... again surprised at the lack of taxis at Melksham Station
I can appreciate that the demand may not be high enough (yet) to warrant a taxi sitting to wait for a fare, but could a taxi phone not be provided or at least a board with some phone numbers?
........shouldn't be too difficult to hail down a passing horse and cart?
At Nailsea & Backwell station, there is one poster, up on the railings on platform 2, which does give some local travel connections information - including a number for a local private hire company. There is no taxi rank, and indeed no room for one. There is one public telephone kiosk (card payment only) at the foot of the pathway up to platform 1. And we are a Great Western main line railway station.
I suspect it's a generic issue at smaller and middle sized stations and even some larger ones where the predominant flow is regular commuters. The
horse and cart shortage lack of taxis waiting for "next fare" is understandable where the incoming services are sporadic, and with no guarantee (or near-guarantee) of a fare; for sure (taking the Melksham example) passenger numbers are up, but never the less:
* on "only" two of my four early evening arrivals this week were people standing around wondering "where are the taxis"
* on a third, the one group standing around looking lost had pre-ordered a taxi that hadn't yet arrived
* on the fourth, no takers for a taxi
Problem is
... anything more than a very occasional person stranded indicates a need for taxis
... anything less than a fare on the vast majority of speculative visits isn't commercial sense for the taxis
One of the notice boards does include three taxi numbers if you know where to look (which board, and where in the notice). Good for people who habitually travel by train, and are familiar with this signage standard.
An "enterprising" local taxi operator has "flyposted" the station with their stickers. Not sure I approve, yet it does make a number more obvious.
And there's no phone ... though most people have their own mobiles these days. Cell reception is sporadic at times ... the WebTIS (?) system is often out and it's thought by us uninformed people that this is due to reception problems. I am relieved that the ticket machine doesn't appear to suffer the same problems.
I'm very much aware that my post - thus far - describes an issue without offering practical solutions / improvements - ideas would be welcome.
Click on the map to explore geographics
