I'm a black taxi driver – that's why it's impossible to drive in London now

iwas a a black taxi driver in London over seven years and I can honestly say that conditions for drivers in this city are – without a doubt – worse than ever. It feels like every new day brings a new obstacle that is made up to stop motorists like me the mayor who seems to have made it his mission to make our lives as complicated as possible.

Yesterday, the former environment minister and former London mayoral candidate Zach Goldsmith48, building driving is prohibited after being caught speeding four times in the past year. Although it sounds bad – especially for someone ecological position contributed to the mayhem on the capital's streets – I have some sympathy, as well as some admiration, for the former Tory MP.

Don't get me wrong: the law is the law, and if you break it multiple times, including twice on the same road, you shouldn't be surprised by the consequences.

But sometimes the laws governing London's roads seem designed to catch drivers. Although Goldsmith has been caught speeding (more than once), on two of those roads he was only driving 28 and 29 mph respectively in a 20 mph zone. Speeding? Give me a break!

Thanks to Sadiq Khan's introduction of a 20mph speed limit, London this week was crowned the slowest city in the world for drivers.

As someone who drives professionally, I know that cars are simply not designed to be driven this slowly for extended periods of time. Staying at such an unreasonable limit for so long is bordering on impossible – and in many places you will actually be fined for creeping like that. Luckily, taxi drivers like me have speed limiters to prevent us from accidentally going over the speed limit – but most drivers don't have access to it, so they get caught.

However, speed limits are not the only problem for drivers in London. In fact, they are probably the least outrageous. Cyclists took over this city and turned my job into a total nightmare.

Whole areas of the city that have changed to accommodate cyclists are permanently closed, and simple journeys that used to take 10 minutes are taking two to three times as long. As a taxi driver, this means additional costs for my customers and me – not to mention the inconvenience we both now face.

Currently, only buses and bicycles can travel along Tottenham Court Road. Bank Junction – a focal point in the financial center where nine roads converge – is for buses and bicycles only. Sloane Street in Chelsea used to be two-way, but the lane has now been removed, meaning the return to Knightsbridge is a huge challenge. The list goes on and on, but ask any driver to name the road most affected by bike lanes and they'll say Park Lane.

But I don't want anyone to think I'm some kind of anti-environmental activist. You might be surprised to know who I really am in favor of measures such as Ulezbecause in the end they can be of real benefit. Air pollution is a real problem in this cityand want to take steps to ensure a clean and healthy environment for me and my children.

Living here, sometimes you can see a haze in the air and feel the effect of smog on your chest. The sooner we do something about it, the better off we all will be. I'm driving self electric taxi and hopefully hybrid cars will become a more affordable and realistic option for people in the future.

I just think that if we are going to introduce measures to curb the use of vehicles and protect the environment, a little more thought needs to be given to the people they will directly affect. You can't just take unreasonable measures to catch drivers, punish them when they inevitably stumble, and call it progress.

It's not fair to them and it's not fair to the city. People need to get where they want to go without fear of being fined or arrested – and they certainly need to get there without fear of being two hours late! London should be a city on the move, but right now it's stuck in a rut.