London taxi drivers warned over rising penalties for waiting on dropped kerbs
- Perry Richardson
- 14 minutes ago
- 2 min read
London taxi drivers are being urged to avoid waiting across dropped kerbs and driveway entrances after reports of increased enforcement for obstructing pavements.
Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) senior representative Sam Houston highlighted the issue after recounting a recent fare that ended with a warning to fellow cabbies about where they choose to stop while waiting for passengers.
Houston said he had already completed a productive shift before deciding to try his luck at the taxi rank near St Pancras International while working near Camden Road station.
“Truth be told, I’d already had a decent day and ended up just off Camden Road, so I decided to chance St Pancras for something going my way,” Houston said.
LTDA representative says drivers are increasingly being fined for ‘obstructed footways’ when waiting across flattened entrances used as pick-up points
The decision resulted in a long fare heading west across London. “Eventually a bloke got in and said ‘Chiswick, and then on to Kew, please.’ It was music to my ears,” he added.
However, the journey also illustrated a growing enforcement issue facing drivers when stopping to wait for passengers.
According to Houston, the passenger asked him to briefly wait while collecting his daughter at a mansion block in Chiswick. The only available place to stop was across a flattened vehicle entrance that crossed the pavement.
While many drivers use dropped kerbs to move out of the traffic flow while waiting, Houston warned that doing so could now result in enforcement action.
A fellow driver recently received a Penalty Charge Notice while collecting passengers outside the Hilton London Tower Bridge on Tooley Street after his taxi slightly overlapped a driveway crossing the pavement, he said.
Under TfL rules, such areas are considered part of the footway. Vehicles that block them can therefore be issued penalties for “obstructed footways”, even if they are not parked directly on the main pavement.
Houston said drivers often use flattened access points as a temporary waiting spot because it appears safer and keeps the cab out of passing traffic, particularly on busy London streets.
He warned that enforcement activity appears to have increased in recent years, with camera monitoring and roadside checks leading to more fines being issued to drivers who stop across dropped kerbs.
“Don’t do it, don’t give them your money,” Houston said, advising drivers to remain cautious about where they wait when collecting passengers.
