SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

There was an article on Look North last night on Leeds Private Hire Drivers maybe having to do a Leeds version of "the Knowledge" which as Harry quipped could be "the nouse". My first reaction was that they could do with learning some rules of the road before learning the routes.Recently on a regular basis around 5.15 Boar Lane has been blocked by Taxi's backed up to City Square queuing to turn into the Taxi Rank on New Station Road. This also prevents traffic exiting City Square from turning into the Mill Hill dog leg to get out of Leeds under the Dark arches.Has the queing space on NSR recently been drastically cut as this is only a problem I have noticed this Summer? It has the potential to cause havoc especially as Boar lane eastbound is already a nightmare due to buses pulling/parking up badly at the Interchange. To compound matters further a purple slug broke down at the stop just past city square last night and the one behind it wouldn't pull past until it had picked up all the passengers from the broken down bus plus the new ones. This blocked the exit from city square completely for almost 5 minutes.

Before I learnt to drive, I was a taxi driver!!!!

i was a private hire driver for some years,and i was damn good at it,i still drive for a living now.but one thing folk have to remember is that private hire drivers aint allowed down there,infact they are just a poor relation to taxis,who think they own the road...i got many a fine for going in wrong parts of the town,thats why your cab driver is going the long way round town...because the jelous taxi drivers got in such a fuss,that they got the rules changed to suit themselves,so please don't blame the driver,next time you get a cab.however! next time you get a taxi,look at his I.D badge,is that photo on there really the mr sadiq thats driving the vehicle....nuff said! (please note,there is a difference between 'cab' and 'taxi') private hire must be pre-booked,whereas taxis can be flagged down in the street.to be fair to taxis though,their drivers have been doing the leeds knowledge for years,you have to do it to sit the written exam....

wiggy wrote: i was a private hire driver for some years,and i was damn good at it,i still drive for a living now.but one thing folk have to remember is that private hire drivers aint allowed down there,infact they are just a poor relation to taxis,who think they own the road...i got many a fine for going in wrong parts of the town,thats why your cab driver is going the long way round town...because the jelous taxi drivers got in such a fuss,that they got the rules changed to suit themselves,so please don't blame the driver,next time you get a cab.however! next time you get a taxi,look at his I.D badge,is that photo on there really the mr sadiq thats driving the vehicle....nuff said! (please note,there is a difference between 'cab' and 'taxi') private hire must be pre-booked,whereas taxis can be flagged down in the street.to be fair to taxis though,their drivers have been doing the leeds knowledge for years,you have to do it to sit the written exam.... Have to disagree with you there Wiggy.On Fri/Sat nights Private Hire Taxis in Leeds have Drivers/Persons behind the wheel who comec from as far afield as Huddersfield,Halifax Bradford and Middlesborough that I know about.They need a Sat Nav just to get out of the centre.It's about time Leeds CC got a grip of this and the extortionate fares they are charging.This is from previous experience plus my Three daughters are in Leeds almost every weekend.

I fully agree with Leeds-lad.Many taxi drivers (black and whites as well as private hire) are totally reliant of sat-nav and don't have the faintest idea where they are going. Some sat-navs also seem very oddly progammmed with wonderfully meandering routes appearing on them that are neither the quickest or most direct way to your destination.Many barely speak English (despite the council promising to insist on a miniumum standard) and the quality of their roadcraft and general driving skills are appalling.The queues referred to out of New Station Street are "proper" black and white taxi's and this again is an issue which has been ongoing since the station interchange was redesigned and reopened. The council repeatedly say that they are addressing it, but don't take any action. I'm not sure what eaxct function the councils civil enforcement officers actually do apart from check pay and display tickets in windscreens. Certainly keeping traffic moving is outside their remit.

I was a licenced taxi driver in Leeds on a "black and white" cab - officially the same designation as a London Hackney Carriage.I had to do the Leeds Knowledge with about 500 routes to learn and then a test, at random, on (I think!) 25 or 30 of them. The only errors allowed were for example "Chapel Street" instead of "Chapel Lane" and you could be subject to re-examination at any time.Until recently "private hire" did not have to do anything other than pass a CRB (criminal record check) and short (30 minute) driving test to be issued with a badge. Even after this they only had a short familarisation course to attend.There are over 300 licensed Hackney Carriages in Leeds but only enough rank space for about half that. The problems also arise from the predestrianisation of Briggate and making Vicar Lane 2 way traffic plus, of course, people parking/loading/unloading on ranks - look at Millgarth Rank (outside the bus station next to the market) long enough for 10 cabs - rarely room for 4!The "private hire" drivers should be subject to a similar test but, perhaps more importantly, the public need to be educated. A private hire CANNOT pick up a fare that has not been booked IN ADVANCE with the office in question and if they do so are totally uninsured - beware saving a couple of quid at the end of an evening could cost dear!Just think too about the effect on drivers income as fuel prices etc rise but fares stay the same.I got out because i didn't like people talking behind my back!!

Here in London, since the PCO [Public Carriage Office] Licensed, what were previously, private hire cars, the streets are filled with k**B-head black cabs and even worse licensed"mini cabs". Both of whom use sat-navs, by the way. When this lark started, about 2004, it was plugged as being the chance to clean up the dodgy area that was private hire taxis. In actuality, it was a way of making money.

simonm wrote: Before I learnt to drive, I was a taxi driver!!!!

I once boarded a taxi in Seoul, South Korea and gave the driver the address I was going to written down in Korean by the hotel receptionist. Now Seoul is a very big city - he drove me to his office and put the address into the internet - once he'd seen a picture he knew where to go!

LCC have found an answer for the New Station Street queues, NOT! They have removed the traffic lights/pedestrian crossing at the junction of Boar Lane and the Mill Hill dogleg. This means that the traffic island with the light for the right hand filter from Boar lane eastbound into Mill Hill could also be removed. This was done within the last couple of weeks and made it something of a free for all within traffic priorities.within the last couple of days they have inserted a zebra crossing (no lights so not a pelican, toucan or any other light control) at the top of the Mill Hill dog leg. Now given from about 6.30 in the morning to late at night it is unlikely there isn't a pedestrian waiting to cross there and the highway code says if there is a pedestrian waiting to cross then traffic must give way in theory very little traffic should be able to turn into Mill Hill When will they install the belishas?