TAXIS LEFT ON RANK

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24883, 24 May 1946, Page 8

TAXIS LEFT ON RANK

AUCKLAND INCIDENT MISUNDERSTANDING OVER DOUBLE FARES (P.A.) AUCKLAND, May 23. More than 40 taxi drivers refused to take their cabs from the rank for nearly three-quarters of an hour last night when an Auckland City Council traffic officer instructed the taxi marshal on duty at the Commerce street stand to stop directing more than one party to a car as. the doubling-up system had been abolished. As the drivers were under instructions from the Taxi Control Committee that they were to accept fares only through the marshal, they immediately parked their cabs until the marshal’s position had been made clear to them.

The hold-up began soon after 5.15 p.m., and a crowd of about 50 intending passengers soon collected on the stand.

When drivers on the Civic square stand, where a marshal is also pmployed, learned of the trouble, they too refused to operate. About 20 taxis on each stand were affected until the matter was settled shortly before 6 o’clock.

In an explanation of the hold-up, the acting-Traffic Superintendent (Mr W- T. Palmer) said that the officer on duty at the Commerce street rank saw the marshal direct two separate ■ fares to a taxi. He asked the people concerned whether they were one party, and they told him that they were not. The officer then told the driver of the cab that one of the persons would have to get out. One of the occupants complied and left the taxi.

The officer spoke to the marshal and asked him why he was filling cars with more than the regulation single party, and said that the marshal had no right to be on the stand now that the regulation permitting doubling-up had been revoked, and it was no longer necessary and was, in fact, illegal to shepherd groups into one taxi.

The marshal claimed he was legally employed by the Taxi Control Committee and, although he was no longer permitted to direct the doubling-up of passengers, it was desirable that he be on duty at busy periods to see that cabs were fairly allocated. Although the officer was under a false impression that it was now illegal for a taxi marshal to be employed, he had acted entirely in good faith in trying to prevent what was obviously a case of doubling-up, said Palmer. Although the measure had been done away with on May 17, taxi drivers were known to be continuing the doubling-up practice and it was very hard to detect individual breaches. In ceasing to operate as they had done, the drivers were jeopardising their licences. Representatives of Auckland taxis and the marshal and traffic officer involved in the hold-up had discussed the trouble with him at the traffic ° , and the matter was quickly settled. The marshal resumed duty and all the taxis operated again