Officials in Preston want taxi drivers to stay in their cabs - to avoid making the streets look untidy, it's been reported.
A consultation by Preston City Council proposes that taxi ranks driver should "rank in an orderly manner and proceed along the rank in order and promptly, and remain in the vehicle".
Quoted by the Lancashire Evening Post, Councillor David Hammond, who chairs the committee that will decide on the proposals, said that crowds of taxi drivers congregating outside their cabs could create a "bad first impression".
But the city's cabbies have expressed their annoyance at the idea.
Mark Selley, secretary of the Preston Hackney Carriage Association, that it might take legal action if "unfair and inappropriate rules" were brought in.
"We are not proposing locking the cab up and going to the pub, we are talking about stretching your legs and getting some fresh air," he said.
However, Mike Thorpe, licensing manager at Preston City Council, told elephant.co.uk news that his concerns lie with the practice of "pushing taxis up the rank when no one is in the vehicle".
"Taxi drivers standing outside their cab often lean through the open window, take the handbrake off and push their vehicle up to the next space in the queue, which is a safety concern," he said.
People have until 18 January 2009 to respond to the plans.
