OXFORD'S black cab drivers say they have been 'abandoned' as restrictions have made it difficult to collect passengers near the Westgate Centre.

There is no daytime rank in the vicinity and raft of changes mean their previous evening-only rank on Queen Street has moved to Cornmarket Street, forcing drivers drivers to do u-turns in a busy pedestrian area.

Drivers are also banned from using an access road from Speedwell Street and up Norfolk Street, which they say leaves passengers facing longer journeys and higher fares.

A government decision overruled Oxfordshire County Council to allow buses to use Queen Street despite safety fears, and both buses and cyclists have been given access to a new link road, but taxis have been banned.

Oxfordshire County Council says it is working with the industry but drivers have branded the Cornmarket Street rank as 'extremely dangerous' as taxis compete for road space with cyclists and pedestrians.

Drivers have also reported drunken revellers jumping on their cabs and pulling their wing mirrors as they leave bars and clubs in the early hours.

The City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association (COLTA), which represents drivers of the city's 107 black cabs, called for better access to the Westgate Centre and more flexibility to move around the city.

Secretary Sajad Khan said the city's black cab trade had faced 'enormous challenges' in recent years.

He said: "It’s been nothing but obstructions, restrictions and diversions yet our drivers have conducted themselves in the most professional manner whilst faced with the most difficult of circumstances"

He added: "We must be accessible to all passengers including the disabled and families with children.

"Certain access routes within the city such as the link route which runs alongside the Westgate Centre needs to be open to us, currently only buses and cyclists are permitted to go through.

"As public hire vehicles, our role should be to minimise delays for passengers in peak periods.

"We should not be forced on onerous routes which will impact our passengers, not only increasing their waiting times on ranks but journey time and financially also."

Taxis have been given a new rank opposite Shepherd and Woodward in High Street but drivers say this is too far for people to walk from the Westgate.

Fellow black cab driver, and city councillor Saj Malik, said: "We have been abandoned - the buses can use Queen Street 24/7 after the Government reversed the decision to ban them.

"They are allowed 29 buses per hour but we are 107 vehicles in total and things have just been made worse for us.

"We need to be able to access the link road for the Westgate - cyclists and buses can but we can't."

He added: "That and moving the rank to the High Street would solve the problems."

Instead, the fleet of 107 black cabs have been using the previously pedestrianised Cornmarket Street as a rank, queuing up on the left before turning around before the junction with Market Street.

But the current situation has been branded 'extremely dangerous' and an 'accident waiting to happen' as taxis navigate the street packed with cyclists and pedestrians after 6.30pm.

Mr Malik said: "It's very dangerous - I don't blame the cyclists and pedestrians they have been allowed to use it without vehicles for almost 20 years.

"Of course drivers are careful but the footfall is so high it's an accident waiting to happen.

"Why does someone need to be hurt to get things resolved - it's clear that it's not working."

He added: "As the evening wears on we are facing different problems, there was an incident last week where someone jumped onto the bonnet of a taxi - just for fun - this is just one of the issues.

"When you can't take a drunk man or woman home to the north of the city by going down Cornmarket Street - they are understandably annoyed when the meter reads £8 by the time you have gone all the way round to Debenhams.

"It puts drivers safety at risk."

Mr Khan said his drivers - operating with care and professionalism - had been ordered not to go faster than 5mph but the situation was making cabbies 'anxious'.

City councillor James Fry said: "It would be much more sensible to listen to the taxi drivers and revert to something similar to the system that operated perfectly well before, with a rank at the Carfax end of Queen Street, where there is more space on the pavement which could be adapted to accommodate taxis.

"It also has the advantage that there would be a considerably less heavy flow of cyclists and pedestrians past the taxis than that found in Cornmarket."

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman, Martin Crabtree, said: "Taxis were stopped from using the link road as part of the planning application for the Westgate which was granted by the city council.

"We appreciate what the taxi drivers are saying and while there are no plans to change the arrangements we will be keeping an eye on how this and other transport measures are working.

"We have worked closely with the taxi operators on the Cornmarket rank and we remain in close contact with them regarding how the arrangements are working."

But Oxford City Council backed COLTA’s calls for cabs to use the link road for at least part of the day before Oxfordshire County Council – the transport authority - made the final decision.

Then cabinet member for transport David Nimmo Smith postponed a decision for officers to reconsider but they stuck with the ban.