Plan for new taxi rank at Market Street entrance to Edinburgh's Waverley Station
Current taxi rank ‘not easily visible to passengers ‘
A new taxi rank could be created beneath Edinburgh's North Bridge, bringing cabs closer to the Market Street entrance for Waverley station.
Council officers are to investigate the feasibility of the proposal which has been put forward by the Unite union's Edinburgh taxi branch.
Unite said the current taxi arrangement in Market Street meant the rank, sited on the other side of the junction with Jeffrey Street, was not easily visible to people coming out of the station.
And it said using the area under North Bridge would make taxis more accessible and offer passengers shelter from wind and rain.
Under the plan, passengers would still have to cross Market Street to reach the cabs, but the rank would be much nearer than the current one. The existing rank could be turned into a feeder lane for the new rank.
The proposal has the support of city council transport convener Stephen Jenkinson, who said it would make life easier for both the taxi drivers and people coming out of the station wanting a cab.
Cllr Jenkinson successfully proposed a motion at the last transport and environment committee, asking officers to look at the plan and meet with the Unite taxi branch about it.
Branch officer Greig Cockburn, a taxi driver in the city for 20 years, told the committee: “The existing Market Street taxi rank is a considerable distance from the main station entrance and is not easily visible to passengers coming out of the station.
“This proposal puts the taxi rank where passengers would naturally expect to find it - close to the station entrance, clearly visible and sheltered beneath North Bridge.”
He said the new rank would be approximately 50 metres long, accommodating up to seven taxis, with the existing rank as a feeder.
“This is not a proposal for wholesale redesign of Market Street, it is a targeted intervention designed to make better use of the space we already have.
“The area under North Bridge can be chaotic - private hire vehicles regularly loiter within the drop-off/pick-up area, waiting speculatively for business because of its proximity to the station entrance. This causes congestion and confusion for passengers and makes it more difficult to maintain proper licensing standards and driver conduct in the area.
“Creating a properly marked and regulated taxi facility would immediately give that space a clear purpose, passengers would know exactly where to obtain a licensed taxi, taxi drivers would know exactly where they should operate, and licensing enforcement officers would have a clearly defined area in which standards can be maintained.”
And he pointed out there were still temporary pedestrian barriers along the kerbside on the north side of the street. “Once those are removed that area could potentially provide additional capacity for public pick-up and drop-off and commercial loading.”
Cllr Jenkinson said the current rank was “out of the way” and not well sign-posted. “And there are accessibility issues because not only do you have to get out of the station, you've got to cross the road and then you have to cross Jeffrey Street, which is cobbled.
“The taxi drivers feel the location of the rank is impacting their business and it’s not a great user experience.”
He said now that the renovation work on North Bridge was finished and the scaffolding away, the Unite proposals would be looked at and a report would be brought back to the committee in January.
He said: “We want to encourage people to arrive in Edinburgh by train, so we need to make it easier for people to get to where they’re going once they’re here - and that includes making it easier for them to get a black cab.”