ARE SNOW FARES FAIR?
Putting fares up in adverse weather conditions has always been a controversial matter. How do you look at it? One said “bus fares don’t go up”, but buses were stranded all over the place – it was our drivers who got through. Surely a marginal increase is justifiable… but three times the fares?? Trust Uber to lead the pack. It’s as well we’re not in Scandinavia.
STOCKTON FIRM RAISES FARES AS DRIVERS ‘RISK THEIR LIVES’
One Stockton taxi firm defended its decision to increase all fares by £1 during the snow - as its drivers are “risking their lives” on the roads. Tees Valley Cabs owner Mazi Maroof said the extra cash acts as an incentive for drivers to come out to work. But one customer - whose usual £12 taxi fare to work went up to £13 - branded the idea “ridiculous”. The woman, who asked not to be
Tees Valley Cabs owner Mazi Maroof
named, said: “Some- times my partner gets a taxi to work, it is always £12, but when I ordered one
this morning she said it would be a pound extra because of the weather. “I don’t think it’s right at all. What if somebody only had that £12 and they couldn’t get to work because they didn’t have that extra pound? “I think it’s terrible. The bus fares don’t go up just because it snows.”
But the taxi firm said journeys
are
taking up to five times longer than usual.
DERBY TAXI FIRMS DEFEND FARE HIKES DUE TO BAD WEATHER
Taxi firms in Derby have been criticised for putting fares up because of the snow. Passengers have hit out at the increases, but bosses say the hikes are to com- pensate drivers for the additional risk they undertake in bad weather. The Derby Tele- graph understands some drivers were reluctant to work due to the condi- tions. Firms there- fore increased rates to entice them behind the wheel. Albatross Cars is
60
among the taxi com- panies that charged time and a half. A call handler said: “The increase is to get drivers out. There’s extra danger because of the snow.”
Chads Cars in- creased fares by 30 per cent, although fares returned to normal the following morning. A spokes- man for the firm said: “Drivers are taking a bit more of a risk by being out in the snow.” The increases have angered some pas- sengers. Kul Johal
said: “I think it’s very unreasonable. It’s taking advantage of the situation. I totally disagree with it. It’s not fair. Can you imagine if you’re elderly? It’s not right.” Another customer said: “Taxi firms in Derby have been taking advantage of the bad weather and have put a mini- mum £10 charge for journeys. They’re rip- ping off customers in my opinion.” Taxi firms reported an increase in calls due to the heavy snow last month.
PORTSMOUTH FIRM RAISES FARES DUE TO POOR ROAD CONDITIONS
Taxi firm Aqua Cars announced last month that it was to raise all fares by £1 due to the poor driv- ing conditions caused by snow. According to the Portsmouth News,
the move made by the firm was tempo- rary, and was to be monitored through- out the course of the day.
A post on the com- pany’s Facebook page said: “Due to
the adverse weather conditions and the time and risk our drivers are taking to complete each job, we have made the decision to tem- porarily add a £1 fare increase to all fares.”
UBER FARES IN BRISTOL RISE FROM £15 TO £45 DURING STORM EMMA
Uber has been slammed by unhap- py customers after fares in Bristol surged by more than three times the average price during Storm Emma. According to the Bristol Post, during the storm more than 10cm of now fell in and around Bristol in less than 24 hours and bus services were
suspended,
large numbers of people across the city turned to the app.
But many were left disappointed after noticing Uber’s price surge – with poten- tial customers being quoted more than £30 for trips less than two miles. “The surge on Uber is insane,” one cus- tomer said, “£32 to go less than two miles!” The same customer said their usual com- mute which usually costs £15, was quot- ed at between £45 and £54 during the surge on Friday, March 2. A second customer, who wanted to catch an Uber from the city centre to
Cars driving up Park Street in Bristol on Thursday, March 1
Harbourside, opted against using the app after being quoted more than three times the reg- ular price. Uber price surges are not merely based on the num- ber of customers attempting to book a ride. It can also depend on the avail- ability of drivers, meaning prices can fluctuate between different areas of the same city. Customers using the app late on Thurs- day, March 1, said the prices had returned to normal by 9pm, having surged earlier in the day.
During a bout of bad weather in Dec-
ember, which led to price surges in the West Midlands, an Uber spokesperson told Birmingham Live: “Our app uses dynamic pricing, which means that fares automatically increase when the demand for cars in a specific area is greater than the cars available. “Bad weather meant that were many peo- ple looking to book a car but fewer cars on the road, which caused prices to automatically rise. “Users always see a fare estimate in advance, so they have the choice to book a car, share the trip with others or wait until fares drop.”
APRIL 2018
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