A Harrogate taxi company is claiming Leeds Bradford Airport have lowered the height restrictions at their main short-stay car park.

The short-stay car park is one of the few options at the airport, where people can drop passengers off.

This costs £3 for a vehicle - which according to Harrogate's Elite taxis, a taxi driver would normally pay for this out of his own pocket.

It's claimed that the barriers on the car park at Leeds Bradford Airport have been lowered to 1.9 metres, however the airport says nothing has been changed.

For most cars this isn't a problem, but for people travelling in larger vehicles or some SUVs, it means they need to go into the long-stay car park.
This adds an extra £4 to the cost.

Tim Hargreaves is an operator for Elite taxis:
"What concerns us more than anything is that a lot of Range Rovers and SUVs are higher than 1.9 metres, which means if you're travelling to the airport in one, you aren't going to fit into the car park.

"A few weeks ago it was absolutely fine, and then just suddenly over the last few days the height restrictions have been lowered.

"Nobody is expecting Leeds-Bradford to do it for free, for years and years they've charged, we don't always like it, but we have to accept it.

"Now because they've lowered the barrier, and the long-stay car park costs £7, the taxi companies can't forfeit the money so it's going to have to be passed onto the paying passengers."

However, Leeds Bradford Airport have said that the access height to their 'Express and Short Stay 1 Car Parks' is 1.9m (6ft2in) and that this height is clearly advertised on the restrictors and has been for years.

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YOKOHAMA (Reuters) - Facing a future in which self-driving cars may curb vehicle ownership, Nissan Motor Co is taking its first steps to becoming an operator of autonomous transportation services, hoping to break into a segment set to be dominated by Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] and other technology firms.

In partnership with Japanese mobile gaming platform operator DeNA Co, the automaker will begin public field tests of its Easy Ride service in Yokohama next month, becoming among the first major automakers anywhere to test ride-hailing software developed in-house, using its own fleet of self-driving electric cars.

Easy Ride, which Nissan plans to launch in Japan in the early 2020s, is meant to feel more like a concierge service on wheels, making - for example - restaurant recommendations while the car is on the move.

The announcement follows an agreement by Nissan and its automaking partners Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp earlier this month to explore future cooperation with Chinese transportation services conglomerate Didi Chuxing.

These moves mark a push by the automaker to avoid becoming the “Foxconn of the auto industry”: a mere vehicle supplier to ride- and car-sharing companies.

“We realise that it’s going to take time to become a service operator, but we want to enter into this segment by partnering with companies which are experts in the field,” Nissan’s chief executive, Hiroto Saikawa, told Reuters in an interview this month.

A person close to the deal has said that the agreement is intended to explore opportunities for Nissan and others to supply battery-electric cars to Didi Chuxing for a new electric car-sharing service it is setting up in China.

He noted however that Nissan and its alliance partners could explore a broader agreement, which might possibly involve Nissan providing self-driving taxi technology to the dominant Chinese ride-hailing service.

http://reut.rs/2CDHV22