News

Tensions on taxi rank lead police to call for calm

By Alice Murphy
April 29, 2010

A mediation meeting to calm tensions between Wokingham’s taxi drivers has been put on ice.

British Transport Police (BTP) had tried to play peacemaker by organising a gathering of taxi drivers and staff from Wokingham railway station.

The meeting, which has been postponed, was designed to be an opportunity for both groups to get together with Wokingham Borough Council’s licensing team and discuss a better way of working.

Wokingham’s biggest taxi rank is outside station and one driver said at times friction exists between drivers.

Imran Hussein, who has been based at the rank for 10 years, said: “There is quite a bit of squabbling between the various drivers and problems have been escalating at the station.

“South West Trains owns the rank and we have been asking for a lot of things.

“There has been vandalism of the station toilets so they are often closed if there is only one member of staff but that means the drivers have nowhere to go.

“British Transport Police asked for a meeting.”

Members of staff from the council’s licensing department are trying to liaise with drivers to improve relations between them.

Mr Hussein added: “The licence to be on the rank costs £20,000 between the 50 drivers but there are too many taxis.

“Including private hire, there are 370 taxis in the borough and it means that with the closure of night-time places like Chameleon nightclub and the Duke’s Head pub there aren’t enough jobs to go around.

“The drivers are fractured and because they are sitting at the rank for long stretches of time, they sit around arguing.”

He added: “There needs to be a limit on the number of drivers [waiting at the rank] and that’s something we would want to discuss at the meeting.

“We are earning about £5 an hour at the moment because the rank is so quiet.”

A recent court case involving a driver who ran over a man’s foot outside the railway station was dismissed at Bracknell Magistrates’ Court on Monday, April 11, but Mr Hussein said it had caused consternation between drivers.

He added: “So far the meetings with the council have not made very much progress but I hope the planned CabWatch scheme gets going and things improve.”

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We got a taxi from Wokingham station to Yateley last night. It cost £25 - that's £4 a mile. Total rip-off and we won't be making that mistake again! How can they justify such prices!? I think we were 'done'

Yateley lad
30/05/2010 at 10:45

The council has created a major problems with a lack of toilets throughout Wokingham. Anyone who is not happy going into public houses has is left with no where to go.

David Wilson, Wokingham
08/05/2010 at 16:48

The cost of taxis is ridiculous, I got a taxi once from the station to the top of Rose Street and it was £6 - utter joke!

Snuffles
04/05/2010 at 12:32

Agree with the above statement - a 1.25 mile journey home costs me £7.50 off-peak and around £10-£12 "after hours" - a ridiculous amount of money. No wonder people aren't using the taxi services. I was in Manchester last week, I paid £1.50 per mile only in a cab. Unfortunately the bus service is also so unreliable and does not run late so this is also not an option. With the massive hikes in station car park charges (so much for inflation) the cost has almost tripled for parking in the last 18 months. So now I've gone green, and just dusted off my old bike that I don't mind leaving at the station. Bottom Line - If the taxis were more cost-effective, they would get more trade.

Dave S., Barkham
29/04/2010 at 18:28

Many taxis in Wokingham do come from outside the area at night. We really don't need that many around the town. Perhaps we should only have Wokingham taxis picking up in Wokingham Borough? I've asked many and it seems they come from Bracknell, Slough, Windsor...

It is so expensive because there is an excess of cabs. They end up sitting around for long periods and we have to pay for that downtime too. I pay £5 going in to the station when I ring up and book a cab, and £9 coming back from the taxis waiting at the rank. If I get the last train back, they know it is their last fare, and sometimes get a bit grumpy when they find out it is "only" a £9 one having waited in the queue for an hour or so. Sorry guv, but sometimes I don't want to walk for 25 mins at 1am!

mavdo, Wokingham
29/04/2010 at 18:05

to many taxis in wokingham on friday and saturday nights.they must come from out of the area as they often ask for directions to destination.why do they try to pick up fares in the street and forget to turn on their meters.I WONDER WHY. maybe broad street to plough lane £13 thats why.

right said fred
29/04/2010 at 15:45

I'm not surprised business is slow as it costs £7 to travel less than 1.5 miles from the station to Rances Lane.

wokinghamresident
29/04/2010 at 14:44

Fighting and squabbling taxi drivers - tag them and don't let them out after 6pm!

I bet the taxi drivers wouldn't turn up to a meeting unless they had their meters running!