors since opening in 2005.
Overlooking Portsmouth’s historic docks, the development also features the creation of several hundred up-market apartments, including a 29-storey residential tower.
Bad Move
All good for taxi business, you would think. And you’d be right, on the whole. The site quickly became a key pick-up for Portsmouth’s hackney taxis. But last year the developers decided to move the taxi rank several hundred yards further away from the main shopping complex.
The design as well as the location of the new taxi rank is causing major headaches for the local cab trade.
Taxi driver representative Ali Changezi explained: “The new rank is just too far from the shopping centre. It’s not covered and, especially in poor weather, people just don’t want to walk that far with all their bags.”
Barrier
Ali continued: “To make matters worse, the rank has a raised kerb between it and the road. This means that if someone with a pushchair or even a wheelchair needs to get one of the accessible cabs in the fleet, they can’t get out of the queue to pick up the fare.
“Muslim taxi drivers who want to go to the Mosque at prayer times also find they are blocked in on the rank and can’t get out.”
Cab business has suffered drastically as a result of the move, with taxi drivers often now waiting up to two hours for a single fare. In the meantime, there are no toilet facilities close to the rank.
Lost Earnings
Frustrated Ali said: “Our trade has dropped something like 70% since the move, which is causing massive financial problems for all of the guys trying to provide a service and earn a living here.
“To make matters worse, we now have private hire drivers regularly picking up outside the centre,” adds Ali.
Cabbies say they weren’t properly consulted on the move. They’ve since spoken to the developer, who sites ‘security reasons’ for having to move the taxi rank. They’ve also spoken to the Council – which says it’s private property so it’s up to the taxi rank location is up to the developer.
“People’s livelihoods are at stake here. We’ve tried to raise the issue but nobody seems to be listening”, complained Ali.
“Is it right that we should be treated like this?” he asked. “Is it not against Human Rights law to block us in and prevent freedom of movement to do our jobs and attend religious activities?”