Taxi drivers uproar as newly revamped Waverley train station looks to impose pick up charges
A Taxi boss has warned that if pickup charges are imposed on taxi drivers at the revamped Waverley station, most would refuse to pay.
As part of the proposals for a massive redevelopment of Edinburgh's main train station, a levy may be imposed on the pickup of all passengers causing uproar amongst the trade.
A draft masterplan unveiled last month also reveals the possibility of the new taxi rank being located on the "wrong side" of the station, meaning on many occasions when most passengers want a journey heading north, south or west, the likelihood is that there could be £6 on the meter before they manage to drive around the stations traffic.
Tony Kenmuir, of Central Taxis, has said that if the new layout is designed to "wheeze" money off the taxi trade, his company would not be paying to use any rank.
As reported by the Edinburgh News, Kenmuir said: “If the project is a wheeze to try and take money off the taxi trade, I don’t see why we would drop people off, drive empty to the wrong side of the station and pay for the privilege of getting in. “I don’t charge them for delivering passengers to them. Why should they charge me for picking them up? We pay our licence for the privilege of picking up anywhere in the licensing area. “Some taxi drivers individually might decide to pay but the majority will not.” The taxi rank inside the station was removed in 2014, causing an outcry from disabled people and others who said the move made access more difficult.
Mr Kenmuir said: “They kicked us out of the station and said it was for security reasons. Now they apparently want to let us back in, but charge us for it.
"I think we’ve got wise to that. We will not be paying them.”
Network Rail said no decision had been made on the issue of charging taxis. A spokesman said: “We have not gone into that level of detail yet. “But it is pretty standard now for taxis to pay a charge for pick-ups when they are using ranks in stations or airports.”
Image: Source; Wikimedia Commons
Author; Yuriy Lapitskiy
