ROUND THE COUNCILS BRISTOL:
TORBAY: CARD MACHINES SET TO BE MANDATORY
All of Bristol’s hack- ney carriages will have to have card machines installed under a suggested change to the city’s licensing rules. The Bristol Post reports that the pro- posal is among a raft of changes which are due to go out for consultation in the coming months. If adopted, hack- neys will have to carry a card pay- ment facility which can accept pay- ments by debit, credit card or con- tactless card. The machine will have to be stored in a transparent plastic holder which is per-
manently attached to the vehicle and in full view of any pas- sengers. A sign showing the issued card facility will also have to be clearly visible on the parti- tion of the vehicle. A Bristol City Coun- cil committee, which accepted the pro- posals on February 18, noted there were no objections from members of the taxi trade who sit on the council’s taxi forum. Paying by card would also stop the need for “vulnerable people” to walk home late at night if they’ve lost their cash and debit cards because they would be able to pay using
their smartphone. Passengers will not be charged extra to pay for their ride by card but drivers will have to spend bet- ween £19 and £200 to buy a card machine, a report to the committee notes. A card payment facility can be incor- porated into hack- ney carriage apps, it adds. The card machine proposal will under- go an eight-week consultation. It will also include propos- als to tighten up rules around DBS checks for drivers and safeguarding training for private hire vehicle operator staff.
LICENCE FEES SET TO RISE
The cost of becom- ing a taxi driver in Torbay is set to rise from April. DevonLive reports that the fee for a new three-year taxi driver’s licence is set to go up from April by £25 to £348 - a
7.7 per cent increase. Other proposed rises include the renewal of a three- year private hire driver’s licence go- ing up from £228 to £260, replacement of a lost badge/ licence from £27.50
to £30, and a new hackney carriage vehicle licence up from £275 to £350. Torbay Council’s licensing committee decided to recom- mend the increase for a final decision by the full council.
WINDSOR & MAIDENHEAD: DRIVERS GET FARE INCREASE
Taxi passengers will see a ten per cent fare increase - after Royal Borough dri- vers won their fight for a more sustain- able income. Passengers will now pay £6.38 for a two- mile journey. The previous cost was £5.80. LocalBerkshire re- ports that coun- cillors on the Royal Borough’s Licensing Panel agreed last month to allow the
increase. At the same meeting coun- cillors decided to review whether to impose an extra £1 charge if a job in- volves three or more passengers to replace the previous charge of 20p per customer. Councillors unani- mously agreed to impose a six-point penalty if drivers do not clearly display that no surcharges will be added if a
WILTSHIRE TAXI TARIFF SYSTEM CHANGES APPROVED
Proposals to change Wiltshire’s “ludi- crous” county-wide taxi tariff system will now face public consultation, follow- ing unanimous ap- proval from mem- bers of Wiltshire Council’s licensing committee. Howev- er, Salisbury will not get its own rate. According to the Salisbury Journal, the authority held an extraordinary licensing committee meeting on Monday 27 January to dis- cuss the current
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five-tier taxi tariff system and suggest- ed updates to help Wiltshire visitors pay more appropri- ate fees for their journeys. The proposals sug- gest that HCs with up to four seats should use tariff one between 6am and 9.59pm, tariff two between 10pm and 5.59am and tariff three all day on pub- lic holidays. The authority has also approved that vehicles with more than four seats
should run tariff two between 6am and 9.59pm, tariff four between 10pm and 5.59am and tariff five on public holi- days. It has been agreed that an additional 30p will be added to all flag rates. A public consulta- tion ended on 20 February on the revised HC fees and tariffs schedule, and it is anticipated by the council that the updated system will be implemented in the summer.
MARCH 2020
passenger uses a debit or credit card, while an email or phone number must be visible if a cus- tomer wants to report an issue. The drivers also asked the borough to provide more taxi rank spaces as 40 across the Borough is not enough to keep up with the increasing number of drivers since the cap of licences was scrapped in 2012.
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