ROUND THE COUNCILS POWYS:
SEFTON: OPERATORS FACE A LICENCE FEE RISE
Taxi licence fees will be going up in Powys unless there are objections dur- ing a consultation period. At the meeting of Powys County Council’s planning, rights of way and taxi licensing com- mittee, senior li- censing officer, Sue Jones, explained the reasons why the rise is needed. Ms Jones said: “We need you to consid- er the revised fees we have calculated for 2020. The fees are based on figures of applications’ time recording we did for the period from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019.
“During that period we had 60-odd new drivers which is fair- ly typical (as) we get 60 to 70 each year and lose an equal amount. “Driver renewals are on a three-year cycle, although we have in the region of 500, around 150 renewed last year so it varies from year to year. “Private hire are on a five-year cycle and we have a big bulk of those renewals coming in the next financial year for renewal.” Ms Jones added “We need to start the process now, as if there are any objections, we need to bring them back
before you. If there are no objections we will run with those from April.” The motion was voted through unan- imously. The changes to the fees are: • Vehicles (1 year) HC/PH from £138 to £148
• Driver licence (3 years) from £247.50 to £260, not in- cluding DBS fee
• Driver licence (1 year) from £140 to £150, not including the DBS fee
• PH operators (5 years) from £398 to £405, not in- cluding DBS fee
• Knowledge / Com- petency test from £38 to £40
TAXI FEES SET TO INCREASE
On Sefton Council’s website a report suggests that a “much larger per- centage increase in driver licence fees” with the annual cost rising from £24 to £30 is on the cards. The Liverpool Echo reports that if the proposals are ap- proved at the next licensing and regu- latory committee meeting,
taxi
drivers will also have to pay £15 to make a new application. The report states this will reduce the current levels of “no shows” for appoint- ments and also recover the costs from “applicants
who for whatever the reason do not successfully com- plete the application process.” Currently new dri- vers pay £24 in Sefton. For vehicle licences, the report suggests that there is an increase for an annual licence from £139 to £145 and an increase for ancillary fees such as trans- fers and variations which will rise from £19.50 to £25. The council report suggests the in- crease in fees is necessary otherwise there will be a short- fall in income to expand the enforce-
ment team to deal with an increase in licensed vehicles. However, the local authority does note that Sefton has the lowest fees in the region at present. The increase in fees was set to go ahead on November 4, however the council received two objec- tions from trade representat ives , which needed to be considered. The report states the objections have been considered and “the proposal to raise fees has been adjusted to address the relevant matters raised by objectors.”
COVENTRY: COUNCIL COULD SCRAP TAXI SEAT SIZE RULES
Taxi drivers in Cov- entry could soon be allowed to drive smaller models of vehicle. According to the Coventry Observer, Coventry City Coun- cil’s current taxi regulations mean cabbies can only drive vehicles with at least four seats, with a minimum width of the rear three seats. Officers would also be given discretion to judge passenger space in taxis. They have tra- ditionally used the ‘Coventry measure’ wooden frame to check three people can sit in the back of a car. A mandate that taxis must be petrol or diesel powered
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will also be scrap- ped, to allow taxi drivers to take advantage of elec- tric vehicles. The council believes that new car tech- nology means the regulations must be changed, to allow cabbies to adapt to competition from app-based ride hail- ing services. New electric taxis would automatically be eligible for pri- vate hire licensing. Rules to provide adequate legroom for passengers, plus adequate luggage space, would remain in place. In a report to the council’s licensing committee, on Dec- ember 2, Mick Cog- gins, senior licensing
officer, said: “Given the current propen- sity of smaller num- bers of passengers requiring a vehicle it is believed to be jus- tified that the seating capacity of passengers should be lowered and that electric and electric hybrid vehicles are suitable to be licensed as private hire vehicles, which is currently not the case.”
Mmmm....Thankfully this council is finally getting rid of the dreaded ‘Coventry frame’, which many councils had adopt- ed over the years and have long since withdrawn. Also, allowing EVs? Wel- come to the 21st century.
JANUARY 2020
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