£3 to travel 100 yards

At that rate of exchange, a mile-long journey would cost nearly £53. A trip to the McArthurGlen shopping centre would set you back £137, and the eight-mile journey to Beningbrough Hall would cost more than £400.

In other words, it's an astronomical sum. And yet more than 250 people are being forced to pay it every working week.

The idea behind the lengthy improvements to the railway station is to make it a gateway for the city. "All station users will find the station a great deal easier to access," the council's literature predicted. But it said nothing about making it easier to leave.

The connecting junction between the station and the inner ring road has always been difficult to negotiate. But the £1 million-plus alterations have made it even worse, according to taxi drivers.

This is more than just a transport headache. It reflects badly on the city.

Many of York's visitors arrive by train. If they are stuck in a stationary cab for ten minutes when the only thing moving is the meter, their first impression is of a "rip-off city".

Taxi drivers are not the only ones to have complained about the gateway scheme. Some cyclists believe the changes have delivered as many cons as pros.

With any road improvement, however carefully planned, there is a large distance between drawing board and reality. Now the station scheme is up and running, the council, GNER and Network Rail should meet taxi bosses and others to iron out these problems.

Updated: 11:20 Wednesday, March 29, 2006