ANDFEES
TENDRING TAXI FARES REMAIN THE SAME
Taxi fares in Tendring are set to remain the same for the coming year. Tendring District Taxi Association has ag- reed its base rate will
stay at £2.60, with a rate of 30p for every 352 yards thereafter. A spokesman told the Colchester Daily Gazette that the deci- sion was tough
because cabbies were feeling the pinch with rising fuel prices, but it was felt the price should be kept low in order to encourage customers.
ALLERDALE TARIFFS ARE FROZEN AFTER PLEA TO COUNCIL
Taxi fares across Allerdale will remain the same this year after a plea from driv- ers at a meeting of Allerdale Council’s licensing committee. According to the Carlisle News and Star, former chairman of the now defunct Working- ton Taxi Association,
Steve Robinson, asked councillors at the meeting to keep tariffs the same as rais- ing them could price firms out of the market. Mr Robinson said that if any increase was applied he would like to see it done by bringing forward the higher late-night tariff
to apply after 11pm instead of midnight. He said: “Then it would only affect the night- time drinkers and not the pensioners during the day.” Cllr Peter Bales said that it would be fairer for everyone if the fares remained at a starting price of £2.90.
ALL TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE FEES FROZEN IN LONDON
Transport for London has announced that fol- lowing a review of the cost of taxi and private hire licensing, costs of all licence fees will be frozen at current rates for the coming financial year 2011/2012.
This will be the second year in a row that driver fees have been subject
to a freeze and the first year that all licence fees have been frozen. Taxi and private hire licence fees are reviewed annually and all funds generated are used to cover licensing and adminis- trative costs.
Also, approximately £1m of licence fee
income will be used to partially fund the Cab Enforcement Unit. John Mason, Director of London Taxi and Private Hire said: “We have managed to reduce back office costs. These savings have enabled TfL to freeze all licence fees for the first time ever.”
KIRKLEES DRIVERS UNITE FOR CHANGES IN FARES
Taxi drivers and taxi office owners are unit- ed in a call for minimum fares.
That’s according to Kirklees Taxi Drivers, Hackney and Private Hire Association sec- retary Akooji Badat, who held meetings to discuss better pay in the industry. Taxi drivers have com- plained that they only earn up to £2.50 an hour because of increased fuel prices and tax.
Mr Badat said he want- ed Kirklees Council to support an association calling for all taxi firms
MARCH 2011 PHTM
and hackney carriages to charge a minimum fare, preventing com- panies from under- cutting each other. But the council said to do so would breach competition laws. Around 70 drivers from north Kirklees met in Batley to discuss how charges could be fairer. Mr Badat, a driver for Oakwell Cars, told the Spenborough Guar- dian: “We discussed peaceful protests and even strike action to get something done because this is such a big problem.”
Mr Badat added: “The
answer lies with the council but the council is turning us away, and that is the route of our problem.”
Mr Badat said that he would approach local MPs as well as the council to discuss what could be done.
Mmmm...Don’t shoot the messenger, but the council is correct: they can only set the maxi- mum fare, and hackneys may charge anywhere below that. To set minimum fares, or to standardise PHV fares, would create a cartel and is deemed to be unlawful. - Ed
TAXI LICENCE COST TO INCREASE IN MID SUFFOLK
Vehicle licences for taxi drivers in the Mid Suffolk area are set to increase by £50. The Bury Free Press reports that the new plans were discussed at a meeting of Mid Suffolk District Coun- cil’s licensing com- mittee last month. The fee has remained the same since April 2008. The £50 increase, bringing the vehicle licence charge up from £220 to £270,
includes a £25 fee to cover the cost of checking taxi meters are used properly. A £15 increase in administration costs, £5 increase for the vehicle plate, and £5 increase for meter cal- ibration testing are also included in the licence cost rise. The price of driver licences is also set to rise by £30.
The proposed £90 fee will include a £10
administration increase and administration fees for processing the CRB check and DVLA check of £10 each.
A report to the commit- tee said: “Fee levels must be set at a level to recover ‘reasonable’ costs associated with providing the service. “The existing fees do not generate sufficient income to cover the cost of the provision of this mandatory func- tion.”
INCREASE IN SELBY FARES IS ON THE AGENDA
Taxi fares across the Selby district have been voted to go up at a recent licensing committee meeting. Recommendations to increase standard taxi fares by 50p and put up to 20p extra a mile on other fares have been put forward to Selby District Council by officers, after con- tact from local taxi companies.
John Richards, of Toadstool Cabs in
Selby, wrote to the council requesting the increase, which would mean journeys cost £2.40 per mile after the first mile, or £3.70 for the first three-quarters of a mile at night. Mr Richards told the York Press: “There needs to be a propor- tionate increase across all tariffs in order to maintain a fair and rea- sonable ad-ustment. “Tariff two carries an increased risk of dan-
ger and accident to both drivers and vehi- cles carrying drunken and often violent pas- sengers about.” Bryan Roland, General Secretary of the NPHA, said the rise was long overdue. He said: “They are ter- rified that putting their prices up will lose them customers and lose them money, but every year they stand still. They are just fad- ing away.”
WOKINGHAM PRICE FREEZE IS GOOD NEWS FOR TAXI USERS
The price of a taxi ride in Wokingham will remain the same for at least another year after licensing bosses agreed to make no changes to the current tariffs.
Hackney carriage customers can enjoy a price freeze after the decision by the licens- ing and appeals committee at Woking- ham Borough Council. At its meeting on Mon- day, January 10, members were asked to decide whether to leave the current charges as they are or reduce the initial yardage from 880 yards to 600 yards.
Had the committee agreed to the latter, the cost of a shorter jour- ney across the borough would have become more expensive. According to the Wok- ingham Times, the consultation process held during the review of the hackney car- riage tariffs saw 18 of the borough’s 100 licensed drivers respond with possible suggestions.
Around half of those who responded were calling on the council to reduce the initial yardage.
Others, however, argued a rise in the tariffs would not be
beneficial to business given the current eco- nomic climate.
They were also push- ing members to help alleviate existing pres- sures on the trade by capping the number of new licences being issued to new drivers. However, the council has made no move to do this.
The decision of the committee means the cost of a three-mile taxi journey in Wokingham will remain at around £6 for a customer trav- elling between 6am and 11pm, and around £9 for passengers between 11pm and 6am.
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