Former taxi/bus driver again naysaying but support from Dunino lady, as well as a rebuttal of East Fife Taxi Association
27, 06 08 21:52
Mr Beech says that the old St Andrews line was losing money because BR said so! It is however now recognised that their methodology was flawed. And he says that the Steer Davies Gleave report found there were not enough potential passengers for a St Andrews line. Hardly surprising, as that report only considered journeys to and from Tayside, ignoring the great majority of Leuchars passengers who are going to and from Edinburgh! Furthermore, he claims there would be no room for any car-parking but as far as I know no-one has produced a design for the station so it is not clear how he can be so certain of this.
The reply to the East Fife Taxi Association from Starlink is as follows:
'Dear Editor
I'd like to make just a few short comments on the letter from the Chair of the East Fife Taxi Association. For a start, the Starlink campaign has never suggested that a new station should have no car-parking, or be accessible only by walking or cycling, and I know of no-one else who has.
Secondly, I'm sorry that Ms Batchelor is sick of hearing about traffic tailbacks on public holidays into St Andrews. However the townsfolk also fed up of being swamped by cars, and in addition I would guess that the inhabitants of Cupar, Dairsie and even Guardbridge are also sick of an increased stream of St Andrews-bound cars trundling through their settlements every time somebody somewhere has a holiday or even just when it's a nice day. It should come as no surprise that the eastmost 4 miles of the A91 is the busiest stretch of road in North East Fife.
Finally although one can appreciate the concerns of taxi-drivers, it would be perverse to deny such an important destination and economic generator as St Andrews a means of attractive, efficient and environmentally-friendly transport simply to appease taxi-drivers. However, with the increasing numbers of people who visit the town it is clear that there would still be plenty of work for taxis both at Leuchars and St Andrews, and a series of short runs of a mile or so have to be more cost-effective than sitting for up to five hours at Leuchars on the off-chance of a fare and perhaps having to run back 6 miles to town empty at the end of it.
There can be little doubt that a railway would be good for St Andrews and the surrounding area, and it is clear from the messages of support that the Starlink campaign continues to receive that an increasing number of people appreciate this.'
The reply to the East Fife Taxi Association from Starlink is as follows:
'Dear Editor
I'd like to make just a few short comments on the letter from the Chair of the East Fife Taxi Association. For a start, the Starlink campaign has never suggested that a new station should have no car-parking, or be accessible only by walking or cycling, and I know of no-one else who has.
Secondly, I'm sorry that Ms Batchelor is sick of hearing about traffic tailbacks on public holidays into St Andrews. However the townsfolk also fed up of being swamped by cars, and in addition I would guess that the inhabitants of Cupar, Dairsie and even Guardbridge are also sick of an increased stream of St Andrews-bound cars trundling through their settlements every time somebody somewhere has a holiday or even just when it's a nice day. It should come as no surprise that the eastmost 4 miles of the A91 is the busiest stretch of road in North East Fife.
Finally although one can appreciate the concerns of taxi-drivers, it would be perverse to deny such an important destination and economic generator as St Andrews a means of attractive, efficient and environmentally-friendly transport simply to appease taxi-drivers. However, with the increasing numbers of people who visit the town it is clear that there would still be plenty of work for taxis both at Leuchars and St Andrews, and a series of short runs of a mile or so have to be more cost-effective than sitting for up to five hours at Leuchars on the off-chance of a fare and perhaps having to run back 6 miles to town empty at the end of it.
There can be little doubt that a railway would be good for St Andrews and the surrounding area, and it is clear from the messages of support that the Starlink campaign continues to receive that an increasing number of people appreciate this.'