Private-hire vehicles will soon be granted access to use a controversial Aberdeen bus gate.
Currently taxis are allowed to go through the Bedford Road bus gate but private-hire vehicles are not – meaning they have to go the long way round when collecting or dropping off passengers.
A motion put forward by Councillor John Wheeler, convener of the operational delivery committee, calling for the council to permit access for private-hire vehicles was backed unanimously by the committee.
If no significant objections are received, then the council would progress with a public advertisement and report any objections to a future meeting of the committee.
Cllr Wheeler said the intention of his motion was to ensure people were not disadvantaged by taking private-hire vehicles.
He added: “I’ve also asked council officers to bring back a report in March bringing back options for the remaining bus gates in the city.
“These will be decided on a case-by-case basis.”
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Kirsty Blackman, who is standing in the Aberdeen North seat at the upcoming General Election, wrote to Angela Scott, chief executive of Aberdeen City Council, in September in a bid to change the rules.
She claimed the situation can affect disabled residents, who may often rely on taxi vehicles as their sole means of transport to get about.
SNP councillor Alex McLellan, who sits on the committee, said: “This is a very welcome move to allow private-hires through the bus gate, an issue championed by Kirsty Blackman, and something which a number of local residents have been calling for.”
It emerged last year that the site would not be opened up to give residents access, after they complained they had to endure long tailbacks from having to drive around.
Taxis were eventually given access in June this year, after the gate was installed in May 2016 to stop drivers using Bedford Road as a through-road when the Diamond Bridge opened.
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