..FARES..FARES..FARES..FARES.. DORSET:
No responses were received by the council to the draft fare tariff, meaning the hike to cab fares looks set to go through before the end of spring.
Taxi drivers in Dorset could see tariffs going up again later in the year – if fuel costs continue to soar. According to Dorsetlive, Dorset Council’s licensing committee has promised to monitor the cost of fuel and again review fares should fuel prices continue to rocket. “I would hate to see the drivers disadvantaged by rising fuel costs,” said Cllr Carole Jones at a recent meeting which agreed new maximum charges for the year ahead. Cllr Les Fry moved that the “soiling charge” be increased to a maximum of £100 and proposed that a small charge of 30p per extra person can be added to the initial cost of a hackney carriage ride – if drivers choose to collect it. The new proposed maximum fare rates for weekdays, 7am to 10pm, in most of Dorset will see an initial charge of £3 and then £4.40 for the first mile and £2.80 for each subsequent mile. For 10pm to 7am these will be £4.50, £6.60, and £4.20 with even higher rates on bank holidays over the Christmas period. For Weymouth and Portland the proposed rates are (7am to 11pm) £2.70 initial charge, £5.30 for the first mile and £2 for each subsequent mile and for 11pm to 7am £3.10, £5.90 and £2.40.
ABERDEEN:
Taxi fares in Aberdeen are set to increase after councillors agreed to the new tariffs at a licensing committee meeting on Tuesday 22 March. AberdeenLive reports that Aberdeen City Council met to discuss the proposed tariffs for the year, where it was agreed they could increase as no appeals had been made to the decision. Changes are set to impact those using taxi or private hire vehicles to get to Aberdeen airport where drop offs are set to be charged at the maximum allowed rate of £4. Fares are currently charged at a maximum of £2.60 for the first 940 yards- a rise on the country charge of £2.40. A total of 20p is added for every additional 160 yards on the meter. The tariff card is set to last for 18 months, which could see the fare increase run from as early as April this year through until late 2023. Changes to Aberdeen taxi charges would need to be con- firmed before Easter Monday as meters are not set for the public holiday on April 19. Russell McLeod, MD of Rainbow City Taxis, put forward the proposed fare increases back in mid-January to the council. He told councillors that he believed drivers should be allowed to charge customers the current rate for drop offs at the airport. There is currently a £4 maximum charge, and McLeod also asked for a change in the process to allow taxi drivers to pass airport charges on to their customers. Once the final fare tariff has been agreed and the operators have been informed with seven days, they will have 14 days to submit an appeal to the Traffic Commissioner.
APRIL 2022 STEVENAGE:
Taxi fares in Stevenage will rise after Stevenage Borough Council agreed to changes at a council meeting on March 24, which will see fares cost 60p more for a two-mile jour- ney. Drivers from ABC Taxis first proposed a rise at a drivers’ forum in December, saying costs had continued to rise. Paul Barrett, of ABC Taxis, told councillors that fares hadn’t changed since 2017, and didn’t reflect the rising cost of fuel, the increasing usage of card payments or the cost of replac- ing older vehicles. The new charges will mean a two-mile journey will cost £7. For a tariff one journey - between 6am and 11pm most days - the first charge will begin at 0.3 mile, rather than 0.5 miles and for each subsequent 0.1 mile travelled 20p will be added for the length of a journey. For tariff two journeys - between 11am and 6am and during most bank holidays - fares will start at £5.40p and then rise by 30p for each 0.1 mile, which is also a 9 per cent rise. Tariff three is for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and from 11pm- 6am over New Years, which will begin at £7.20p with an additional 40p per 0.1 mile. Councillors also agreed that the General Purposes Commit- tee will look at taxi fares on a regular basis, to avoid drivers falling behind the cost of living. No date was set for the new changes to come into effect, but officers said metres would be updated within the next two months.
UBER:
Uber fares across the UK are to rise sharply from Monday 14 March when VAT of 20% will be applied to rides booked via the app. The Guardian reports that ther change comes after a high court ruling last December that Uber could not be viewed as simply an agent but should be regarded as the contractor. Uber said fares would have to rise. The additional VAT will be charged within the fare and not displayed to the passenger. It is understood that Uber may effectively subsidise some fares, as a spokesperson said fare rises would vary from city to city, but refused to divulge further details on pricing on the grounds it was competitively sensitive. App users have been notified on a change in the terms and conditions which will mean passengers contract directly with Uber, rather than the driver, from 11.59pm on Monday. While the original ruling only applied to Uber’s business model in London, its biggest market, a spokesman said it was applying the changes nationwide in anticipation of further legal changes. Other operators will be legally required to fol- low suit in London, although they have yet to confirm plans.
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