The Journal Thursday October 24 1991
Traffic chaos is set to hit a busy town centre because of a dispute between taxi drivers and Tyneside Metro chiefs,it was claimed last night.
taxi drivers on North Tyneside are furious at plans by the passenger Transport Executive to prevent them from using a yard to wait for a rank space to become free at North Shields Metro Station.
The move follows claims of abuse and assault by at least one Taxi driver on Metro staff and police. A man has been arrested and charged with assault and court proceedings are active.
Instead Taxis will be asked to drive around a one and a half mile section of the town centre until one of only four rank spaces becomes free.
The drivers say this is impractical as it could mean up to 40 cars circling the area at any one time,creating traffic chaos…….. The North Tyneside branchof the Federation of taxi Drivers will be trying to operate the new system for one hour tomorrow lunchtime in a bid to show how unworkable it is.
18 years later the taxis are still using this rank and the Yard at the centre of that dispute. We are still there because we stuck together and made a stand against someone as large as the T&W PTE and it paid off. the drivers of that time stuck together and did not sit back and hope for the best but fought for their livelyhood. That was just one example of our solidarity it worked then and it would work today if drivers made a stand.
Lots of the older Taxi Drivers on Tyneside will remember stories like this one and the reason the trade still has any work at all is because of actions like these in years gone by but if todays drivers don’t stand tall the drivers of the future,which will be some of the younger drivers just starting out now,will have a much harder time of it. Take something from this story and think about things hard.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
It seems to be a general change in the British attitudes, years ago strikes were more common, unions played a bigger part in business and a one for all, all for one attitude was a core belief. These days its everyman for himself, most people don’t want to get involved and challenge the council/authorities, but as Mr Shanks has said, these people are by description “public servants” and I believe they should be held to account for all decisions that they make.
Those days are long gone i`m afraid,as said the attitude now is `stab some one else in the back before they stab you`…mores the pity.
that flew passed,didnt even try to slow down. The driver couldnt get the nuts slack…took my full 18stone,plus a bar to do that….thanks ATS,next time try welding them on….
What with `Political Correctness` gone mad,and the general attitude towards each other now,maybe we deserve to be tret like `shit`,because thats the way some are looking down on us,thinking `those yellow bellies haven`t got the bottle or gumshion to argue`,so lets treat them like shit.
I dare not think what the LTDA in London would do….not just national headlines,probably world headlines i`d bet.
Just to illustrate my point,I was on the spine road,comming back from Cramlington,(about 2 weeks age),one of our asian friends had a flat between moor farm and Killingworth roundabouts,I stopped to see what was up,4ways on….the number of taxis…(about 7 or
As Ian Shanks said,so rightly in his last comment,there was a time when the situation we have in Town,wouldnt need enforcement,the drivers would have dealt with it long before enforcement found their way out of the civic.
The days when Magpie,Slaters,some NODA. would have impromtue meetings with captured `flimpers` behind the station,no prizes for guessing what happened then.
When I worked down the coast,1 night in Tynemouth,a flimper was caught picking up…..he and his car was taken down the fish quay,the driver removed from said car,and said car was then `launched on exercise` into the river,just behind the old lifeboat slipway.
Driver was told if he wanted to flimp,his car was out there somewhere.
I`m afraid ford sierras didnt pass the `self-righting` test that the lifeboat has to,it may still be there……
We were a different bread of men then.
In fact,I`ll just say this,If the attitude we have towards our jobs,and fellow drivers had been as is now,back in 1939 to 1945,we would all be speaking German now…..Auf Weidersein….Gutten Nacht.
@john dodds,
Well said John!, no one would help your Asian friend, does not surprise me, last year five Taxis drove past me getting chinned by 5 Customers, as I was driving a 7 seater NT Hack at the time, 3 NT Hacks, 2 NT PH, the funny thing 2 out of 5 of them are supposed to be “Big men”, anyway it was a foreign BLT Driver that stopped to offer assistance!!!!, that just shows what we are like.
Regards
Stephen
@Stephen (FKA Central Enth.),Steve Lets just hope we can change this on tuesday.And come together as one to fight this harresment by the police & LA.There has been a huge increase in drivers being fined in the last three weaks for useing Dene st to the queyside or for parking up while waiting to get on to a rank.I know I cant afford to pay out a £60 fine every time I go to work as it wont take long before you go bust or hand the car back to the owner.We need to come together on this wether you be NHDA,UITA,BLACK,ASIAN,WHITE,RENT OR OWN.Its not the drivers fault there in this position due to the lack of rank spases & the number of Licences released by the LA
SO PLEASE DONT LEAVE OVERS TO DO YOUR FIGHTING FOR YOU.
i would ask your council how THEY suggest resolving the situation as ther must be some responsability on them when licensing as many cars to have adaquate parking and ranks !! when building house you must provide parking so the council must have some toughts on how to help you. after all thats what they are there for to provide a service to you the license payer.
maybe a silly thought !! but get some legal advice first !! but what about presenting the parking fines back to the licensing department as they are the owners of the hackney plates at all times.
in the conditions of license do they excempt themselves from parking fines presented to the car they license ??? only silly thought coming out might head so dont shout at me
but what ever bang on the doors of the licesing department to help you the trade that they are there to serve !!!
I would just say this,we have to remember the Police are only doing what the LA have told them to do,they have given us alot of lea way for a long time,and they know the problems we have. If Northumbria Police had enforced the law properly,most of us would be out of business by now.
We actually need the Police on our side,so anyone who gets a ticket,or asked to move,I would ask you to play along,i know that possibly means loosing business,but it will work in our favour at the end of the day. Remember,the opinion of the Police carries more weight with the LA than ours does,(Plod was instrumental in maintaining the cap on plates last year)
@john dodds MEN OR MICE
Hear what your saying John but some times talking is not enough & sometimes you have to upset people you don’t want to like the police to put your point across & make people sit up & liston.If the Suffragettes had just talked & no action then women still would not have the vote today. So come Tuesday we will see if we are men or mice.
@BIG DAVE, Lets hope the multi owners turn up at this meeting tomorrow night as they have a lot more to lose than most.The work is getting less by the weak the bits are high & the last thing we need are fines for trying to make a honest living.So as John Dodds said lets try & sort this mess out as its every ones problem not just owner drivers.