Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Anger at non-existent taxi rank ‘shambles’
TAXI drivers have hit out after train passengers in Dundee were directed to a rank that did not exist.
Work being carried out by Scottish Water means the main taxi rank outside Dundee railway station, on Riverside Drive, has been shut yesterday and Monday.
Passengers arriving in Dundee looking for a cab have been redirected to Greenmarket, where a temporary rank was supposed to have been put in place.
However, no signs were put up by the city council – meaning neither drivers nor passengers had any idea where to go.
Willie Lees, the local rep for the RMT union – which represents some city taxi drivers – has branded the situation “a shambles”.
He said: “I am absolutely livid. “I went to the station on Tuesday morning to see what was happening after hearing from taxi drivers about what was going on.
“They told me that it was an absolute shambles.
“I understand that the work had to be carried out by Scottish Water to repair the pipe.
“But the way the taxis and public are being treated is a disgrace.
“When I got there, it was clear that the taxi rank was closed.
“There was a sign telling you this and to go to the Greenmarket side of the train station.
“However, when you got there, there was no temporary taxi rank. Drivers had no idea where to sit.
“There was also no information to tell the public arriving in the city by train where to go for taxis.
“We had a situation on Monday where the 4pm train from London had many commuters on board looking for taxis.
“People ended up walking all over the place trying to find a taxi, and the drivers were equally as lost.”
In a letter sent to RMT, Dundee City Council chiefs admitted they “should have put a temporary taxi rank sign in Greenmarket”, branding it an “oversight”.
The local authority says it plans to put in additional signage during future closures of the rank.
The council has been contacted for comment.