..FARES..FARES..FARES..FARES.. RUGBY:
LANCASTER: FARE CONSULTATION TO BE HELD WITH TRADE
Taxi drivers’ income has fallen so much over the years that many now rely on tax credits, Lancaster City Council ‘s cabinet has been told. LancsLive reports that balancing the need for taxi drivers to earn a decent income against passengers’ needs for affordable transport and a backdrop of rising costs was highlighted during talks on tariff increases. Councillors on the cabinet generally accepted that taxi charges need to rise. The difficulty is agreeing a method to set increases across a range of charges which are acceptable to drivers and passengers. At the latest cabinet meeting at Morecambe Town Hall, various options were discussed, including different charges calculated on times or distances travelled, and the potential impact on different types of passengers. During a public questions session, taxi driver Andrew Kay said fuel costs, vehicle servicing, tyres, insurance and inflation costs had all risen faster than earnings and tariffs. He said: “Today, many drivers are relying on tax credits and other things to survive. I work less hours these days. But to make the level of income now that I earned when I first started driving, I would have to work day-and-night, six days a week.” Cllr Dave Brookes said charges had to be agreed with the trade and a good review process was needed with meaning- ful consultations. A cabinet report stated there had been no fare review or rise in fares since 2019, when a 20p increase on ‘flag fall’ was approved. So a review of all fares including flag fall, rolling charges, waiting times, soiling charges and booking fees was advised. The city council’s Licensing Committee had recommended an ‘uplift’ to flag fall across three tariffs by 50p and a 10p rise to waiting charges. That way, the taxi trade would soon receive a rise proportionate to the current climate. However, the recommended increases were not supported by an agreed method with the taxi trade, the report added. Cllr Colin Hartley, who is chairman of the Licensing Com- mittee, said a process was already in place for charges and consultation, which he thought was acceptable. However Cllr Brookes suggested the cabinet should not vote on the current recommendations from the Licensing Committee yet. Instead, he suggested some ‘swift, informal’ consultations be held with the taxi trade then the cabinet could look at final recommendations at a future meeting, probably in April. This was agreed although some councillors asked if was realistic to expect a new method to be agreed in time for a cabinet meeting in the spring. Councillors agreed that new arrangements should be agreed and confirmed as soon as possible, so taxi drivers would see the benefit.
48 FARES TO GO UP AS COST OF LIVING SPIRALS
Taxi fares in Rugby are set to rise following an increase in the cost of living. According to the Coventry Telegraph, a public consultation proposed the increase and during a council meeting at the end of January, it was approved by the borough council’s licensing and safety committee. The consultation period was to end on March 1 meaning passengers could be paying £1.20 more for a two-mile journey. A council spokesman said: “Taxi fares in Rugby were last increased in March 2018 and the borough’s basic tariff currently ranks 237th lowest out of the 355 local authorities in England and Wales. “The proposed increase in tariffs aims to seek a balance between meeting the needs of residents and visitors to the borough, and allowing taxi drivers to cover the day-to-day costs of operating a vehicle while making a living.”
BRIGHTON AND HOVE: TAXI FARES SET TO RISE BY 5%
Taxi fares in Brighton and Hove are to rise by 20p a mile – or 5% – after councillors voted for an increase in line with inflation. According to Brighton and Hove News, Brighton and Hove Cab Trade Association requested the rise because the price of petrol had gone up 18% since the last fare review in August 2019 and diesel had gone up 9%. A 14-day public consultation is now required with no date yet set for the higher fares to come in. If the higher fares are approved, Brighton and Hove will have the eighth-highest fares out of 325 councils. They are currently the 13th highest. A report to members of Brighton and Hove City Council said that previous increases used a formula based on fuel prices, other vehicle running costs and regional pay rates. The formula did not take into account the growing number of electric and hybrid vehicles which cost more to buy but had lower running costs. Trade representative Andrew Peters wrote to the council’s Licensing Committee on behalf of the Brighton and Hove Taxi Trade Forum. Mr Peters said: “Licence fees are set (to rise) at 2 per cent per year and the council has implemented a 4.99 per cent in local council tax for 2021. It should also be noted that the council’s set tariff of fares do not allow for what is known as ‘surge pricing’ which can double and even quadruple fares at ad-hoc times using a well-known national app.” The Licensing Committee on February 17, voted six to five in favour of consulting the public about the revised proposal, with Green councillor Lizzie Deane, who chairs the com- mittee, abstaining.
MARCH 2022
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