Heavy rainfall in Birmingham triggered severe disruption on Wednesday, November 12, forcing a local driving instructor to cancel a full day of booked lessons after a key route was closed due to flooding.
Traffic Gridlock Halts Business
Shakoor Ghani, the owner of ART School of Motoring Ltd, made the difficult decision to pull the plug on seven scheduled lessons. This came after his first student endured a 90-minute journey to travel from Birmingham city centre to the One Stop Shopping Centre in Perry Barr, a trip that should have been significantly shorter.
Faced with extensive delays and concerned for safety, Mr Ghani cancelled the remaining lessons, which were a combination of one and two-hour sessions. The closure of the Birchfield Underpass on the A34 Walsall Road led to massive congestion, affecting routes like Aldridge Road and Birchfield Road.
Widespread Commuter Chaos
The impact was felt across the local transport network. Multiple bus services, including the 33, 51, 52, X51, 907, 936, 937, 997, and 998, experienced significant delays throughout the day.
Commuters took to social media to express their frustration, detailing journeys that took over two hours to cover just a few miles. One resident reported a 2 hour and 20 minute ordeal to get to Soho Road, while others described being stuck in the same spot on Birchfield Road for over an hour.
Prioritising Safety Over Profit
While the cancelled lessons meant a direct financial loss of more than £250 for his small business, Mr Ghani emphasised that safety was his primary concern. He stated he did not want learner drivers to waste their paid lessons sitting in standstill traffic and that the time needed to travel between appointments was also severely compromised.
"As someone who runs my own business, I've lost out on the day's earnings," Ghani said, "however I'd rather we're all safe." His comments highlight the difficult choices local businesses face when unexpected infrastructure failures occur.
