Post by acnedriver on Dec 19, 2022 6:30:04 GMT
Almost 100 fines were handed out last month to members of the public caught using taxi ranks as part of a crackdown by the council.
Worcester City Council said it handed out handfuls of fines to problem parkers blocking and parking in the city centre’s ranks in November.
A total of 92 non-taxi drivers were slapped with penalty notices by the city council as it stepped up evening patrols following a wave of complaints.
Three weeks ago, the city council said it had already handed out 48 fines, including nine in one day during a sweeping patrol of the city centre’s taxi ranks, during the first weeks of November and the council plans to carry out more next year.
Some of the city’s taxi drivers had been calling for extra patrols to put a stop to over-ranking and problematic parking and blamed the council for not patrolling ranks regularly and penalising drivers.
Long queues of taxis are regularly found spilling out of ranks in the city centre, including on busy routes such as Foregate Street, The Cross and Friar Street, creating problems for pedestrians, cyclists, buses, the emergency services and other drivers.
The council’s response to the complaints was discussed by the licensing and environmental health committee at a meeting in the Guildhall on Monday (December 12).
Cllr Simon Cronin, who had been leading calls for extra enforcement, said the number of fines handed out to drivers was a “step in the right direction.”
He said: “I’m very pleased to see that we are now sending our [enforcement officers] out and particularly in the evening time when people think they can do this without any consequences … I’m delighted that we are enforcing these now and long may it continue.
“If we do see an upsurge in this sort of abuse I shall be lobbying for an enhanced level of enforcement in the future.
“In the meantime, I’m really glad we have had this sort of response. It would be great to think that it brought the problem to an end, it hasn’t but it’s a step in the right direction.”
uk.news.yahoo.com/crackdown-sees-wave-fines-handed-050000218.html
Worcester City Council said it handed out handfuls of fines to problem parkers blocking and parking in the city centre’s ranks in November.
A total of 92 non-taxi drivers were slapped with penalty notices by the city council as it stepped up evening patrols following a wave of complaints.
Three weeks ago, the city council said it had already handed out 48 fines, including nine in one day during a sweeping patrol of the city centre’s taxi ranks, during the first weeks of November and the council plans to carry out more next year.
Some of the city’s taxi drivers had been calling for extra patrols to put a stop to over-ranking and problematic parking and blamed the council for not patrolling ranks regularly and penalising drivers.
Long queues of taxis are regularly found spilling out of ranks in the city centre, including on busy routes such as Foregate Street, The Cross and Friar Street, creating problems for pedestrians, cyclists, buses, the emergency services and other drivers.
The council’s response to the complaints was discussed by the licensing and environmental health committee at a meeting in the Guildhall on Monday (December 12).
Cllr Simon Cronin, who had been leading calls for extra enforcement, said the number of fines handed out to drivers was a “step in the right direction.”
He said: “I’m very pleased to see that we are now sending our [enforcement officers] out and particularly in the evening time when people think they can do this without any consequences … I’m delighted that we are enforcing these now and long may it continue.
“If we do see an upsurge in this sort of abuse I shall be lobbying for an enhanced level of enforcement in the future.
“In the meantime, I’m really glad we have had this sort of response. It would be great to think that it brought the problem to an end, it hasn’t but it’s a step in the right direction.”
uk.news.yahoo.com/crackdown-sees-wave-fines-handed-050000218.html