Council apologises after car abandoned at taxi rank due to LEZ issue

Glasgow City Council has apologised after a car was abandoned on the taxi rank outside Central Station for four days.

A contractor had to be hired to remove the vehicle, which had first been ticketed on Friday morning, as the council’s only Low Emission Zone compliant uplifter was unavailable.

The car was eventually removed on Tuesday after the problem was flagged on social media.

A spokesman for Unite the union’s Glasgow Cab Section said the council “told the taxi trade we’d had long enough to prepare for the LEZ when they hadn’t done so themselves”.

“On top of that they left an abandoned car on a taxi rank outside Scotland’s busiest train stations for four days. Surely a security risk in itself.”

The union posted photos of the car on social media and said it “seemed to go viral” and “suddenly a sub-contractor turned up to remove it”.

A council spokeswoman said: “The vehicle has been removed and we apologise for the delay.

“The council has one LEZ compliant uplift vehicle as part of our fleet, which is entirely proportionate given the zone area covers one square mile.

“In the event our own vehicle is unavailable, an external contractor is authorised to uplift vehicles on our behalf.”

The union has previously said the city’s LEZ is forcing hundreds of taxis off the road as many vehicles aren’t compliant. The council has said the trade has had enough time to prepare and has been supported through the process.