ROUND THE COUNCILS ABERDEEN:
TAXI FARES TO BE HIKED 7 PER CENT
An 11th hour bid to stop an Aberdeen fare hike was defeat- ed on 4 December. According to the Press and Journal, fares will rise seven per cent from Jan-
uary 29 following the decision of councillors on the licensing committee following a month- long consultation. The meeting was told there was just a
WIRRAL: FARES SET TO RISE BY 3.6 PER CENT
Taxi fees in Wirral are set to rise by an average of 3.6 per cent, after the Unite union’s proposal was accepted. According to the Wirral Globe, a typi- cal five-mile journey will rise from £10.59, to £10.90. Derek Cummins, chair of the Unite
Wirral taxi branch, told Wirral Council’s Licensing Sub-Com- mittee that most taxi drivers want small,
inflation-
based rate rises, but there would always be “factions” who did not want to see any rise at all. He said: “I recom- mend we pass the
3.6 per cent rise, but what we want to establish is inflation- based rises.” The council’s policy was therefore am- ended so that each year the JCC’s [a meeting of taxi drivers]
recom-
mended increase will be put forward for consideration.
single response to the consultation. Once the rise has come into force, it will mean taxi fares in the city have risen 12 per cent in just two years.
Taxi fares in West Berkshire could in- crease by as much as ten per cent next year. BerkshireLive re- ports that drivers in the borough have asked West Berk- shire Council to increase the maxi- mum tariffs by nine per cent - although it is still undecided exactly how much the rise will be.
The rates haven’t been changed in the region since 2013. The tariff system currently uses frac- tions of distances and is difficult to understand. Cllr Bridgman creat- ed a new tariff table, similar to the trade’s proposals but clearer and more logical. His proposals were £4.95 for a mile,
WEST BERKSHIRE: FARES COULD RISE BY TEN PER CENT
£7.35 for two miles, and £9.75 for three. After four miles, his fares would be cheaper than Read- ing, but more ex- pensive for dis- tances of three miles or less. Cllr Bridgman’s changes, which have an average increase of ten per cent, were to go out to public consultation for a month.
KNOWSLEY: TAXI FARES SET TO INCREASE
Knowsley Council’s licensing committee has approved a fare increase to bring fares in line with the city region and help entice drivers into the licensed trade. The Liverpool Echo reports that under the proposals the price of a two-mile journey will increase by 70p during the day and £1.40 at night.
Councillors were told the increase would help drivers buy new cleaner vehicles that would allow them to oper- ate if Liverpool introduced a CAZ. The licensing com- mittee voted un- animously for the fare increase, and approved several other changes in- luding an increase in the soiling charge
from £35 to £40 and a manual override to allow drivers to charge a higher tar- iff for journeys ending more than four miles outside Knowsley. The council consult- ed publicly on the changes and as no objections were received, the higher fares came into force on 5 Decem- ber.
LICHFIELD: PLANS TO INCREASE TAXI FARES
Lichfield District Council says it is reviewing fares fol- lowing calls from firms to increase prices to bring them in line with neigh- bouring authorities. StaffordshireLive re- ports that a public consultation launch- ed on Friday Nov- ember 29. Proposals include increasing “normal fees” from £3.60 to £3.80 for the first mile, with each subsequent 161
10
metres travelled going from 17p to 20p. They also include increasing “out of hours” fees from £4.80 to £4.90 for the first mile, with each subse- quent 161 metres travelled going from 23p to 26p. Council bosses are also considering introducing a new waiting charge in its hackney carriages - up to £15 an hour starting after the
taxi has been sta- tionary for ten minutes and rising every ten minutes. The charge will con- tinue to rise after the hour waiting time. There are also plans to increase the soil- ing charge from £50 to £60. Numerous objec- tions were received; consequently the proposals must go back to committee in the new year.
JANUARY 2020
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