Day three of protests: London's Taxi drivers stand firm over restriction of trade

For the third day running, London’s black taxi drivers descended on London Bridge in protest against road closures and restrictions that they say are making it impossible to go about their daily trade. The week of protests was called by “taxi pressure group” the ITA to demonstrate the trades frustration with TfL’s persistence to exclude them from major roads and junctions in the capital, the latest being the proposals to ban them from accessing Tooley Street from London Bridge. TfL are planning on only granting access to Tooley Street from London Bridge to Buses and cycles leaving taxi drivers feeling discriminated against.

For three days in a row taxi drivers have brought London Bridge and subsequently surrounding areas to a standstill. Unlike taxi drivers from many other cities across Europe, London’s iconic drivers seem far more patient in taking their frustrations to protests, so for them to commit to a week of demonstrations just shows the seriousness of their concerns about how they are being treated by their licensing authority. Two more days are scheduled for protests and by the looks of things both Thursday and Friday will pull in enough disgruntled taxi drivers to bring the area to gridlock.
(Image credit: Twitter@LondonTaxiPR)