AQW 51807/11-16

Mr Chris Lyttle
Alliance Party
East Belfast

Tabled Date: 02/12/2015
Answered On Date: 16/12/2015
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Regional Development for her assessment of the adequacy and location of public hire taxi ranks in Belfast.

Answer:

In May 2015, my officials completed a detailed survey of the taxi rank usage in Belfast. This involved visiting each site on a range of days of the week and times of the day to ensure a representative survey.

The survey of the taxi ranks found that:

17% are heavily used;

21% are well used;

33% are regularly used; and

29% are underutilised.

Officials concluded that there were sufficient taxi rank spaces to provide a taxi for members of the public wishing to use one.

My Department is awaiting detailed comments from the Taxi Associations in relation to the findings of the survey.

In addition, a survey of the accessibility of the four busiest taxi ranks was carried out in conjunction with the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (IMTAC). This concluded there were no major accessibility issues at these ranks and sufficient facilities were available to meet the needs of the customers.