By BRIDGET SCOTT
CITY of Casey residents are at a loss because of limited taxi parking at Narre Warren Train Station.
State Narre Warren South Labor MP Judith Graley said taxi parking was removed and replaced with disabled parking spots during the construction of additional parking spaces at the station.
Consequently, taxi drivers are left with nearly no options to pick up and drop off at the station, forcing them to park over the other side of the road.
This causes safety issues for both taxi drivers and train users.
Ms Graley said she is concerned about the absence of parks for taxis considering the high demand.
“Narre Warren railway station is located in the heart of the City of Casey, which is Victoria’s largest municipality,” she said.
The MP said the station has lost five spaces for taxis to pick up and drop off passengers and four spaces for a taxi rank.
Manager of Dandenong Taxis Paul Smith said the lack of parking is a concern for his drivers.
“There is nowhere to sit and wait for customers,” he said.
“At night, especially, they look for somewhere to sit where they might get someone walk up to them, and they need to be safe as well.”
Mr Smith said because this issue has been prolonged, his drivers have started to complain and they hope to see a complete zone for drop-offs and pick-ups.
Both Ms Graley and Mr Smith said it was important that there was parking facilities for disabled people but also said there must be somewhere for taxis to go.
“We need some disabled parking spaces, but we also need spaces for the taxis to park,” Ms Graley said.
“Indeed, many disabled people also need to access taxis.”
According to Mr Smith, the absence of taxi parking facilities leaves drivers with no choice but to park across the road.
Commuters are then forced to find a taxi, rather than seeing one as soon as they step on the platform.
