Police cracking down on violent cabbies claiming illegal turf in North Sydney CBD
AN ILLEGAL taxi rank has sparked violence in North Sydney’s CBD, with police confirming a cab driver punched a parking ranger in the face last year.
North Shore
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AN ILLEGAL taxi rank is being blamed for a cab driver punching a parking ranger in North Sydney last year.
Police confirmed the ranger was attacked after attempting to take a photograph of the illegally parked taxi in Berry St.
Confirmation of the attack come as local business owners hit out at taxi drivers for parking unlawfully in precious metered parking and loading spaces.
With parking rangers unable to fine the offenders, police have been forced to beef up their presence to book law-breaking taxi drivers as part of a special operation.
Harbourside police acting sergeant Charles Buttrose said the ranger attack was part of the taxi drivers’ attempts to defend the strip as their patch.
“The driver got out, hit the phone out of his hand and punched him in the face,” Sen Constable Buttrose said.
The driver was charged with assault and malicious damage and in court received a “significant” fine and good behaviour bond.
The Mosman Daily joined a team of officers on a patrol of the street and watched a constant stream of cabs parking illegally.
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When some taxi drivers spotted police they drove off quickly. But several were stopped by police before they could get away and were fined $150.
The operation lasted an hour. In that time the Mosman Daily witnessed a taxi driver holding up traffic by stopping in the middle of the busy street.
Several other taxi drivers parked with the rear end of their vehicles angled into the street.
Berry St is a major feedway from the Pacific Highway onto the Warringah Freeway and Harbour Bridge.
Acting Sgt Buttrose said the taxi drivers thought it was “their part” of North Sydney.
“It used to be a taxi rank from 7pm to 6am Monday to Friday,” he said. “But the taxis decided they liked it as a 24-hour taxi rank.”
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The co-owner of Drink Better Wine is frustrated with ongoing problems caused by the illegal taxi rank.
It is hard for customers to pull up for orders and delivery trucks have difficulty stopping in the loading zone. The team has had to shoo away taxis so deliveries could be made.
“Despite the police and the rangers regularly cracking down it doesn’t stop them from doing it,” Jules Gutierrez said.
He said the taxi drivers park in the street until they picked up a fare. He had seen them move on after a truck driver shouted in their window but he had also seen a lot of people banging hands on windows and roofs.
“It creates a great deal of noise and it’s not a pleasant experience for anyone,” he said.
Other workers in the area are terrified of the taxi drivers and would not speak to the Daily on the record for fear of retribution.
“They will put a brick through the window, they’ll do anything. Some of them are very aggressive, very violent,” a worker said.
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The worker had witnessed a shoving match between drivers, a driver throwing rubbish into other vehicles and another spitting at a van. North Sydney Council had been called several times about aggressive behaviour.
“Just between the taxis, you would call it violence. They start pushing each other … I suppose they are fighting for their income,” the worker said.
“People try and park. They ask them to leave because they know they aren’t supposed to be there. It will be one in 30 that might leave, the rest of them say f---off.”
The Transport Workers Union did not respond to questions from the Daily before deadline.
COUNCIL LOBBIES FOR CHANGE
North Sydney Council is pushing to increase its rangers’ powers to deal with taxis being parked illegally on Berry St.
Currently, rangers can ask taxi drivers to move on but they cannot fine them.
“It is an offence for a taxi to park anywhere other than at a taxi rank to wait for a fare,” a council spokeswoman said.
“Council can only issue infringements to taxi drivers who park at expired meters for not paying at the meters. If the driver pays 10 cents into the meter or the meter has time on it, council cannot take any action.”
Rangers can also only ask the taxi drivers to pay at the meter, turn off the orange available light and not accept passengers.
The problem has been discussed with other councils and North Sydney wrote to former Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian seeking support for a change to the laws.
The councils agreed that the best solution to the problem would be an amendment to the Passenger Transport Regulation 2007.
This would permit rangers to issue on-the-spot penalty notices without the need to wait for time periods to pass. The council has received complaints from businesses and parents at a nearby childcare centre.
“North Sydney Council has issued cautions, spoken to drivers, met with the Taxi Council to discuss the issues but there has been no change in the attitude of drivers,” the spokeswoman said.
“Officers have reported cautioning one driver who appropriately left only to return within 10 minutes to the very same space.”
The area was a taxi zone from 7pm to 6am and this has been moved further up Berry St between Denison and Little Spring streets.
“We don’t know why the taxi drivers are congregating in this area,” the spokeswoman said.
“There are taxi ranks on Miller St near the intersection of Berry; McLaren St between Miller and Walker streets; Walker St outside the Harbourview Hotel near North Sydney station and there is a ‘layover’ rank at the site of the old Anzac Club,” she said.
Signs on the street indicate the area is a loading zone between 6am and 10am and there is metered parking from 10am until midnight Monday to Friday.
A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said it would consider the council’s request as part of a current review of the Passenger Transport Regulation 2007.
HAVE YOU OR YOUR BUSINESS BEEN AFFECTED BY THE ILLEGAL TAXI RANK?
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