London Bridge protest: Two more nights of traffic misery as taxi drivers block river crossing AGAIN

James Morris29 November 2018

Londoners were bracing themselves for two more nights of traffic misery as black cab drivers blocked London Bridge again.

The “licensed taxi protest” was back at the river crossing at 4pm on Thursday, with dozens of cabbies blocking London Bridge in both directions.

They again forced road closures and huge backlogs of traffic at both ends of the bridge.

Meanwhile, 18 bus services which usually cross the bridge were unable to serve their full route, with Transport for London (TfL) forced into terminating them at other locations.

London Bridge was again blocked in both directions on Thursday
@MartinHatch/Twitter

It was the fourth out of five three-hour blockades this week, with the final protest set to take place on Friday.

Cabbies called the action because of a dispute with TfL, which wants to stop taxis using bus lanes in a section of Tooley Street near the bridge.

London Bridge was again blocked in both directions on Thursday
@MartinHatch/Twitter

The organisation has branded the protests “unnecessary”. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, on the other hand, has been silent on the issue.

Cab drivers say they have suffered “discrimination” at the hands of TfL, with others claiming key journeys to London Bridge Hospital will be disrupted.

Ben Plowden, TfL’s director of strategy and network development, said in a statement: “A consultation is currently underway on changes to Tooley Street to improve conditions for people walking and cycling, or traveling by public transport.

“The best way for people to let us know what they think about these proposals is to respond to the consultation, so this type of protest is unnecessary.

“All feedback on our proposals will be thoroughly assessed and taken into account.”

The consultation for the Tooley Street scheme runs until January 9, with TfL insisting no decision will be made until all responses are considered.

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