Cab drivers create gridlock in Games Lane protest
More than 200 taxi drivers have brought central London to a halt in a protest at the Olympic Games lanes.
Blaring their horns, the cabbies took their case to Parliament Square, creating gridlock in the heart of the capital with the jam swiftly spreading to Millbank and Whitehall.
London’s iconic black cabs are being excluded from the 30 miles of games lanes, which have been reserved for Olympic competitors, officials and sponsors.
Dubbed “Zil lanes” by critics, they come into force on Wednesday next week. Drivers who transgress face a 130 fine.
The restrictions will ban drivers from the lanes, making journey times across the capital longer and dearer for passengers.
Many cab drivers have said they will leave London during the Games rather than put up with the frustration of navigating the capital’s traffic.
"There will be no access to these lanes for any traffic apart from the Olympics family.
"Taxis are excluded, which is unacceptable and wrong. This is a working city and we need to get around and do our job," said Jonathan Myers, of the United Cabbies group union.
“We've come to Parliament so MPs can wake up and hear what we're talking about."
Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, which has a number of cab drivers in its membership, said:
“It’s a scandal that a London taxi was used as an iconic London image to secure the games and yet those same cab drivers are now being kicked in the teeth by Olympics chiefs over the VIP lanes and the entire Olympics transport strategy.”
However John Mason, Director of London Taxi and Private Hire, defended the arrangement.
"We have informed taxi drivers that any such demonstration is completely irresponsible and would only disrupt the travelling public the very people taxi drivers are supposed to serve.
“We strongly urge taxi drivers to ignore calls to join these unnecessary protests and instead show why they are regularly voted the best in the world.”
200多位出租车司机在伦敦奥运车道上集会示威抗议，将伦敦中心区堵了个水泄不通。
司机们鸣着喇叭，涌至国会广场表示抗议，在伦敦中心区造成了极为严重的全面交通堵塞，并且迅速蔓延至米尔班克和怀特霍尔。
30英里的奥运专用车道将只供奥运选手、官员和赞助商使用，禁止伦敦的标志性黑色出租车行驶。
这些被批评者们称为“专用车道”的道路从下周三起便开始戒严，违反规定的司机将面临130英镑的罚款。
该限制将禁止司机走专用车道，这使得乘客们穿过伦敦需要花更长的时间，更多的路费。
很多出租车司机都说他们会在奥运会期间离开伦敦，而不是在此绝望地忍受交通管制。
“除了奥运车辆，其他车辆都被禁止行驶奥运专用车道。”
出租车司机联盟组织成员乔纳森 梅尔说：“连出租车都禁止，这让人无法接受，也不应该这么做。这是个不断运转的城市，我们需要到不同的地方去，做我们的工作。”
“我们已经来到了国会大厦，这样议员们就会醒过神儿来，听听我们的意见。”
鲍勃 克罗是运输工会联盟的秘书长，该联盟有相当一部分成员都是出租车司机。
他说：“伦敦的出租车曾是伦敦为奥运保驾护航的标志形象，而现在，奥运会的官员却公然禁止这些出租车司机行驶贵宾车道，以及参与整个奥运交通战略。”
然而，伦敦出租车和私车组织负责人约翰 梅森对这种安排予以支持。
“我们已经告诉出租车司机，任何此类示威都是完全不负责任的行为，只会给出行的公众带来麻烦 而这些人正是出租车司机们的服务对象。”
“我们强烈呼吁司机不要响应这些无谓的抗议，而是要向人们展现为什么他们总是被选为世界上最棒的出租车司机。”
Vocabulary:
gridlock: 极端严重的全面交通堵塞（无车能动）
transgress: 违反，违背（规则、法律等）
