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Taxis triumph in Bournemouth battle for the bus stops

8:00am Wednesday 17th March 2010 in


TAXI drivers in Bournemouth have won a battle with the council to be allowed to drop off and pick up fares at bus stops without being fined.

United Taxis fought for the exemption after the council’s camera car snapped drivers pulling up in bus stops.

Derek Heritage said drivers try and avoid dropping people off on bus stops but sometimes it is the only option – especially for disabled, elderly and partially sighted customers.

Mr Heritage appealed to the council to take a “common sense approach. The council have agreed that a taxi can park at bus stops providing it is reasonable for them to set down customers. We would like to thank the council for allowing us to be involved in the consultation.”

Taxis will still face fines for parking on zig zags outside schools although a number of sites are in discussions with drivers to arrange appropriate places to stop.

If caught motorists face a £70 fine, reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days.

Cllr Robert Lawton, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “We have worked in partnership with representatives of the taxi trade to come to an initial set of agreements regarding the setting down and picking up of passengers in bus stops and disabled bays. We will be continuing our discussions with the taxi trade to create a formal quality taxi partnership, effectively producing a Code of Conduct that will be binding on both parties.”

Comments(10)

cantique says...
9:28am Wed 17 Mar 10

Can we expect this 'common sense approach' to permeate through the council as a whole. I doubt it! Common sense does not fit in with the jobsworth regime.

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mikey2gorgeous says...
9:46am Wed 17 Mar 10

Has this been agreed with a promise from taxi drivers not to exceed the speed limit?
.
They call themselves 'professional' drivers - I know of no other profession that blatantly breaks the safety laws that govern it. Would you be happy if your doctor didn't bother washing his hands?

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Redgolfer says...
10:31am Wed 17 Mar 10

mikey2gorgeous wrote:
Has this been agreed with a promise from taxi drivers not to exceed the speed limit?
.
They call themselves 'professional' drivers - I know of no other profession that blatantly breaks the safety laws that govern it. Would you be happy if your doctor didn't bother washing his hands?
Mikey, of course on your BIKE you would never, never break the speed limit, what was the report about infection at BMTH Hospital, whoops getting away from the issue.
After Midnight in my taxi as a professional driver am I expected to observe the 30 miles an hour speed limit with passengers on board when I am the ONLY car on the road, get real, just for the record, my only points for speeding came way back in 1971 on West Way so I reckon I can call myself a professional driver, by the way, did you do the cycling proficency test for bikes.

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jobsworthwatch says...
10:39am Wed 17 Mar 10

We should all be able to drop-off/pick-up at a bus stop without being fined providing we dont leave our vehicle or we are not obstructing a bus thats trying to pull-in. If you have to drop-off/pick-up children, or those with limited mobility and there is not a bus in sight with nowhere else to stop, using the bus stop does not seem unreasonable purely on health and safety grounds. Surely the council and camera car operators realise this...its common sense!

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mikey2gorgeous says...
10:47am Wed 17 Mar 10

@redgolfer - in my personal experience I have rarely taken a taxi ride that has stuck to the speed limit. That's not just after midnight on empty roads (TBH I don't believe that's the only time you do it).
.
Why do you consider the law on speeding one you can break with impunity? Why is taking the decision to speed any less serious than taking the decision to drink-drive? They both have the same effect to vulnerable road users.
.
The cycling proficiency test teaches children how to cycle to try and avoid being hit by a car. Nothing to do with the danger posed to others.
.
Presumably you took the same car test as all the rest of us? What does it achieve except to give drivers a false sense of pride and self-importance? It doesn't prevent accidents or lawlessness. Anyone who fails it can just take it again and again until they pass.

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contric says...
11:21am Wed 17 Mar 10

jobsworthwatch makes some good points here i think bus lanes are another area to look at we need to use as much of the roads aspossible so as long as you dont hold up a bus why not use a bus lane holdenhurst road is a good example for years if you come up from queens park pub you sit there while the traffic builds up if you used the bus lane when no buses are about it would ease traffic a bit and hinder no-one to me that would be a common sense move

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glennzilla says...
1:15pm Wed 17 Mar 10

mikey2gorgeous wrote:
Has this been agreed with a promise from taxi drivers not to exceed the speed limit?
.
They call themselves 'professional' drivers - I know of no other profession that blatantly breaks the safety laws that govern it. Would you be happy if your doctor didn't bother washing his hands?
Actually no, because the law already allows taxi drivers this privilege.
Click on the link below, scroll down to 4(d). http://www.opsi.gov.
uk/SI/si2002/2002311
3.htm#sch19

Where the council has relented is with regard to Private Hire vehicles because legally they are not Taxis and do not enjoy the same exemptions.

I have no real argument with regard the speeding issue except that those rules apply to ALL motorists and taxi drivers are not the only ones who break them, it is just that we are a more easliy identifiable group.

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rainbowkisses says...
6:00pm Wed 17 Mar 10

Redgolfer wrote:
mikey2gorgeous wrote: Has this been agreed with a promise from taxi drivers not to exceed the speed limit? . They call themselves 'professional' drivers - I know of no other profession that blatantly breaks the safety laws that govern it. Would you be happy if your doctor didn't bother washing his hands?
Mikey, of course on your BIKE you would never, never break the speed limit, what was the report about infection at BMTH Hospital, whoops getting away from the issue. After Midnight in my taxi as a professional driver am I expected to observe the 30 miles an hour speed limit with passengers on board when I am the ONLY car on the road, get real, just for the record, my only points for speeding came way back in 1971 on West Way so I reckon I can call myself a professional driver, by the way, did you do the cycling proficency test for bikes.
You might be the only car on the road (which I doubt as we see loads at that time of night) but what about pedestrians walking home a little bit worse for wear? I'm sure you think you are so good a driver that you couldn't possible hit one of those while you are speeding along to your next job. And the answer to your question is YES you are expected to obey the limits at ALL times, not just when you feel like it. You are the reason so many people run taxi drivers down. You are so full of it, you think you have the God given right to drive how you want, were you want and as fast as you want. As for not having points on your licence. That's not because you are a good diver, just a lucky one. The sooner they slap average speed camaras in, the sooner idiots like you will have enough points to get you off the road for at least a year. You really want to hope you never pick us up one night, because if you speed, I will report you myself. I would suggest all readers do that, if your driver speeds, takes the long way round, trys to short change you etc....don't just moan, report them. "professional driver"... don't make me laugh. Note for Mr Echo. As this so called taxi driver has blatantly stated that he speeds, how about reporting him. You have his name and address, so do it. You never know, you might save yourself from having to report about how a speeding taxi driver plowed into people walking home one night.

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richp says...
7:25pm Wed 17 Mar 10

Speed limits are unlike other laws - the clean hands comparison only works if there was a set level of cleanliness to be reached. Travelling at 30 mph can be considered speeding, but has been generally accepted as a reasonable alternative to banning motorised road transport. A driver exceeding the limit by a few miles an hour is breaking the law, but that does not make her/him the scum of the earth. All this vitriol should be reserved for people who wantonly and deliberately commit anti social crimes that spoil our quality of life, not Mr. or Mrs. Average Taxi Driver.

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rainbowkisses says...
11:17pm Wed 17 Mar 10

A few miles per hour? I suggest you stand on Southbourne/Boscombe overcliff drive on a friday/saturday night. You will see taxis going past in excess of 70mph because they know the Police don't patrol it. It would be a good place to set up a speed trap. They are sure to get speeders, especially if they keep it covert, not ging the drivers chance to warn others via the radio. I would think that every taxi using that route would be speeding. I don't class redgolfer as scum because he goes faster than the speed limit, I class him scum because he boasts about it. Everybody thinks they are good drivers, but those limits are in place for a reason. I bet everytime somebody who was speeding hit another person, they always thought they were in control too. Don't forget, this driver could be taking your kids to school one day.

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