Passengers conflicting views on new airport taxi service
08.02.08
The Yorkshire Evening Post newspaper has published two conflicting views on the new Leeds Bradford Airport taxi arrangements. Under the new arrangements, introduced last month, passengers have to visit a desk inside the terminal, give their destination and pay the fare. They are then allocated a number and called to a taxi when one is available, rather than simply walking outside and waiting in a queue at the rank.
The letters are a response to a comment from a reader published last week claiming that the price for these taxis on some routes has risen from £7 - £10 - almost 50%. The reader gives an example of a journey taken by her son and 5 friends from the airport to City Square in Leeds. She says this cost £25 for a six-seater using the new service, whereas when they used Hackney carriage taxis the fare was about £16.50.
In a letter to the newspaper one reader agrees that the new service is poor, calling the new arrangements 'a shambles.' He says: 'We arrived at Leeds Bradford Airport after a smooth flight. Our luggage arrived quickly and we walked out into the freezing cold night and turned right expecting to see the usual queue of taxis. Not one there.
Looking over the crossing we saw taxis randomly parked and moved towards them. We were then accosted by a man in a yellow jacket who demanded to know our number. 'You should have been told [about the new arrangements],' he said. 'By whom?' we asked.
As I was standing outside guarding the luggage, shivering, one unhappy customer said as he came out: 'I think there's going to be a riot.' What a welcome to Leeds this would be to a foreign visitor! Who is responsible for this fiasco?'
However, another reader praises the new service. She says: 'We used this service on return from our holiday in January. We were delighted. It was so easy to go to the office and give our destination and pay the fare there and then. It was cheaper than the past 2 years with hackney carriages too.'
'We went outside crossed the crossing gave our number to the attendant and our taxi was waiting for us. We had no hassle. We had no worries about whether they were going take the long route and charge us over the odds as the hackney taxis did many times in the past.'
The new service seems to be a bit like Marmite. You either love it, or you hate it.
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