SHEFFIELD:


Sheffield passen- gers should find it easier to hail a cab after the council agreed to extend taxi ranks in the city. According to the Star, taxi companies had asked for new ranks at 17 locations in the city centre and suburbs but the council said they could shortlist five places. Officers


have


agreed to open a rank at Division Street, outside Yates bar, for three taxis


operating from 7pm – 3am. An existing rank on Ecclesall Road, outside the Porter Brook pub, will be lengthened to include two extra taxis and will oper- ate from 6:30pm – 2:30am. And the existing Western Bank rank between Brook Hill and Clark- son Street will be lengthened so an extra six taxis can park there from 11pm – 4am. This will increase capacity to 11 taxis.


GLASGOW: FARES HIKED BY TEN PER CENT


City chiefs have agreed to increase fare scales despite a warning it could lead to a further drop in customers. Glasgow Taxis boss Stephen Flynn ad- mitted that use of the city’s taxi ranks has halved since 2006, but he agreed to plans which will allow his drivers to charge a £3.30 ini- tial fee – up from £3 – plus additional costs


for the


remaining distance and time spent in the cab. The changes were recommended by Dr James Cooper, of Taxi Research Part- ners, who was com- missioned to carry out an independent report into tariffs in Glasgow. He high- lighted the rising cost of vehicle pur- chase and main- tenance as a reason


36


for the rise, but warned: “There is a very fine balance and I want to high- light that this is a very large increase. There is a very real potential that an increase is going to create a loss in cus- tom. “The desire is to achieve a change in tariff that reflects a change in vehicle costs without penal- ising the passenger above the level of that change in costs.” Under the new fare scale, passengers will be charged 20p for every 167 yards they are driven, with an additional 20p for every 34 sec- onds they remain in the taxi. There will also be an amended £1.10 addi- tional fee for all trips made between 11am and 6am every


night and a charge of £2 on Christmas day and New Year’s Day. Mr Flynn, chairman of Glasgow Taxis, told the Evening Times: “What we’ve found in the last three or four years with the app-based firms, people are moving away from using taxis. We sup- plied marshals at Central


Station


when they were fin- ishing at 5.30am. They are now finish- ing at 3,30am. Footfall


has


dropped 50 per cent since 2006 through the ranks. “I’m happy with the changes and I think we really needed to go with Dr Cooper’s recommendations.” A date for when the new tariffs will come into force will be issued in the coming weeks.


ROUND THE COUNCILS... SHROPSHIRE:


TAXI RANKS IN THE CITY EXTENDED


Officers refused to extend two ranks on Leadmill Road and West Street follow- ing complaints from local businesses. John


senior


Priestley, transport


planner, says in a report: “The situa- tion will be im- proved for pedestri- ans seeking to catch taxis at night as there will be more and larger official ranks which people can go to with a rea- sonable chance of a taxi being available.”


All CHANGES TO HACKNEY CARRIAGES taxis across


Shropshire will have to be wheelchair accessible by 2021. The hackney car- riages have to con- form with the access or the owners re- licence their vehicles as PHVs. Councillors voted through the changes at a meeting of Shropshire Council on Thursday 13 December 2018. Cllr Robert Macey said that if existing taxi


proprietors


upgrade their vehi- cles, the number of wheelchair accessi- ble vehicles would


increase. The own- ers now had two years to make the transition, he said. Customers will also be able to hail taxis to take them across the whole of Shrop- shire from 2021 after Councillors voted to remove the five existing hackney carriage zones. Cllr Macey said the zones were an almost ten-year-old legacy from pre-uni- tary days and said there should be a single taxi regime across the whole of Shropshire. He told the Shrop-


shire Star: “The


increase in cross- border hiring brought about by the Dereg- ulation Act 2015, has increased the risk to public safety and adversely impacted on the available bus- iness for taxi propri- etors. “Removal of


the


zones will put taxi proprietors in a bet- ter position to retain business as they will be able to pick up passengers through- out Shropshire with- out the need for pre-bookings; this increases passenger choice.”


COVENTRY:


Tuk-tuks and pedi- cabs could soon be making their way to the


streets of


Coventry as part of a shake-up of the city’s licensing laws. Councillors were set to meet to discuss a number of proposed changes. Other ideas include looking at ways of making taxis more user-friendly, with non-cash payments just one of the ideas suggested. It comes as Coven- try City Council pre- pares for a tourism boom ahead of the city’s year as UK City of Culture 2021. At present, tuk-tuks and pedicabs, which run on small engines or pedal power, are not currently allow- ed under the city’s licensing laws, but


TUK-TUKS PART OF PROPOSED CHANGES that


could all


change, with an increase in visitors expected in the coming years. Councillors are being asked to give the go- ahead


for the


novelty vehicles to carry passengers within the Ring Road and around the rail- way station. All drivers would have to be trained for that particular vehicle, and would not be licensed to drive any other form of taxi. They would also only be allowed to pick up pre-booked fares and could not be hailed on the streets. In a move to boost the city’s air quality, councillors will also be asked to approve consultation on a new way of granting licences.


At present, the poli- cy is that cabs over ten years old and private hire vehicles over six years will not be licensed, but that system may now change to one based on vehicle emissions, to make sure that only the cleanest cars are on the city’s streets. It comes as the city is in the middle of a campaign to have zero emission taxis and PHVs by 2024. Other changes would see compulsory re- fresher training for all drivers around disability and child exploitation


and


new ways of testing drivers applying for a licence. Councillors were to discuss the changes at the next licensing committee meeting.


JANUARY 2019


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