A Leeds Uber driver has hit out at Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) after he got a hefty fine for dropping off passengers in the car park, as he’d returned within an hour.
Faraz Khan, 36, has accused LBA of running a “scam” operation after he received a £39 fine on Friday, May 20. He made three trips to the airport and his final taxi fare didn’t close to the amount of money he had to pay out.
LBA says the recirculation charge is "clearly marked upon entry," however and only lasts one hour after leaving. Faraz, father of two, six and 13, said: "Leeds Bradford Airport free one-hour car park is a scam. Yesterday I took three trips to airport.”
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He dropped off his first passenger at the express car park and the following two to the free one-hour car park. He went on: "I dropped the rider off, came to the barriers to get out but the machine said I had to pay £39. I rang for assistance and they said it was ‘because you made a recirculated trip so you have to pay £39’.
“And I told them ‘I did not even stay for ten minutes and I am a taxi driver, I will keep coming all day to bring passengers’, but they refused to let me out.
“Taxi drivers are supposed to be allowed to drop off passengers, it’s public transport. They didn’t listen to me and said I had to pay or the money would come to my home with more penalties.
“The airport, their parking company, they’re scamming the people there. It’s not only me, I’ve spoken to other drivers and they said similar things happened to them recently as well.”
Faraz, who lives in Armley, had to pay the hefty bill after dropping off his last passenger which was only a £8.39 faire. He since spoke to Uber who told him the only option would be to cancel trips to the airport in future, if he thinks he’ll be in risk of breaching the airport rules again.
'It will be chaos'
Faraz has been an Uber driver since 2015, he says LBS’s policy will have irrevocable damage on the Leeds taxi industry as so many trips go to and from there. He said: “We are going to lose out on so much business with what’s happening. June, July and August is the holiday season, we take at least four to five trips a day to the airport. A lot of trips.
“It will be chaos when people ask to be picked up from the free one-hour car park as we won’t be able to go there.”
A spokesperson for Leeds Bradford Airport, said: “Due to continued misuse of the One Hour Free Zone, a recirculation charge was introduced in 2019 to prevent it becoming a prolonged holding area for vehicles. Before the introduction of the recirculation charge, vehicles would loop round indefinitely, limiting access to the facility for all passengers.
“The recirculation charge is clearly marked upon entry in the One Hour Free Zone and within the car park itself. Vehicles are welcome to re-enter the One Hour Free Zone one hour after leaving.”
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