Lynsey
I watched Inside Out on Monday evening. The lady interviewed from Manchester City Council said something along the lines of her and her team calculating the number of taxis needed in the City every year, to make sure that is enough for the demand on weekends. What a load of rubbish! She’s obviously getting her sums all wrong! From what I can see, you could double that number and that still wouldn’t be enough! Bill says we should ‘go home at a reasonable time’? Err…shall we not bother going out and socialising at all Bill? For some reason you believe that all young people after a good night of drinking and dancing on a weekend end up falling over and being verbally abusive. Ridiculous! And JC, again a person who seems to think all of us who are out on the weekend behave in the same manner as the girls who mistake his car as a taxi. This is a small minority. As amusing as it sounds, there are actually some organised, responsible people out there who attempt to book a taxi to get home before going out even, but are told to call back later in the evening! ??? Whether we are drunk or not, being verbally abusive or not, surely we are entitled to get home safely after a night out? Poor Mike hadn’t even been out socialising, just after a lift home after being away on business. So there are a couple of issues Manchester City Council need to address. Taxis SHOULD NOT be allowed to pick and choose which journeys they want to take and which they want to refuse. However I think more of an issue is the fact that whatever anyone says, WE NEED MORE TAXIS. You don’t need to have the intelligence of a brain surgeon to work that one out. The reason girls are trying to get into any car parked up is because they know there is a great demand in town on a Saturday night for a taxi so they act before they think. The reason unlicensed taxis are getting away with driving people home is because we would have to wait 3 hours to get a licensed taxi otherwise. Someone put me in charge of this shambles!!!
Phil Burke
Dear Editor unlicensed taxis in Manchester City Centre May we praise the BBC Inside Out Program for once again hi-lighting the dangers of jumping into unlicensed taxis in Manchester City Centre, and the serious consequences which may follow. Manchester’s Pub & Club Network, working with both the Police and the council licensing unit, in promoting numerous posters campaigns in the city centre licensed premises, informing customers of the potential dangers they could face when jumping in unlicensed taxis. Manchester has always been proud to lead the way with the introduction of a taxi marshal service ensuring customer’s safety while waiting at taxi ranks. We have Bars & Clubs offering a free taxi booking service for their customers. We also have a drop in taxi centre “Nexus” based on Oldham Street offering a safe haven for people waiting for taxis, with more to open across the city in due course. The network still has major concerns over poor night time transport services like the Metrolink, buses and local train services. The authorities need to take closer look at the structure of night time transport. It could even increase the number of Hackney taxis in the city. We have been asking the council for years to ensure that the transport infrastructure is improved. We would urge all our visitors to Manchester to book in advance or make certain they use licensed taxis displaying the copmany name on the side of the taxi Kind Regards Phil Burke
Press & Publicity Spokeperson
Manchester Pub & Club Network
Bill Bradbury
You should go home at a reasonable time. Anyway, what's happened to the all night bus services? I suppose they were taken off due to unruly behaviour of louts.
Mike
I did not see the programme as I was at a conference in London and did not get back until late this morning. I tried to get a taxi home last night, and like Lynsey, becaus eit was not £10+ job, I stuggled, two cabs stopped and asked if I wnated a taxi but both ocassions, I could not see plates in the cab and asked them where they were, the first driver told me he was waiting for Mnachester Council to provide them and the second just drove, so, who is to blame, I feel that councils do not check the drivers of the cars enough, to see if the registered driver of the vehicles is the actual driver.
JC
At the risk of being accused of moving blame onto victims, some people need to take more care. 3 or 4 times, I've driven into Manchester to pick-up my in-laws after a night out. I drive along Deansgate at around midnight & on every occasion, people have attempted to get into my car thinking I was Private Hire. They were scantilly dressed young women who were too drunk to know what they were doing. Of course they have the right to dress how they please but where is the personal responsibility? I would be called reckless if I was mugged after staggered about drunk waving a fat wallet at people.
musab
they should only have black cabs in manchester
brian ogilvie
Rachel Christie says that the council are doung operations to catch those private hire who are illegaly touting for busness, then how come the taxi trade never see them out doing this, take any Friday, Satuarday on any time there is an event on in Manchester the Private hire are picking up right in front of legal blackcabs and even worse in front of the police, go to Old Trafford the next time united are at home and watch them rank up outside the GMP HQ as prove. The council take our money but never ENFORCE the job.
Mr T
Bob on!, linseys comment is absoloutly correct, you can't always find a cab in manchester, and at the desperate times, they want to pick and choose whether your journey is 'worth it' or not. I can imagine it difficult, but something needs to be done about keeping a steady flow of cabs in the centre at all times. I do have concerns sometimes about whether some of the taxis ive had in machester are licensed or not, whether there motives are of what is being discussed or not. They certainly are shocking drivers (but we knew that anyway!)
Lynsey
Myself and a friend were along Deansgate at 3am in the early hours of Sunday morning, attempting to get a taxi. All black cabs had their yellow lights switched off. When we successfully hailed two cabs, they refused to drive us to my home in Beswick as ‘they were going in a different direction’. What? I am certain their attitude was due to the fact that they were waiting for a request for a longer journey which would make them more money and no one can convince me otherwise! I called two taxi firms, both telling me they wouldn’t be able to make it for another hour. We ended up walking to Piccadilly Railway Station (passing few vacant taxis in the meantime and a taxi rank on Portland Street with a queue so long, I doubt we would have got home until daylight) and waiting there for one. Great. We were practically half way home now anyway. An ‘unsensible’ me would have carried on walking through the poorly lit streets, passing ‘dodgy’ alleyways and rough looking characters, pretty miffed by the whole situation. Luckily we were in a sensible mood that night. There is no excuse for the lack of taxis in Manchester City Centre anymore. With varied closing times, people leave bars and clubs at a steadier rate than in the past, where everywhere shut at the same time which resulted in crowds of people competing for a lift home. WE SHOULDN’T BE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. Yes there are taxi ranks and marshals, but there are NO TAXIS!!!!! This situation DOES lead to innocent women and men being desperate for a lift home and this increases their vulnerability to the point where they will get in an unlicensed cab, whether they know this or not. PEOPLE WILL BE AT RISK UNTIL MORE LICENSED TAXIS ARE AVAILABLE.
