PROTEST PLIGHT
CORBY CABBIES COULD BLOCKADE GEORGE STREET OVER PROPOSED MASSIVE FARE HIKES
Furious taxi drivers from Corby say they are prepared to take industrial action after councillors nodded- through a fare hike Taxi drivers from across the north of the county say they could strike over planned increases to fares that they say could have a devastating impact on their trade. According to the Northamptonshire Telegraph, at a meeting in May, North Northants councillors voted to harmonise fares across the whole uni- tary area. It means that passengers in Corby could see the cost of some journeys double. Those in Wellingbor- ough will also see huge price hikes. Kettering fares will also rise while some East Northants fares are expected to drop, despite increasing fuel prices and the rising cost of living. Maximum taxi fares were previously set by the four separate borough councils operating in North Northants. Out of 355 areas across the country, Wellingborough is one of the cheap- est in 339th position with a cost of £4.90 for a two-mile journey. Corby passengers pay the same £4.90 fare, while East Northants is slightly more expensive at £5, in position 331 in the PHTM Hackney Fare Table. Meanwhile, Kettering fares are signifi- cantly more expensive with a two-mile journey costing £6 - position 211. To reflect the higher cost of living, Corby Hackney Owners’ Association had asked for their two-mile fare to be increased to £5.60, Kettering drivers had asked for a raise to £7.20 and East Northants drivers wanted an unspecified raise. Wellingborough Hackney Owners’ Association asked for fares to increase to £6.10. A proposal went before licensing committee members at a meeting on Monday 9 May, to harmonise fares across the four borough zones to
JUNE 2022
that’s now lower because of the change in licensing laws. “East Northants drivers are actually going to get a 21 per cent pay cut, which is awful for them given the rising costs of living. “There are lots of people in this town
Kettering’s levels. This would mean that the two-mile fare would be £6.80 across the whole of North Northamp- tonshire. However, this also means that ‘extras’ charged in Kettering will be applied across all areas. These include add-ons for having more than five passengers in the cab and 50 per cent higher fares for all journeys on Sun- days and all journeys between 11pm and 6am. Some of these extras have never previously been implemented outside of Kettering. Ahead of the meeting, Corby Hackney Owners’ Association secretary Neil Rielly and other representatives from across the north of the county had written to councillors on the licensing committee to plead with them to make a small increase to fares. But members voted to go ahead with the proposal to harmonise fares across the area. Neil said: “We went into great detail to justify the small increase but to come out with what they’ve said is just unthinkable. You can charge less if you want but that means that there might be a load of drivers on the rank charging different amounts. “The whole point of hackneys is you know what you’re going to have to pay. “Prices in Corby have been historically low so taxi use has been high. We have 114 black cabs operating here. We used to have 280 drivers but
and the others who rely on taxis. This is just not workable. “We want to be fair to our customers, but how can we be?” The drivers will now hold their own meeting to consider a strike, which may involve them blockading George Street in protest at the fare rises. Wellingborough drivers are also angry at the proposals, with one telling this newspaper: “None of the taxi associa- tions or companies asked or wanted what the council pushed through in the licensing meeting. “We all asked for increases far below what has been put through. The thing is the public will blame the drivers, not the councillors as we are customer facing, not them.” At Monday’s meeting, a report to councillors stated: “Members should be mindful of the fact that there is a balance between the interests of hackney carriage operators and that of the travelling public.. All parties will be impacted by the cost of living pressures.” The proposals will now go out to public consultation for 14 days once notices are placed in the Northants Telegraph. All objections will need to be considered before a final decision is made as to how the fare increase could affect Corby passengers. Corby drivers have provided three examples of how the fare increases could hit locals in the pocket.
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