ABOLITION OF TAXI-STANDS

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 21033, 8 December 1933, Page 17

ABOLITION OF TAXI-STANDS

TO THE EDITOR Or THE TKESS. Sir,— By "The Press"' this morning I read that the City Council has abolished yet another city taxi-stand. )"t apparently cloes not concern the ( 4mcil very much what becomes of |he drivers who use these ranks, as no provision has been reported as jnade for the accommodation of these ejected men. During the past years several other stands have been abolished, and unsuitable positions found, in such cases as the council considered at all. The Cashel street stand, whigii accommodated three taxis, was the first or second stand closed of late times. No provision wa s made here except for one taxi on the opposite side of the roadway. Tlie old Clock Tower stand was also closed about this time, and provision made for two taxis in Lichfield street, right away from the public view. As a consequence about nine taxis which worked this stand, have removed to other stands, causing congestion, mostly in Cathedral square. A stand jnade lately in Victoria square was removed to Armagh street, and soon after abolished. Most of these taxis are to be found back again in the square. I believe Chester street stand also has been abolished. This treatment of taxi-men, who pay a license for the privilege of working the stands and earning a living in the service ©£ the public, is not just, nor does it give the public the taxi facilities that are possible with better distributed, if smaller stands, throughout the busier shopping area. Th<s reason given for the closing of Hereford street stand was that complaints had been made by shopkeepers. If Wellington can "safely place its taxis in the middle of the streets, why should not Christchurch, with its wider streets, do the same? The City £ouncil, by law, is compelled to find stands for taxis. It should be the council's policy to discharge this obligation by considering the needs of the public, and that of the taxi-men. By making stands in out-of-the-way corners, it does neither, but rather exhibits itself as ill-advised and lacking in understanding. In its attempt to control the congestion on the principal ranks, to which most of the taxis are attracted, the council has created what it terms feeder-stands. These I consider are illegal. They are situated in Cambridge terrace, over Worcester street bridge, in Hereford street, opposite the Police Station, and in Latimer square. No provision is made by the council for communication between feeder and stand. It is unreasonable for the council to expect drivers to know in Latimer square, when a vacancy occurs on a rank in Cathedral square. One or two firms have provided a telephone service between stand and feeder at their own expense. The regulation requiring a driver to use a feeder under these circumstances, could easily be upset in a court of law on the grounds of its unreason-

ableness. When a driver pays for and j obtains a license, he is entitled to go I V 51 a rank, not on a semi-suburban 'v®eder, to wait all day out of contact I TWth the public and possible hiring. 1 Three car stands, scattered throughout the mj 111 part of the city, in the I centre of the road, if necessary, would | relieve the overcrowding, satisfy the drivers, and obviate the necessity of shoppers telephoning for taxis. There is quite a lot more hiring to be had, if the taxis were more easily got. But people will not always telephone and wait, they often walk or take a tram. I maintain that the objects for which taxi licenses are issued in Christchurch are not being obtained. It is for the taxi-men to wake up, before they are ejected from the square altogether. In any case they should protest against the present feeder business, which makes the stands, controlled by private telephones, public garages for certain firms.—Yours, etc., TAXI. December 5, 1533. [The chief traffic inspector (Mr H. Macintosh), to whom this letter was referred, said that the stands at present provided in the city were more than sufficient to accommodate the number of taxis licensed, but the drivers all wanted positions in Cathedral square or its immediate vicinity. The council had felt some time ago that there were more than enough stands, but none had been abolished without justification. The feeder stands were quite legal, and telephone communication was available to those using the main stands, provided they paid their share of the cost. The council at one time paid for the telephones 011 feeder stands, but as the regulations laid down for the use of these had been abused, the privilege had been withdrawn. Since then taxi drivers had, with the permission of the council, made their own arrangements with the Post and Telegraph Department, and were responsible to the council only for the rental of the cabinets. It was not true that the Chester street stand had been abolished.]