Taxi numbers at stations - efficient system, or indicator of a problem?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Chatting with a taxi driver in Cambridge this evening, I learned that there are 162 taxis licensed to work from the station here (one taxi for every 83 arrivals / departures per day) ... and I'm aware of a flow of people off trains and into taxis when I arrive here.   

I wonder if this is a high or low number of taxis compared to other cities of similar size and / or similar passenger numbers.   And if it's a high number (as I suspect it might be), is this an indication of problems with the location of the station and onward transport for the last miles fro there, or an indication of an efficient final stage transport system?

[ChrisB]

The former....at least half a mile to anywhere useful

[grahame]

I was in Cambridge again yesterday afternoon ... and I really look forward to the opening of Cambridge North. Originally due this month, it was pushed back to May 2016 and again to December 2016 ... and I wouldn't be surprised to see it pushed back again.

The need for this station - highlighted in my taxi comments above was re-enforced by my journey home - the 16:45 bus from the main road at the science / business park near the new station was due at the station at 17:08, but didn't get there until 17:35 - streetlock (gridlock on a non-square system in the city).  The 17:45 King's Cross train was about 12 minutes late,  at King's Cross no fewer that 4 Met line trains (Amersham, Watford, and 2 x Uxbridge) left before a Hammersmith ... and of course that meant an arrival at Paddington at ten past seven when the last TransWilts connection's off the Seven O'Clock.

On a less personal note - goodness the station is going to make a difference - and I suspect not only to people coming to work in the predominantly high tech area that I've spent a lot of time in.  I suspect that places such as Milton, Chesterton and King's Hedges will find themselves within practical commuting distance of London by train, and that property prices will rise.   And that further out places beyond Ely will become possible residences for technical staff - out to Peterborough, King's Lynn, and perhaps as far as Wymondham.  Indeed talking with som elf the folks I was training, they're concerned at being pushed further out as this northern area of Cambridge becomes more sought after.