Taxis parking in the bus space

inisboffin

Ok (rant alert)...

The Salthill bus stops at the shelter across the road from Jury's. Recently, the red bus to Knocknacarra changed its route and stops there too on the outbound journey.
The stop is on a very busy corner with traffic coming around it pretty fast. The 'bus space' is in off the road a bit, to facilitate buses pulling in and not to get rear ended when they stop, or at least block the road.
The bus pull-in area is road level, non tarmac, but outlined and has huge BUS SIGNS painted in there.
Some F*ckers of taxi drivers have taken it on themselves to park there. Sometimes there are two of them. TWICE now I have seen people (older woman with bags, kids/teenagers) MISS THEIR BUS because of this.

I know the bus should keep a better eye out but they COULDN'T see the bus stop clearly and drove straight past (once a white and once a red bus). Either because they didn't see the people as the F*cking taxis were there, or because it was simply too dangerous to stop dead in the middle of the road.

Yesterday I was waiting for a bus there. Sure enough taxi parked there. A bus came (not mine) and the people at the bus stop did a waving dance to stop it. It pulled in behind the taxi luckily, and of course, the taxi had to move.
Couple of mins later, I stepped in the bus lane (it's not in the road) to see if my bus was coming. A taxi started to come toward me. I waved him on in case he thought I was flagging him. He pulled in on the outside of me (2/3 in lane, 1/3 in road:eek:, about an inch from me. So I opened the door, giving him the benefit of the doubt, saying I didn't need a taxi. "I know" he says, and pulls out his phone and starts texting.
"You're in a bus lane" I tell him. He scowls at him and says "you don't tell me that"..

So I calmly walk and take a photo of his reg with my phone. He goes OFF on me. Calling me ignorant and shouting at me in English and another language. He doesn't move. I tell him he's parked (albeit badly) in a bus lane, and buses can't pull in. He 'doesn't care' and was only stopped (half in the road, engine running) to "use his phone" - B*lls*it.

At that moment the bus rounds the corner and almost rear-ends him. My friend flagged the bus and we hop on. Of COURSE he has to then move, as the angle the bus took the corner, it wouldn't be able to pull back out without hitting him.
/Rant.:mad:

Ok, not sure why it made me SO pissed off (maybe seeing it happen twice before), and not sure if me reporting him will do anything to address the problem (but word spreads with the drivers I'd say).

This isn't something for the regulator is it? It is a traffic offense? He was an indie taxi, and only got his reg not number.
Snowball in hell taking it to the guards?

Sit in (stand in:rolleyes:) on bus space whenever we wait for a bus there?

biko

Indeed, keep taking pics and send them to the regulator. You can also send them to the taxi company.
Was he hackney? In that case it should say on the sign.

ethernet

They really need the Garda traffic corps out to crack down on this. Saw them out in force outside Connolly Station a few week ago. The taxis weren't long moving on. That and the sight of licence plates being removed from the vehicles and driving licences passing hands made for happy viewing.

inisboffin

Magnus wrote: »

Indeed, keep taking pics and send them to the regulator. You can also send them to the taxi company.
Was he hackney? In that case it should say on the sign.

He was a taxi, not a hackney, but an independent driver.
Thing is I was on the regulator site, and they seem to indicate they don't deal with much that happens *outside* the taxi itself, and that it's a job for the Guards:(

Put traffic cameras on the buses like in London to enforce buslanes and parking.

I saw a classic pic of a friend of mine driving behind a bus in a buslane - it showed her license plate and face clearly - no denying it was her.

KevR

Was in town at about 8pm on Tuesday evening and saw a couple of Gardai making any taxis parked on the double yellow lines on O'Brien's bridge move along. Hopefully we'll see more of this!

Is there a Galway equivalent of operation free flow?

I don't understand why these taxis don't stand at some of the other ranks like outside Cluain Mhuire - I have taken a taxi from there more times this year than from Eyre Square or Bridge Street but the most taxis I have seen waiting are two, many times none.

snubbleste

See inisboffin, this is a classic example where you should be going to the Joint Policing Committees and making submissions on public transportation in galway :cool:

There are some more garda being brought to galway this christmas for theft prevention and traffic management reasons

happyoutscan

Fair play to you 'boffin, they are a law unto themselves as far as they are concerned.

BrokenArrows

ya nothing pisses me off more than taxis queueing up down by the bus station and round the corner.

It turns a 2 lane corner into a one lane. People need to drive into the other lane causing traffic to get around the corner.

I would love to see what would happen if i decided to park my car on that corner and sit in the car for the day. I would be ticketed and towed within the hour, guaranteed!

inisboffin

I have calmed down now:o

I think it was the fact that he was such an absolute d*ck about it, and delivered a torrent of multi-lingual abuse on my already stressed little head:p

Still going to pop in to Mill St tho when I get back from my mini hollier (which I needed). I encourage anyone waiting for a bus there, to wander in and out of that bus pull-in 'checking for their bus' and stand your ground if they pull in!

Webbs

inisboffin wrote: »

I have calmed down now:o

I think it was the fact that he was such an absolute d*ck about it, and delivered a torrent of multi-lingual abuse on my already stressed little head:p

Still going to pop in to Mill St tho when I get back from my mini hollier (which I needed). I encourage anyone waiting for a bus there, to wander in and out of that bus pull-in 'checking for their bus' and stand your ground if they pull in!

:mad:

GalGaillimh

Taxi regulator only cares about making money. If a taxi driver tries to complain about the behaviour of another driver they are fobbed off. They contribute nothing to the industry exept the overabundence of taxis which has led to the problems you refer to. This is a pain for ordinary decent drivers also not just the public. It is very difficult to find a space to ply for business or even just to park briefly. Its hard enough to get a fare from the busy ranks so to park at one of these ranks in the suburbs is akin to sitting at home.

Mrs OBumble

The taxi regulator has been given some very specific laws to administer: they can't just go making up other ones on their own behalf, that's the government's job.

AGS are the ones who have been told by the government to enforce the laws governing driver on-road behaviour (all drivers, not just taxis). They are the ones to complain to.

GalGaillimh

Have you ever tried to make a valid complaint to the taxi regulator? My niece reported a driver for doubling back to get petrol adding 2 miles to the journey, ( the meter continued to run while the driver was in the shop) then taking another longer route and driving dangerously along dark country roads. They paid the fare, got a receipt and made an official complaint.
They received a reply to their complaint stating that the driver had denied all of it. Case closed.
Who should have dealt with that?

Jack Daniels I

wow,does it really bother you that much?getting stressed about a taxi parking in a bus space.seeing as you complained about the "multi lingual" abuse you got im guessing the parking space isnt your real issue now is it?

tonyhiggins

Lads, I don't know, there's a fairly detailed account of this happening a few times and people missing their bus because of it in the first post, I think that's the issue...

inisboffin

Jack Daniels I wrote: »

wow,does it really bother you that much?getting stressed about a taxi parking in a bus space.seeing as you complained about the "multi lingual" abuse you got im guessing the parking space isnt your real issue now is it?

Are ye feckin serious??? If someone called you a c*nt in English and proceeded to say more in another language that you couldn't understand, in the same tone, wouldn't you want to know/find if frustrating what they were saying????

That was my point. Jesus. I didn't mention whether it was a f*cking Connemara gaeltacht Man, an Indian Man, A Chinese Man etc...

Ye seem to be the one with the issue tbh!!

inisboffin

Webbs wrote: »

:mad:

Please refer to my comments above. VAST assumptions on your part I'd say.


Racist accusations aside, it's just bad manners to launch into a tirade in a language other than the one you started a discussion in. The only exception I would see to this in the middle of Galway is IF someone went off on me as Gaeilge in a Gaeltacht
My fault then for not being completely fluent I'd say.

Seefig

fair play to ya for sayin it to him and pullin out the camera phone -
personally, after the story in the paper last week about the taxi driver punching the woman taxi driver in the face through the car window,
I wouldnt have said a word.. cowardly, i know, but thats our city

padraig71

Surely it is the responsibility of the guards to deal with taxis when they are blocking the street etc, even if it is the regulator's fault we have too many taxis in the first place. In any case, taxi drivers have no more right than any driver to park at bus stops or block the road.

Around Eyre Square up the road from Garvey's is very bad, the way they sit in the right-hand lane blocking the traffic. Similarly, Flood St on a Friday night is always backed up from round the corner. I work in the Quays on a Friday night and always have to sit in a queue of taxis for several minutes before I can leave the area. But last night there was a 'road closed' sign at the bottom of Flood St so that the traffic had to go via Merchants Road, for no other reason I could fathom than to prevent the usual taxi blockade. So maybe the guards are starting to do something about it?

There are a fleet of guards around the bus station. Not sure what is going on. There was a traffic warden there as well.

snubbleste

Deleted User wrote: »

There are a fleet of guards around the bus station. Not sure what is going on. There was a traffic warden there as well.

'A fleet' ?

mikom

Jack Daniels I wrote: »

wow,does it really bother you that much?getting stressed about a taxi parking in a bus space.seeing as you complained about the "multi lingual" abuse you got im guessing the parking space isnt your real issue now is it?

If the taxi driver had used sign language instead and stuck his two fingers up at her, would you still be coming in here with your "guesses"?

Just because you are sitting in front of a PC doesn't mean you have to be one.

Robbo

Deleted User wrote: »

There are a fleet of guards around the bus station. Not sure what is going on. There was a traffic warden there as well.

They were dishing out tickets this afternoon on Bridge St. as well.

Mrs OBumble

snubbleste wrote: »

'A fleet' ?

Five (a couple looked like baby-guards though) on Abbeygate St at about 3:45pm today.

Talking to each other, didn't appear to be doing much else though.

snubbleste

snubbleste wrote: »

'A fleet' ?

I was going to edit wikipedia to say it was the correct collective noun for guards but I am too lazy to do that.

Anyways I need go - I want to buy a ditchfull of beer before the off license closes.