Revved up over rank

Published Date:22 January 2010

TAXI drivers brought part of Daventry town centre to a standstill on Friday as they protested against being banned from using an old bus layby.

Around 25 taxis joined the protest at 10am, driving in a loop along New Street between the mini-roundabouts at Tesco and at the London Road junction.

Taking place on one of the busiest shopping days for the town, the action led to other motorists

queuing down London Road, New Street and Oxford Street as the protest led to the main car parks being blocked.

The protest was against a decision by Daventry District Council not to allow the disused bus layby in New Street near Waitrose to be turned into an official taxi rank.

Taxi drivers have said the decision could put their businesses in danger as the bay was used by drivers waiting to get into the small rank by Tesco, which is where most of the passengers can be found.

Tony Coates, from Tony’s Taxis who organised the protest, said: “I think we proved our point with it.

“We had initially planned on doing it for an hour, but half-an-hour seemed to get the message across.

“All the 25 drivers taking part didn’t stop or drop out to pick up passengers.

“The point was that without the Waitrose bay, taxis will have to drive up and down New Street, like during the protest, all the time to see if there’s a space in Tesco.”

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