Taxis block Mall in protest at minicabs
Hundreds of black cabs today blocked streets in central London in protest at a minicab scheme which they say is taking their trade.
Drivers gathered in Trafalgar Square and The Mall and drove through Parliament Square shouting slogans against the Westminster council operation which allows the West1 car service to use a bus stop as a minicab rank in the evening.
Customers book a car and pay at a kiosk in Leicester Square and are escorted to the bay in Whitcomb Street where minicabs are waiting.
Taxi drivers say the rank is illegal and has led to other minicabs plying for hire. They have said they will seek a judicial review of the scheme.
In a statement organisers said: "The Public Carriage Office, by approving a rank of minicabs to ply for hire in Leicester Square, has resurrected the taxi/minicab wars of the Sixties. The mass "Drive-In" is the first of many planned protests."
Martin Low, director of transportation at Westminster council, said: "This is about getting people home safely at night and there is no room for protectionist trade measures.
"The scheme, which is still in a trial period, aims to squeeze out illegal touts by publicising and directing people to the kiosk in Leicester Square. It was never intended to replace black cabs. We would welcome ideas from black cab drivers on how to increase their availability in the West End."
