10.05.13
New Street taxi parking criticised by cab drivers
Taxi drivers have hit out at Birmingham New Street’s redevelopment for having insufficient parking, leading to charges and congestion.
The £600m redevelopment has just passed the halfway mark, with a temporary taxi rank set up on Navigation Street. However the rank only has space for 11 cabs, with up to 200 other taxis paying to park in Hill Street car park, over 400 yards away.
Taxis can move through to Navigation Street when spaces become available, but drivers claim they are losing customers due to the arrangement and creating gridlock around the city.
Drivers have launched a petition calling for more pick-up points around and within the station.
Ivan Boon, liaison officer for TOA Taxis, told the Birmingham Mail: “There’s a simple lack of parking places for cars to feed the ranks. They have spent £600m on this station, but I doubt £10 has been spent thinking about where the taxis are going to go.
“The cabs are almost as important as the trains, because people need them to get where they are going, but we seem to be an after-thought when they were planning the changes.”
A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “We are only part way through the development and are working in a constrained space. When the development is finished the taxis will be moved back. We are halfway through, with major construction work ongoing until final completion in 2015.
“As a result there are some temporary measures in place for taxis which we consulted on and agreed with the city taxi associations and Birmingham City Council, prior to the switchover on 28 April. The system is in early operation and we are monitoring it closely to ensure it operates smoothly for both drivers and passengers.”
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