Issue - meetings

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/192

Contact: Hugh Potter, Team Leader – Area Operations Hub Tel: 07766 998704

Report by Director for Infrastructure Operations (CMDE4).

The report presents the details of a statutory consultation on the experimental TRO which permits taxis licenced by Oxford City Council to access the Carfax taxi rank at the east end of Queen Street via Bonn Square and Queen Street (a pedestrian zone) between 6.30pm and 8am on all days of the week.

The Cabinet Member for the Environment is RECOMMENDED to approve making permanent evening/night time access (6.30pm to 8am) by taxis through Bonn Square and Queen Street in Oxford to a taxi rank at Carfax as provided for in a variation to an experimental traffic regulation order (TRO) which came into effect on 21 December 2017 and which expires on 12 April 2019.

Approved

Cabinet Member to raise issue of expediency regarding provision of ranks in New road and High Street

The Cabinet Member for Environment considered (CMDE4) a report presenting the details of a statutory consultation on an experimental TRO to  permit taxis licenced by Oxford City Council to access the Carfax taxi rank at the east end of Queen Street via Bonn Square and Queen Street (a pedestrian zone) between 6.30pm and 8am on all days of the week.

Sajad Khan for COLTA welcomed the recommendation as far as it went but his organisation felt that not to reinstate Sunday use would be a blow to the taxi trade which was suffering.  The relatively small number of taxis would not raise any safety issues and he was not aware of any such incidents with taxis and buses.  Some 270 buses went through Queen Street as opposed to 40/50 taxis which were smaller and as such presented a lower risk to other users.  His organisation were proud to be helping initiatives to improve air quality but that came at a cost and so he asked the Cabinet Member to reconsider the Sunday use element.

The Cabinet Member reported an email from City Councillor Tom Hayes supporting the recommendation before her but which made no mention of Sunday reinstatement.

Councillor Susanna Pressel had commented by email that taxis needed to be reminded that if this permission was granted then speeds should not exceed 5 mph and could a reference be included that there was a designated space for a taxi rank in Old Greyfriar’s Street which was not currently in use.

Mr Rossington confirmed that paragraphs 13 and 14 in his report addressed the issue of taxis using Queen Street on a Sunday and why that was not being recommended.  Enforcement of the rank would be carried out by the City Council as licensing authority. The City Council were progressing proposals to provide ranks in High Street and New Road with the former likely by the end of the summer.

Having regard to the information set out in the report before her and the representations made to her at the meeting the Cabinet Member for Environment confirmed her decision as follows:

to approve making permanent evening/night time access (6.30pm to 8am) by taxis through Bonn Square and Queen Street in Oxford to a taxi rank at Carfax as provided for in a variation to an experimental traffic regulation order (TRO) which came into effect on 21 December 2017 and which expired on 12 April 2019 and to raise issue of expediency with the City Council regarding provision of additional taxi ranks in New Road and High Street.

Signed…………………………………

Cabinet Member for Environment

Date of signing……………………….