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Hundreds
of licensed Taxi drivers, many on Dial-a-Cab, have
fallen foul of the badly sited bus lane in Euston
Road outside Kings Cross Station - which excludes
Taxis - and have forked out a £50 fine. DaC driver
Robert Lyle (W39) refused to give in to TfL and went
into battle for his friend! Now you could get your
money back! Read Robert’s story… "I was recently due to attend an adjudication hearing at New Zealand House, Haymarket. I was helping a friend – another Taxi driver – who had been ‘charged’ with driving in the Euston Road bus lane outside Kings Cross Station. The case had taken almost 6 months to reach this stage. I had written 12 letters to various authorities / people – including our MP, Eleanor Laing. I had also filmed the bus lane from many angles, including a view from the driving seat. Still photos had also been printed off from a computer. Despite many requests to TfL for a video of the alleged ‘offence’, none was forthcoming. They had provided a poor quality photograph showing my friend clipping the end of the supposed bus lane. In reality, this was a terribly poorly marked out piece of road. The white lines were haphazard - even dangerous – with very poor lane dissemination. Signage at the side of the road was poorly placed, dangerous and incorrect. I maintain that TfL should place the circular sign with a bus and cycle on it with a plate stating the order ‘only’ – as shown in the Highway Code. When driving along this particular piece of road under such heavy traffic conditions, with at times bad weather or at night-time, it is all too easy to miss the poorly erected signs. A bus or lorry passing on the inside can easily obstruct a driver’s view. Worst of all, there is a large white arrow directing traffic into the bus lane – |
DAC DRIVER BATTLES KINGS CROSS BUS LANE …AND WINS! |
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not away from it. The lane itself is
faded red and at one time covered in road dirt and dust. In summing up, the Authority has not observed a fair and just approach in enforcing this traffic order. My friend and I believe it to be a classic example of an all-to-common money raising scam. A week before the case was to be heard in front of the Adjudicator, it was withdrawn and no fine was enforced. I believe this to be a significant victory; many hundreds of Taxi Drivers have been fined for driving in this lane – quite wrongly! I feel that they should appeal for the return of their money. What is particularly disturbing about this case is the fact that my friend is an LTDA member. Richard Massett had told him to simply pay the fine. We didn’t! Anyone should have been able to see that the conditions surrounding this bus lane enforcement were grossly unfair. With the building works going on there, they have turned the driving environment into a particularly hellish place to be. They are unacceptable. My friend and I should not have been put into the position of having to defend ourselves – so much for the ‘protection’ afforded by the LTDA. If the LTDA has told them to pay up, then they should question them as to why no legal |
challenge was mounted. Our case number concerning this hearing is 2040502940. All drivers who have paid a fine should consider an appeal for the return of their £50 quoting the above precedent. The 6 months were long and drawn out. TfL’s tactic is to wear the ‘offender down. Having had experience of the Adjudicator, I can tell you that they are very fair-minded and equitable in their approach, in fact the exact antithesis of the ‘knuckle-dragging chimps’ that deal with representations in the first instance! Lastly and most significantly, the bus lane outside KX Station prohibiting use by Taxis, shows the failure of the PCO at its most glaring. Roy Ellis should have made a representation to TfL to reconsider. Driving in this lane does not prove a problem for bus timetables as TfL claim. Setting down might do – but we should be entitled to drive in it, especially bearing in mind how we approach York Way. It is a money-making scam and a scam which is set to continue unless the trade representatives attempt to force TfL to reconsider. Perhaps even Mr Ellis might consider lending his support. Good Lord, what did I just see passing by? Was it a flying pig!" Robert Lyle (W39) |
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