Taxi drivers' fury at bus remarks (From Stroud News and Journal)

Taxi drivers' fury at bus remarks

TOWN centre manager Vicky Hancock has told Stroud taxi drivers to get their act together in the face of competition from a new weekend night bus.

She told the SNJ: "My perception is that there are people waiting up to an hour-and-a-half to go home. This is not acceptable so the taxis really have to get their act together and get people home more quickly or accept another method of doing so.

"From a customers point of view, who wants to wait an hour-and-a-half to get home?" Her statement outraged long serving Stroud taxi driver Ted Lane.

He said: "A person with that mentality shouldn't have a job at all let alone a highly paid job within our town. We could get video footage of the rank on a really bad night and you'll not see a person there for more than 20 minutes. Nobody waits an hour-and-a-half.

It's a load of rubbish. This is a town centre manager interfering with business with no business centre acumen at all. She's got no idea how business works. She's interfering with people's businesses. She's got no right to do that."

The bus, funded jointly by a local strategic partnership made up of the county and town councils, police and other representatives, is operating for a trial period of three months along alternating routes on Friday and Saturday nights.

The first run stops at Woochester, Inchbrook, Amberley, Nailsworth, Forest Green, Horsley, Nympsfield and returns via Selsley and Dudbridge. It departs at 7.30pm, 9.20pm, 11pm and 1.45pm.

The second travels via Bowbridge, Thrupp, Brimscombe, Chalford, Bussage, Brownshill, Bisley, Eastcombe, Stancombe and comes back through Rodborough. It leaves at 8.15pm, 10.10pm, 11.50pm and 1pm.

Would be users must register with the service and pre-book their places on 01452 423598.