SPELTHORNE: FEES HIKES SLAMMED BY CABBIES
ROUND THE COUNCILS COVENTRY:
DRIVERS FURIOUS AT RISING FEES
Taxi drivers have slammed price hikes that will see them charged more to operate in Spelthorne. One driver called the increases 'shocking' while another said the move was 'unfair'. Spelthorne BC licensing bosses agreed to increase the cost of taxi licences by 5% and other related charges to ensure taxi fees are cost neutral so taxpayers are not subsidising the service. However, taxi drivers say they have been ‘neglected and taken for granted’ by the council in asking for change. Taxi fares have remained frozen in the borough since 2015 with a planned review failing to go ahead. Drivers fees will now increase by £16 for driver’s licence in a private hire vehicle to £204, while one-year operating fees have increased by £17 to £366. Jon Barlow of BlueStar Taxis said: “There’s nothing happening here. I don’t know why they want to increase the fee. There’s no [taxi] rank for us, no security for us, hundreds of drivers next to Heathrow [who make up traffic]." Costs to change vehicles, which Jon said several drivers have done to avoid the extra ULEZ charges, have also increased by £8 to £175. The increases were confirmed at licensing committee earlier this month and were introduced on April 1. The committee heard that fares have not risen in line with 2024's level of inflation, representing a 31% drop in value. Officers said the licensing department had intended to review fare tariffs in the financial year 2023/24 but due to issues with staff absences from long term illnesses and two vacant posts, this has not been possible. Taxi drivers claimed the service from the licensing department was ‘poor’, with one individual calling the department a ‘joke’. Complainants also argued removing tinted windows and replacing cars when they reach ten years’ old would restrict business and cause great expense to drivers and firms. Considering the feedback, the licensing committee decided it would review the restriction on ten-year- old vehicles with the licensing policy in summer 2024. Licence holders also criticised the limited taxi ranks in the borough, as well as the ‘poor’ condition of faded markings on the Gresham Road taxi rank. Councillors agreed to review Gresham Road and suggested that Shepperton Station could benefit from a taxi rank.
PHTM APRIL 2024
Coventry cabbies have said they are “struggling” as bills soar and they face rising competition for work in the city. The claims were made in response to council plans to increase licence fees. The move was agreed by a council committee on 12 March. But papers for the meeting show the proposals were met with an outcry among drivers. More than 50 wrote to the authority opposing the scheme, with just two in support. Many said they can’t afford the rise as they’re already coping with high inflation and the soaring living costs. The drivers also raised concerns over rising competition with out-of-own cabbies and app-based drivers such as Uber. One said there are “not enough jobs” and most customers are hardly using black cabs. Another painted a gloomy picture of the traditional cabbie’s prospects. They wrote: “I do not believe that it would be justifiable in the current circumstances that we as taxi drivers are having to face, what with rising costs across the board, with rising fuel and insurance costs and ever increasing costs for repairs and maintenance. “Along with diminishing revenues due to Uber, the taxi hackney trade is on its last legs. It appears to me, having been in the trade for over 30 years, that this is the darkest period we have ever faced.” Several letters also called on councillors and the council’s licensing office to do something about the situation. But a council report said the fees had to go up to make sure the service breaks even. The report warned of the consequences of not doing so, stating: “Failure to increase fees in line with costs and to keep pace with inflation will result in a financial loss to the council and an increase in the council’s subsidy of the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Service.” Under the changes the cost of new driver licences will rise by £35-40, while renewing the licence - which has to be done by drivers every three years - will cost an extra £20. Other fees will rise by between £2 and £17, the highest one being the driver licence renewal and licence fees for vehicles. Operator costs will also rise by £100-£110. The changes will be brought in from 1 April. Asked for comment on calls by cab drivers to do more, a council spokesperson said: “The points were raised in the objections made to the proposed fee increase.”
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