Cabbies' Hyde Park Corner Olympic Lanes Protest causes chaos in London

Submitted by solidarity on Mon, 07/30/2012 - 14:03

 

Cabbies' Hyde Park Corner Olympic Lanes Protest causes chaos in London

SLIDESHOW

July 27th, 2012 by Pete Riches

http://www.demotix.com/news/1358211/cabbies-hyde-park-corner-olympic-lanes-protest-causes-chaos-london/all-media

Disgruntled London Licensed taxi drivers respond to a police order banning their planned 5p.M. Olympic Lanes useage protest by descending on Hyde Park Corner at 2p.M. instead, bringing arterial traffic in five directions to a standstill.

 

01/25

Caption
Police block the road at the top of Grosvenor Place during the cabbies' Olympic Lanes protest to re-direct traffic and break the gridlock on Hyde Park Corner.

 

02/25

Caption
Gridlock on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

03/25

Caption
Gridlock on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

04/25

Caption
Police move through the protesting taxi drivers blocking Hyde Park Corner in the third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lanes restrictions which, say the taxi drivers, will damage their livelihoods.

 

05/25

Caption
A taxi driver not involved in the Cabbies' "Ply for Trade" protest has angry words with a police officer as he is re-directed off Hyde Park Corner.

 

06/25

Caption
Taxi drivers holding their third "Ply for Trade" Go-Slow protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions jam the traffic on Hyde Park Corner in defiance of a police order preventing them protesting at the planned time of 5pm.

 

07/25

Caption
A cab driver protesting on Hyde Park Corner against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions.

 

08/25

Caption
Police block the road at the bottom of Park Lane during the cabbies' Olympic Lanes protest to re-direct traffic and break the gridlock on Hyde Park Corner.

 

09/25

Caption
Gridlock on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

10/25

Caption
Police block the road at the bottom of Park Lane during the cabbies' Olympic Lanes protest to re-direct traffic and break the gridlock on Hyde Park Corner.

 

11/25

Caption
Gridlock on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

12/25

Caption
A cab driver, ordered back into his vehicle or be arrested signals to his friends to do the same during the cabbies' third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions.

 

13/25

Caption
Gridlock on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

14/25

Caption
Cabbies abandon their taxis on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

15/25

Caption
Police assembling on the central island at Hyde Park Corner as the taxi drivers' "Ply for Trade" Olympic Traffic Lanes restrictions protest begins to build.

 

16/25

Caption
Police block the road at the bottom of Park Lane during the cabbies' Olympic Lanes protest to re-direct traffic and break the gridlock on Hyde Park Corner.

 

17/25

Caption
Police block the road at the top of Grosvenor Place during the cabbies' Olympic Lanes protest to re-direct traffic and break the gridlock on Hyde Park Corner.

 

18/25

Caption
Police block the road at the top of Grosvenor Place during the cabbies' Olympic Lanes protest to re-direct traffic and break the gridlock on Hyde Park Corner.

 

19/25

Caption
Police officers order protesting taxi drivers blocking Hyde Park Corner in the third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lanes restrictions back into their cabs before they are arrested.

 

20/25

Caption
Gridlock on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

21/25

Caption
Gridlock on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

22/25

Caption
Gridlock on Hyde Park Corner as hundreds of Licensed Taxi Drivers hold their third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will, they claim, damage their ability to do their jobs during the Olympics.

 

23/25

Caption
A frustrated taxi driver not involved in the Cabbies' "Ply for Trade" protest has angry words with a police officer as he is re-directed off Hyde Park Corner.

 

24/25

Caption
Traffic backs up on Piccadilly during the Licensed Taxi Drivers' third "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions which will,they claim, damage their livelihoods during the Olympics.

 

25/25

Caption
Police move through the traffic on Hyde Park Corner during the London Taxi drivers' "Ply for Trade" protest against Olympic Traffic Lane restrictions.

Disgruntled London Licensed taxi drivers respond to a police order banning their planned 5p.M. Olympic Lanes useage protest by descending on Hyde Park Corner at 2p.M. instead, bringing arterial traffic in five directions to a standstill.

Around 200 London taxi drivers held the third of three "Ply for Trade" protests on 27th July 2012 to protest against what they and their representative organisations - the RMT Union and the United Cabbies Group (UCG) - say are excessively restrictive limitations on the use of the specially created Olympic traffic lanes strictly reserved for the transport of athletes, Olympic officials and elite corporate guests which will cause severe damage to licensed taxi drivers' ability to pick up, transport and drop off passengers for the two month duration of the Olympic games.
Nicknamed "Zil lanes" after the exclusive traffic lanes created in Soviet Russia to solely transport Communist Party officials, the often badly-planned lanes appear destined to create chaos and massive frustration for Londoners trying to go about their business, with punitive fixed £120 fines being imposed on anyone caught in these lanes, even though there are many places where it is impossible to get where you're going by road without crossing one of these lanes.
The evening before the Metropolitan Police had issued a banning order on their planned protest on Hyde Park Corner, at the end of Park Lane where most of the top Olympic Officials are quartered in 5-star hotels. The order fobad them to commence their protest after 4pm, so the cabbies hurriedly took legal advice and decided to hold their protest at 2pm instead, with equal effect, bringing traffic from 5 different directions grinding to a complete halt for about an hour before police started blocking off some roads and directing traffic out of the immediate area.