22 May 2003 Edition
Belfast's snazzy new black taxi centre
The West Belfast Taxi Association's ambitious plan to turn its old Castle Street taxi rank into an ultra modern passenger centre came to fruition last Friday, 16 May, when the Castle Junction was officially opened by Sinn Féin Mayor of Belfast Alex Maskey, himself a former Black Taxi driver.
The passenger centre is part of an eight-storey development called the Tannery Building and will include a 610-space multi-storey car park.
The centre will also house numerous retail outlets on the site.
Speaking to An Phoblacht, Jim Neeson, manager of the West Belfast Taxi Association, explained that the idea for the new passenger centre came from an assessment of passenger needs the WBTA had carried out:
"We commissioned the report in March 2001 to find out how we were serving the community through transport and what we should do to improve the service. This survey gave us precise figures as to the number of people who use our taxis and an insight into what we should aim at for the future.
"We knew we needed to improve our service and we have come from being an improvised transport service to being a vital part of the transport infrastructure of Belfast and this is reflected in the development of the modern taxi terminus, the Castle Junction, that has just been opened."
The passenger centre is part of an eight-storey development called the Tannery Building and will include a 610-space multi-storey car park.
The centre will also house numerous retail outlets on the site.
Speaking to An Phoblacht, Jim Neeson, manager of the West Belfast Taxi Association, explained that the idea for the new passenger centre came from an assessment of passenger needs the WBTA had carried out:
"We commissioned the report in March 2001 to find out how we were serving the community through transport and what we should do to improve the service. This survey gave us precise figures as to the number of people who use our taxis and an insight into what we should aim at for the future.
"We knew we needed to improve our service and we have come from being an improvised transport service to being a vital part of the transport infrastructure of Belfast and this is reflected in the development of the modern taxi terminus, the Castle Junction, that has just been opened."