Tweed taxi drivers expect a difficult New Year’s
TWEED taxi drivers were worried a taxi rank at Marine Pde, Coolangatta would become a battlefield following the news no rank marshals will be present tonight.
The rank, located near KFC at Marine Pde, normally has two rank marshals operating on Friday and Saturday nights between 10pm and 4am.
However, faced with one of the busiest nights of the year, Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads has decided not to fund the rank marshals.
Tweed taxi driver Brian Foster said since the introduction of the rank marshals, the rank had operated without any serious problems.
Mr Foster said "It's been working great over the last few months.
"When there are no marshals, we experience quite a bit of aggression, Mr Foster said.
"Drivers get abused and sometimes taxi doors are kicked.
"When a couple of solid guys keep order, we don't encounter this type of behaviour.
"It's going to be a s**t fight tonight."
Gold Coast Cabs said the company didn't fund the rank marshals and depended on the Department of Transport and Main Roads to pay for the service.
Gold Coast Cabs customer liaison officer Christine Neilson said "it was a main roads' decision not to fund the marshals".
The Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads was unavailable for comment.
