..FARES..FARES..FARES..FARES GUERNSEY:
ANGUS: FARES HAVE INCREASED BY 3%
Taxi fares in Guernsey have increased from 17 January following a public consultation. The maximum increase of 3.34% comes after a recent proposal was backed by the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure. The last hike in fares was meant to be in January 2020. But it was agreed that the taxi federation would not implement 0.7% increase in 2020 as it was below 1%. The latest rise is therefore a combination of increases from the last two years. These figures have been calculated in accordance with established taxi inflation index, the ‘Halcrow Formula’ which takes into account taxi operating costs and earnings. In practical terms the increases are: • A 2 mile journey on Tariff 1 would increase by 20p from £7.10 to £7.30
• A 2 mile journey on Tariff 2 would increase by 40p from £9.90 to £10.30
• The minimum fare will remain at £4.50 and there will be no increase in the baggage charge of 20p per item.
SOMERSET WEST & TAUNTON: FARES SET TO BE HIGHEST IN SOMERSET
Taxi fares in the Taunton and Minehead areas look set to become the highest in Somerset after Somerset West and Taunton Council’s executive meeting on Wednesday January 19 was recommended to push through the new rates. According to the Somerset County Gazette, the rise, which would come into effect from February 6, has been requested by cab firms who have not been allowed to up charges for over a decade. One company’s formal request to adopt a new table of fares before Christmas was delayed following a number of objections from members of the public. But taxi owners point to higher costs incurred since the last increase caused by inflation; a VAT hike from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent in 2011; lack of drivers entering the trade; a 50 per cent increase in the minimum wage; and ‘dead’ mileage in our sparsely populated rural areas. Taxi fares in Taunton Deane were ranked 151st out of 364 in the PHTM table of hackney carriage fares, while West Somerset was 237th. In the updated PHTM table of hackney carriage fares, the new Tariff 1 over two miles places Somerset West and Taunton 55th out of 358 councils. Most of the objections concern the percentage increase in West Somerset fares which were higher than in Taunton Deane. One opponent claimed fares in Taunton are “already punitively high”.
FEBRUARY 2022 TRADE COULD SEE FIRST FARES RISE IN 4 YEARS
Angus taxi fares could be facing a hike for the first time in four years. A review of rates has been launched after a failed bid to put the brakes on the review until after Scottish council elections in May. According to The Courier, it is less than six months since Angus councillors decided there shouldn’t be a price hike. But civic licensing committee councillors agreed another review should take place. Council legal manager David Thompson said: “We’ve had representations from the trade. They highlight what I think everyone in the meeting already knows – that there have been significant increases in costs.” Committee vice-convener Richard Moore said: “If taxi drivers are having a difficult time now, I don’t want to wait until May/June time to start the process. We can start it off and leave the decision to the incoming civic licensing committee.”
SOUTH RIBBLE: SOILING CHARGE INCREASED TO £100
South Ribble taxi passengers could soon be hit with a three- figure bill to cover the cost of cleaning up after them. The Lancashire Post reports that the soiling charge currently stands at £40. However, local drivers want to see the maximum amount they can demand hiked to £100. It is part of a wider proposal to increase the district’s taxi fares, which have remained static for the past seven years. Hackney drivers request for a fare rise to South Ribble BC will now be subject to a four-week public consultation before the authority makes its decision. If approved, the “start-up fee” would increase by 50 pence to £2.70 for journeys made between 6am and midnight and to £3.50 for trips taken overnight. The fare for each mile of the journey would remain unchanged - at £2 during daytimes and evenings and £2.50 in the early hours. The current 10 pence “waiting time” charge added to the fare for every 30 seconds would effectively be increased by it being incurred every 20 seconds instead. The fee for carrying a dog - other than an assistance dog - would also go up from 60 pence to £1. Taxi drivers wrote to the council appealing for permission to make the changes, which they say are needed to offset the increased costs including fuel and insurance. Committee member Paul Wharton-Hardman said the time was now right for a review. He told the meeting that the pandemic meant there had been “no night-time economy [and] people have been work- ing from home, so clearly it has affected [the taxi trade]”.
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