I totally agree that at some point the flags will have to change, but when drivers rely on rank and street work and there are Uber slaves queuing up or swooping in when the trains arrive, nothing would be more off-putting then a hike in the flag to put the punters off… well, in my opinion.


Uber really has had a major impact here and when it is offering huge discounts to new users, such as a fare between Brighton station and Hove Station for less than £3, where the metered fare is around £9. Some would call this predatory pricing.


So, I got together with a trade colleague of mine, Dan Pinkus, and between us we came up with an alternative fare proposal that left the flags as is, but increased the mileage rate from the current £3 per mile to £3.30. This is all worked out on an Excel file comparing the current fares and our proposed fares with the percentage increase showing over 10 miles. So, the initial flags stay the same but as previously it has a short distance before it starts tripping over. We put forward that it trips at 161 yards and then drops at each 161 yard. We use 30p increments.


Our proposal gave an average increase of around 7.3% on Tariff 1, whereas the initial proposal of hiking the flags was around 8.3% based on ten miles. The major difference being that with the hike in the flag this gave a huge 16.67% increase as soon as the customer got in the cab, whereas ours was 0%. Our proposal gave a two-mile fare of £9.30 compared to the hiked only flag of £9.50. But, it’s all about the psychology as to what the customer sees when they get in the cab and the meter is slapped on.


To cut it short, the trade reps accepted this with just a minor tweak. We are also going from £20 per hour waiting time to £25. At the time of writing this is still going through its process to be presented to the council, and because of the Licensing Committee timings it looks like a special meeting needs to be arranged.


PHTM JUNE 2026


Lastly on the fares....Our Trade Forum meetings can be an eye-opener; at the last meeting, fares were on the agenda and discussed, along with a projected slide show of all the figures. One trade rep then asked the Uber rep if Uber was also going to put its fares up! I really had to bite my tongue! I mean, what a question to ask Uber! I have no doubt that Uber will actually cut fares even more when our new rate comes in. Mind you, we had another trade rep tell everyone that he went up to parliament (I think he was claiming he meant he was at one of the Select Committee meetings) and then warned the trade reps that the government is looking at a national private hire licence as a point of fact!


Well, that was news to me! Insert the appropriate scornful looking emoji here!


The Portsmouth Saga


Portsmouth continues to churn out private hire vehicle/driver licences to predominantly work here without the compulsory door livery because it can’t get its act together to order enough magnetic door signs (which should be banned anyway). It certainly seems to be well on its way to be the licensing centre of the south. What gets my goat is that we have Portsmouth PHVs parked up next to Brighton & Hove hackneys in driveways. So even some of the local trade are happy to encourage OOTs working here.


What with being flooded with OOTs, Uber cutting fares to the bone to starve out the local trade and London cab drivers using our ranks for a day’s free parking when they come down for a paddle (which is cheaper than a PCN) is it time to give up?


Well, I use to love the job, then I just liked it and now I just tolerate it. Mind you, some colleagues here use to love me, then just like me and now only just tolerate me….


67


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