The city council, local businesses and many individuals work hard to ensure that visitors to Winchester find the experience an enjoyable one. 

But their efforts to please visitors travelling by train and needing a taxi are likely to be sabotaged on arrival at the station.

To discover that all taxis in the rank directly fronting the station require pre-booking must confuse and inconvenience visitors no end and give a poor first impression of Winchester. 

Few visitors or, indeed, residents, will look beyond the taxis they directly encounter to see "normal" taxis parked on the far side of the wide two lane road. Should an observant person spot a "normal" taxi, in order to reach it they will have to navigate the two lane road which can be very busy at times. This could be a risky undertaking, particularly for those with luggage, poor mobility or young children.

Surely a financial arrangement between non-public bodies such as South Western Railway and Wintax cannot be permitted to have such a detrimental effect on the lives of Winchester residents and visitors alike.

Mary Pearson,
Manor Close, 
Winchester

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