..CAZ
CRISIS...CAZ CRISIS..
SHEFFIELD TAXI DRIVERS STRUGGLING WITH CAZ AND COSTS TO FILL THEIR TANKS
Rising fuel prices and the clean air charge hasn’t hit anyone harder than cab drivers. YorkshireLive visited Sheffield to see how black cab drivers are coping with the cost of living, and their thoughts on the new fares. This comes after the city’s new Clean Air Zone will be introduced in early 2023, costing drivers even more money on top of rising fuel prices - causing Sheffield Council to ‘raise them for the first time in six years.’ But taxi drivers told YorkshireLive that they are still finding it incredibly diffi- cult to afford a living - one said: “[the fares] won’t make a massive difference but at least it will be something”. The fares will increase by 20p for every 195 yards up to 17,600 yards. There will also be 20p added for every 48 seconds the cab driver is kept waiting. Prices will increase on bank holidays
and there is a £50 soiling charge.’ Despite this, one cab driver, Aftab Alam said: “It still won’t make a massive difference” and “it won’t be enough as the price of diesel is too high.” Another taxi driver said that “It’s the green zone, we aren’t getting any help” and that he is struggling to live. Asked if swapping to an electric car
would help, one cab driver explained: “[The council] bring electric cars now but they are so expensive - it’s sixty- four thousand pounds”. When asked if the fare increase will put people off using taxis, all the drivers YorkshireLive asked said no - the fare rise will hardly be something the public will notice. Taxi driver, Mussie Weldegergsh told me that filling his tank would cost him £140: “We lose our money” and that “when you compare those [costs] we have to deal with the [taxi fares] are nothing,” he said. Cllr Karen McGowan, chair of the licensing committee, said about taxi drivers: “You do offer value for money. “I hope members of the public appreci- ate the service you offer.” The council has also agreed to review the fares each year.
SOME TAXI FIRMS ACCUSED OF “PROFITEERING” FROM BATH’S CLEAN AIR ZONE
Some taxi operators carrying passen- gers from Wiltshire into Bath have been accused of “profiteering” from the Clean Air Zone charge. According to the Wiltshire Times, Paul Carter, of Paul’s Taxi in Melksham, says customers are being “overcharged” by some taxi firms which are imposing the £9 CAZ daily charge on their passengers. “By law, if you have a meter fitted, you cannot charge more than what’s on the meter,” said Mr Carter, 51. Hackney carriages are not allowed to pass on the charge – customers should only pay what is shown on their meter. But private hire firms are allowed to charge whatever they like if no meter is fitted or has been taken out, as the fare is then a private transaction between operator and customer. Mr Carter said: “I raised my concerns
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regarding the CAZ with Fleet Licencing at Wiltshire Council months ago to explain that Melksham companies were passing the £9 per day fee onto the customer. “This is against the conditions of a hackney carriage licence. This also has implications for villages en-route to Bath. The fare from Melksham to Bath is approximately £30. From Shaw Hill this would be approximately £25. If the £9 fee is charged to the taxi, they will lose it from the fare. “Is it worth their while? I suggest not, which means the villages will not be served well if the fee is not passed on. “I raised this concern with Melksham Without Parish Council around April/May. “Customers have told me that the charge has been passed to them and
they have even cancelled bookings with other companies to be driven by me (at my expense as I have to pay the fee) when I have explained the situation. “I have been told first hand by a propri- etor in Melksham that he gives customers the choice of paying the fee or being dropped off on the London Road before the charging zone. This is not allowed. We are not allowed to pass this fee on to the customer.” Mr Carter has been a taxi driver for the past 21 years. He says: “Anecdotally, I have heard of issues in other towns” where some taxi firms are passing on the £9 charge to customers. He has complained to Wiltshire Council’s Taxi Licencing department and was told the issue of CAZ charging would be raised in a newsletter to all taxi drivers in Wiltshire.
AUGUST 2022
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