Taxi!

In Nottingham, as with many cities and towns throughout the UK, Hackney cab taxis are a vital part of the community’s transport system. They quickly get passengers from point A to point B, and most importantly, are outfitted to come to the aid of those who aren’t as able to take buses and trams – the elderly, the disabled, and the infirm.

Beyond helping transport the most vulnerable, Hackney cab drivers are also lifeline when Nottingham is particularly busy, during events such as football, cricket, concerts at the Arena, the Royal Concert Hall, regular student events, the Beer Festival, as well as consistently busy weekends, and much more.

But following proposals that have been pushed through without consultation, Nottingham City Council will be moving long-established taxi ranks now located just outside Nottingham Train Station nearly 600 meters away, and so will sever the tie that taxi drivers have with those most in need of their services.

The Council has justified the move as part of redevelopment plans to make the city more visually appealing, but in the process has refused to listen to the community itself.

“We are all for redevelopment of the city – we welcome it with open arms,” said Unite regional officer Scott Lennon. “We understand the need to attract more businesses to the area and ensure that the city has a modern look, allowing visitors and local people to shop, eat, relax and socialise.”

“But the council has not taken to account the needs of our people and has refused to listen to those who will be most affected by these changes,” he explained.

Wheelchair-accessible Hackney cabs have historically provided a service through bus-gates in the city. But the Council has also pushed through proposals that will restrict taxis’ access to these bus gates, which again will have a major impact on the disabled.

This change will also mean that passenger journey length and time will be needlessly extended.

“The knock-on effects will be higher taxi fares, which will ultimately hit our trade, and will also add pressure to traffic flow,” Lennon noted.

‘Affect the vulnerable’

“Moving taxi ranks so far away from the station and obscuring ranking space will affect those who are most vulnerable. For example, women would be forced to stray far from a public space to look for potentially unlicensed and dangerous cabs.”

To fight these changes, last week (May 25), Hackney taxi drivers teamed up with the Nottingham community and staged a peaceful demonstration, in which more than 200 drivers and people from community, elderly and disabled groups united to march down to the Council offices and ask for a constructive meeting.

“The community support from all key stakeholders has been overwhelmingly positive,” Lennon said. “The demonstration was well attended and we’re continuing our campaign through Facebook and Twitter as well as leafletting.”

“We have even put together alternative proposals, with a redesign that still meets the needs of redevelopment that’s been put forward by a professional architect.”

But Lennon noted that although the Council has promised to meet with taxi drivers following the flood of community support, they have repeatedly cancelled meetings.

“They’ve made many promises and are now saying they will meet with us next week,” Lennon said. “But we will continue our campaign until they finally keep their promises and work with us constructively.”

Another demonstration is set for Monday, June 13.

Unite joint-chair of the National Taxi Committee Mike Hedges called on the Council to change course.

“It is unfortunate that through the inaction of Nottingham City Council to install a suitable taxi rank at the station, taxi drivers and users have been forced to demonstrate,” he said.

“It is time for the council to immediately come together with Unite to find a solution and to take rank issues seriously.”

Find out more about the Hackney taxi drivers campaign in Nottingham from their Facebook page here.

@hajera_unite