TAXI drivers in York are planning to boycott Royal Ascot because they are sick of race-day roads chaos.

Cabbies claim the trial aimed at calming congestion during this week's Ebor Festival has been a "nightmare".

Now the Evening Press understands scores of York private hire drivers are seriously considering shunning Ascot next June - because they reckon the snarl-ups will be so bad they will not make any cash.

But City of York Council says its feedback from taxi bosses has broadly been positive.

Martin Nicholas, of Ace Taxis, said: "I'm not going to sit in traffic watching my temperature gauge rise and my money drop.

"Ascot will be awful unless they come up with a much better scheme. I'm having a week off."

Of an estimated 50 drivers at Ace, about 70 per cent were unhappy and held similar views, he said.

Mark Lee, an Ebor Cars driver for six years, said the first day of the trial was "worse than it's ever been".

He said: "Drivers and passengers I spoke to said traffic was a lot worse. They shut streets off that did not need to be shut.

"We had to pick up at Reginald Grove, which was a good 900 yards from the racecourse. One man said he needed a taxi to get to the taxi."

Mr Lee said he would normally work his day off, but he gave the roads a miss yesterday. "It's not worth sitting in traffic all day and most drivers I spoke to said they are not planning to work Ascot week. There's a real strong feeling."

Council chiefs hope to improve traffic flows by introducing controls on vehicle movements in and out of South Bank and by improving junction controls on to the A64.

But many cabbies are not convinced the trial should form the heart of next year's Ascot masterplan. "It just didn't work," said Mr Nicholas. "Traffic is like water - stop it flowing in one place and it will just go somewhere else. It was an absolute nightmare."

Ian Gillies, secretary of Station Taxis, said jams were so bad an average £5.50 fare from the station to Knavesmire doubled.

He said: "Whatever the council do there are going to be delays, but it was a lot worse than when it was left alone."

Mr Gillies said the council had listened to complaints and made minor adjustments, improving rank facilities in Knavesmire Road and allowing cabs in Campleshon Road. But he said a boycott was not the solution. "We are there to provide a service," he said.

Ideas put forward by cabbies include building a link road between the racecourse and the A64, making Tadcaster Road traffic flow in both lanes one direction all the way to the A64 and opening Terry Avenue to taxis only.

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "We are in regular contact with the local taxi federations, which represent taxi drivers and companies, and the feedback from them is that the new arrangements seem to be working reasonably well.

"Clearly this is a trial, and we will continue to respond to any concerns or problems taxi drivers or residents may have and are actively encouraging them to get in touch. However, the information we're getting from our team of traffic monitors on the ground suggests that traffic in most areas is flowing better than for previous Ebor meetings."

The first day was beset by some minor difficulties resulting from motorists ignoring route changes, causing congestion on the A59, traffic arriving earlier at the racecourse and motorists nudging barriers that were blocking access to roads around the racecourse and South Bank.

Updated: 10:59 Thursday, August 19, 2004