CONTACTLESS CONSIDERATIONS CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS OPTION MADE
MANDATORY FOR TAXIS IN ST ALBANS DISTRICT
All taxis operating in the St Albans District will have
to accept
contactless payments and can no longer be cash only to ensure people are not left stranded because they do not have cash. It follows a growing number of complaints from people who were unable to get a taxi late at night because they only had a card. The decision to make a contactless payments mandatory was made
by St Albans City and DC after consulting with taxi drivers and their representatives. Cabbies will have until 3 May to comply and equip their vehicles with card machines or they risk losing their licence. Cllr Raj Visram, Chair of the Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee, said: “Many taxis carry card machines already, but there are some that still choose not to.
We felt there was clear support for making contactless payments mandatory as more and more people no longer carry cash. “This new rule will also improve public safety by ensuring people are not left vulnerable by not having cash to pay for a taxi home. “This change will also be good for the local taxi trade as those drivers who chose to be cash only were missing a lot of business.”
TUNBRIDGE WELLS COUNCIL PUTS BRAKE ON CABBIES DEMANDING CASH ONLY PAYMENTS
Taxi drivers in Tunbridge Wells are being ‘encouraged’ to accept card payments and to not always insist customers pay in cash. The borough council has been forced to act after passengers have been left frustrated by drivers who insist on cash payments to avoid paying costly card transaction fees. Tunbridge Wells cabbies have explained how the costly transaction fees, signal ‘cold spots’, and bank payment disputes have affected their business. Taxi driver, Clayton Berry of Cleggy’s Taxi said: “The fees on card payments for drivers is very high, which is why many only accept cash. We get charged 1.79 per cent for taking a card payment and up to 2 per cent on an international card like Amex. “Taxi drivers are already paying for licensing, petrol, and the vehicle, and this is another cost on top. “We are stuck to the meter price, set by the council and we cannot increase our fares to cover the
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extra cost, unlike private hires. Toni Conlon, of Tunbridge Wells 888, said: “We are having to pay up to 3.5 per cent on some transaction fees. Sometimes we have to wait up to a week to get paid by the [card] companies with some of my friends waiting up to six weeks. There are also many cold spots where there is no signal on the customer’s phone or our card reader. You then have to drive around finding signal which makes the meter go up and customers get annoyed. “They have also been times when people’s phones run out of charge or they forget their PIN number. “There have been cases when people dispute the payment with the bank as an ‘unrecognised transaction’ and they can claim the money back – it has happened to around three drivers I know.” Mr Berry of Cleggy’s Taxi explained: “Around 25 to 30 per cent of drivers take cards and the rest prefer cash payments unless it is a long
journey where they can make a good profit. I think more drivers should take cards – I do with no issues – but I understand why they don’t because they lose money.” Luke Everitt, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “I can understand how frustrating it is to find that a taxi is cash only when you just want to get on with your journey. Under existing council policy, drivers are not obliged to accept card payments. It is a business decision on their part which I’m sure is influenced by the transaction fees they might incur. "If a passenger does not have an alternative means of payment the driver would be within their rights to decline the fare. “That said, the council’s Licensing Team has recently written to the taxi drivers encouraging those who do not accept card payments to do so, and to advise them that drivers should be flexible and take people to cashpoints if necessary to avoid leaving them stranded.”
APRIL 2023 PHTM
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