Transport for London has issued a series of warnings against illegal practices used by taxi drivers at Finsbury Park bus station.
In the past fortnight, two such warnings have been issued via the official London Taxi and Private Hire (LTPH) Twitter account, operated by TfL.
The tweets follow a report issued by LTPH on September 30, which listed the various offences reportedly being committed at the station.
As well as illegal reversing, the report refers to drivers using mobile phones at the wheel, not using their lights at night, and misuse of the loading bay outside Costa Coffee opposite the station.
The most recent tweet, from Sunday 27 October, read:
Taxi drivers – please do not reverse out of Finsbury Park station to Seven Sisters Road which puts other road users at risk
— TfL TPH (@TfLTPH) October 27, 2013
The Costa Coffee bay is currently being used as a makeshift evening taxi rank while a permanent rank within the station is established.
The TfL report said: “If these problems continue then the additional taxi ranks will not be appointed.”
However, Jim Thomas, a London taxi driver with 40 years of experience and editor of the “Taxi Leaks” blog, insists that illegal manoeuvres are sometimes unavoidable.
He said: “Sometimes the station forecourt is blocked by empty buses and road works, which would leave a driver no other option.
“The obvious solution is to re-site the temporary taxi rank until the completion of the forecourt refit allows cabs back on the old rank.”
