FARES ANDFEES
SWANSEA CABBIES IN BLAST AT EXTORTIONATE COUNCIL CHARGES
A group of independ- ent drivers claim Swansea is one of the most expensive places to run a taxi business in Wales because of the number of charges they have to pay. The local authority insists its fees are fair and square - but cab- bie Sarah Phipps- Deacon is not con- vinced.
The 41-year-old sub- mitted two Freedom of Information requests to Swansea Council about its hackney car- riage and private hire licences.
She told the South Wales Echo: “Com- pared to other areas in Wales, we pay an extortionate amount in fees.”
Official council docu- ments show that a
hackney carriage licence costs £320 every year. A private hire licence costs £310.
But before a driver can get on the road, he or she will have to pay for a badge for each licence - a minimum £106 for a hackney one and £100 for a pri- vate hire permit. City cabbie Robert Minty, 48, said drivers have little choice but to pay all four sets of fees and that many drivers were unhappy there was not a “dual badge” option avail- able to drivers in Swansea.
Research by The South Wales Evening Post showed that Swansea Council’s taxi licensing fees were more expensive
than a number of other Welsh councils. Ms Deacon, from Mor- riston, said: “Under the council’s own rules, any money they make on taxi licence and badge fees has to be spent on provisions for taxis. “We want to know where our money is going to and also ask how they came to the amount they are charging.”
Swansea Council said it had responded to some of Ms Phipps- Deacon’s requests. However, it was unable to say how it calculated its taxi fees. A spokesman added: “Some of the informa- tion is not available due to financial proce- dures needing to be completed first.”
WANT CHEAP TAXI INSURANCE?
0845 899 0458 Call charged at local rate
Insurance for Cars, Coaches, MPV’s Limousines, Black Cabs Chauffeur or Weddings
Specialists Schemes for: Minibus/MPV’s School Contracts New Start-ups Young Drivers
Public/Private Hire Fleet Specialists
Friendly Service IMMEDIATE COVER FLEXIBLE PAYMENT OPTIONS
gsi
Authorised & Regulated by the Financial Services Authority PAGE 22
insurance 3 Wellingborough Rd, Rushden, Northants NN10 9YE
CABBIE’S FURY OVER CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE’S HIKE IN LICENCE COST
A cabbie has hit out after the cost of his licence more than doubled in one year. Richard Kingsley, 51, of Chicksands, is furi- ous after discovering that Central Bedford- shire Council raised the price of private hire/hackney carriage driver’s licences from £34.40 to £90 in just 12 months. Mr Kingsley,
who
works for Solo Private Hire in Shefford, told the Biggleswade Ad- vertiser: “The council
said they notified us, but I never got any- thing.”
Mr Kingsley explained that he also had to undergo a medical examination when renewing his badge for the first time this year.
However, Cllr David McVicar,
portfolio
holder for safer com- munities and Healthier Lifestyles at Central Bedfordshire Council, said in March traders were informed of the proposed fees and
invited to submit their objections.
He said: “All fees and charges, which are not statutorily set, are con- sidered by a member led group and validat- ed by the full council as part of the budget setting process. “Local authorities also have a duty to ensure that all licensed driv- ers are fit to transport members of the public and it is essential that licensed drivers can demonstrate their medical fitness.”
BRECKLAND LICENCE FEES ARE TO BE INCREASED
Taxi licence fees in Breckland are to be increased for the first time in three years. The council’s general purposes committee voted to increase the fees last month after a report revealed it was left out of pocket every time it processed an application.
The report showed a £100 hackney carriage licence cost the coun- cil an average of £116.58 to process, monitor and enforce. All but one of the other licence types issued
caused the council a similar deficit, costing it more than £6,000 a year, the report said. Committee members followed a recommen- dation that there be a “reasonable increase” in licence fees and a consultation with the trade about the changes will be launched.
Cllr Gordon Bam- bridge suggested the increases be intro- duced gradually so businesses were not disadvantaged.
But Cllr Ian Sherwood
said rate payers had been disadvantaged for three years while the council subsidised licences.
It was also agreed the fees be rounded up to the nearest pound to make them easier to process.
Mmmm... According to local trade members, no consultation took place with the trade prior to the council’s fee increases appear- ing in the local press. A formal objection was being lodged as PHTM went to press. - Ed.
Cab drivers and cab firms are fighting plans by North Tyneside Council to increase the cost of licence fees and charges.
NORTH TYNESIDE CABBIES’ FURY AT HIKE IN LICENCE FEES made.
it is already difficult enough for drivers to cope financially. This is the wrong time for a hike.”
The authority says the fee structure has remained the same for several years, but the licensing service could end up running at a loss if changes are not made. Paul Irwin, owner of Whitley Bay-based NPHA member East Coast Taxis, told the Newcastle upon Tyne Evening Chronicle: “In this economic climate,
If the plans are approved, drivers will be charged £100 for a licence, instead of the current £42. Vehicle retest costs will rise from £38 to £54, and knowledge tests will go up from £20 to £32. Private hire and hack- ney carriage vehicle licences are also set to increase.
Consultations are to be carried out before any decisions are
A spokesman for North Tyneside Coun- cil said: “The current schedule of fees and charges has been in place since 2001 and remained largely unchanged since 2003 due to them being subsidised from a pre- vious reserve, which is now depleted.
“That’s why we have put forward proposals to increase the charges to recover the costs of providing the licensing scheme, as is common with all other licensing authorities.”
PHTM NOVEMBER 2010
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104