Pedestrians cut off by the A376 works on the edge of Exmouth can get a free taxi. It is a shuttle between two points, not a free ride into town.
Devon County Council says the cars are paid for by Octavius Infrastructure, the contractor on the Dinan Way extension. A spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the taxis run only from either side of the closed footway: Ascona Courtland Garage and the Saddlers Inn. Ascona Group lists that garage as Courtlands Service Station, 397 Exeter Road.
The taxi was a condition of the permit that closed the footway, so people living nearby were not left without a walkable way through. The council said a taxi is rarely laid on for roadworks, and only when there is no workable accessible route around the site. Devon Live checked the walk and put the detour at about 24 minutes, against a usual 5 to 10 minutes on Exmouth Road.
The council said Octavius had not yet shared how many journeys had been taken, or what they had cost. It has not said how a pedestrian asks for the car.
The council’s scheme page puts the A376 closure, from Courtlands Cross to Courtlands Lane, as running from 9 September until December, while the new roundabout is finished. The 800-metre Dinan Way link opened on 9 September. Traffic to and from the town centre is sent along that new road and Hulham Road. Temporary one-ways, including Iona Avenue and Featherbed Lane, run for the same period.
The council expects the whole scheme to be finished by the end of the year. It says poor weather stopped earthworks for several months, and the A376 roundabout was held up by underground utilities that had to be diverted.