Transport management in Wales have confirmed that the newly refurbished Pontypridd train station does not have space for a taxi rank.
Not surprisingly the announcement has not been well received by cabbies in the area.
£6 Million Station Refurbishment
Historically, the taxi rank in Ponytypridd was based at Taff Street but during a £10.5 million overhaul of the town, the rank was moved to a temporary location right on the door step of the train station.
“The official taxi rank will remain in the town centre where it was prior to works.”
However, as work moved over to the station, with £6 million being invested in the refurbishment, it was agreed that the rank would be returned to Taff Street.
18 months on and Arriva Trains Wale has confirmed that its brand new state of the art train station doesn’t include space for an official taxi rank.
Explaining the decision, an Arriva Trains Wales spokeswoman said: “In the past, there hasn’t been a taxi rank at Pontypridd Station, however the official taxi rank was moved temporarily to the station during the improvement works to the town centre.
“Now that the improvement works have been completed, the official taxi rank will remain in the town centre where it was prior to works.
“This has been agreed with key partner agencies such as the Rhondda Cynon Taf council, South Wales Police, the British Transport Police and Network Rail amid safety concerns about the public crossing over the busy dual carriageway in front of the station to access the rank.
“The official taxi rank in the town centre is approximately a 100m walk from the station along a safe walking route and in addition, in the interests of integration, taxis will still be able to pick up and drop off at the station during the hours of station operations, with a limited waiting time of 20 minutes.
“Once the station has closed, the forecourt will be closed to vehicular access to reduce the risk of anti-social behaviour on the station front and to reduce the need for night time crossing of the road.
“Along with our local partners, we will continue to monitor the taxi arrangements at the station.”
Unhappy Cab Drivers
The decision has upset local taxi drivers who can’t understand why a station rank wasn’t included in the refurbishment plans.
Disgruntled, Lee Braund of Atlas Taxis, said: “Arriva has told us we can still pick up and drop off at the station, but only for pre-arranged calls. There will be no physical taxi rank there.
“We were based at the station around 18 months ago and we want them to put the taxi rank back there, it worked well.
“People who are from out of town won’t have a taxi number and there won’t be one waiting for them either.
“They might want to get a taxi to the Dewi Sant Hospital, to the shops or to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital which isn’t accessible by train and the bus station is at the other end of town.
“Most people who arrive at a train station want to further their journey and we should be making it as easy as possible for visitors to the town.”