By Gunnar Schupelius
The Europaplatz is being cleaned up, this is urgently needed. The taxi spaces should therefore disappear. This must not happen. Taxis are as much a part of the station as the train itself, says Gunnar Schupelius.
There are two taxi stops at the main train station. One at the northern entrance (Europaplatz, Invalidenstraße) and one at the southern entrance (Washingtonplatz).
The Mitte district office wants to close the northern stop to taxis and accommodate scooters and bicycles there instead. Together with the BVG, a “Jelbi base” for “e-scooters” and “e-scooters” is to be set up, as well as 140 bicycle parking spaces.
The aim is to strengthen “climate-friendly mobility” and create a “pleasant place for everyone”, the responsible city councilor Almuth Berger (Greens) announced in a recent press release.
According to this plan, only the southern right of way remains for taxis. Arriving taxis can also reach the train station via the underground car park, the district office said.
These ideas are not entirely new. They were developed in the transport administration when it was still under the direction of Senator Jarasch (Greens). The reason given was that Europaplatz was confusing and needed to be reorganized. Transport Senator Manja Schreiner (CDU), who has been in office since April, has not yet commented on this.
The reactions of those affected are all the more violent. The associations are resisting the closure at the north entrance. They see “catastrophic consequences for the taxi industry” coming. They fear that Uber drivers will then use the north entrance illegally and steal even more passengers from taxi drivers.
Taxi drivers do not consider the underground car park to be a suitable stopping point. Firstly, there is not enough space there and there would be traffic jams in the narrow driveways. Secondly, the headroom (2.0 meters) is not enough for large taxis, they would have to take the sign off the roof. Thirdly, the underground car park is not a place women like to move through in the evenings and at night.
Of course the taxi drivers are right. Anyone who knows the underground car park at the main train station knows that there is no stopping point for taxis and that it is lonely and uncomfortable there.
And anyone who knows the main station well as a whole knows that the building is very confusing for people who are not there, no matter how good the signage is.
This station does not have one main entrance, as usual, but two. Passengers cannot distinguish between exits and expect a taxi at both.
They don’t want to walk through the entire maze to the south exit if they can’t find a taxi at the north exit. Who wants that anyway?
Europaplatz is ugly and the worst calling card a city can afford. It needs to be reworked, no doubt about it. Especially because the S 21 construction site will provide an unsightly view for a long time to come.
But please don’t let the taxis jump the gun. They belong to a station like the train itself.
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