Anger over late-night ‘shortage’ of weekend taxis in town centre
Revellers call for cap on licences to be scrapped
Passengers have blasted a cap on taxi licences.
Revellers say there is a shortage of cabs at pub and club closing times in the town centre.
But Renfrewshire Council chiefs say there should be a limit of 235 cars working across Paisley.
Customers insist waits are too long at the rank – despite claims demand is being met.
Ronnie Berry took to the Paisley Daily Express Facebook page to call for the fleet to be expanded.
He said: “On a Saturday, I stood for 30 minutes at the rank in Gilmour Street – no taxis came in.
“I phoned a private hire and it was there in minutes.
“If I come off the train around 11pm, I know before I even leave the station that there will be no taxis in the rank and a queue as long as your arm
“The council want locals to use bars and restaurants.
“That’s okay if you’re happy to go home early and might be lucky to get a taxi.
“Let the leader of the council go out on a Friday night and try to get home. Then they might think again.”
Local authority bosses carried out surveys at the rank in February and April.
Records of how many punters queued and how long they waited were taken.
But examiners waited just half an hour at 10.30pm and 12.30am.
Jessica Carr took to social media to warn of dire consequences on colder nights. She said: “Is this a joke? “You could die with frostbite on a night out over the length of time you need to wait.”
The council says 43 cars picked up waiting passengers, with some forced to wait five minutes, during survey periods.
But Martin Moore headed online to warn they picked the wrong time to carry out checks.
He said: “The first obvious flaw is the testing was done on a Friday night.
“Anyone who works in Paisley clearly knows it is the quieter night.
“Saturday is completely different and people do struggle for taxis.”
Council chiefs set the limit for drivers two years ago.
They capped the number after commissioning an investigation by a transport consultancy firm.
Tracy Reid offered an explanation for waiting times on the page.
She said: “The problem is, if they get more drivers, there’s not enough work for them all during the week and they can’t make a living.
“A lot of drivers won’t work weekend nights, due to drunk people wanting to fight, argue or throw up in their taxi.”
Paisley First, the business group representing the interests of town centre traders, insists there is a shortage of cabs.
Paul Stewart claimed help should be brought in from outside in his post. He said: “Uber time. “Sooner it comes to Paisley the better.”
Council chiefs insist monitoring is constantly under review.
But Fred Mitchell says competitors should be brought in to pick up the slack.
He said: “Simple – let the private hires work the ranks, problem solved.”