FARES ANDFEES
BRAINTREE GETS 46 PER CENT FEE RISE
Hard pushed taxi driv- ers must pay a “ridiculous” 46 per cent price hike for their licences.
Braintree Council has increased the annual cost of a dual taxi badge licence from £75 to £110, justifying the hike by saying there was no rise last year. Drivers also pay £70.50 for a private medical check every four years, £5 for an annual driving licence check and £36 for a CRB check every three years.
They say the costs of the job are stacking up against a “flat” econo- my and they are working harder for less. Driver Robin Song, who uses the Manor Street taxi rank in Braintree, told the Braintree and Witham Times: “It’s ridiculous, especially when trade is dropping. What they have got to consider is the amount of busi- ness we are getting is now less and less. “This council is totally
against the Taxi Asso- ciation. They keep whacking these increases on us. All the time there are restrictions - they even talked about what we should be wearing.” Bryan Trow of Bocking said when he started taxi driving 25 years ago, wealthy pension- ers frequently travelled long distances. The 62-year-old said: “Businessmen are not flying and elderly peo- ple are not going any- where like they used to, because their sav- ings are not gaining any income.” Wendy Schmitt, Brain- tree Council cabinet member for clean, green and safe, said: “The charges were increased to reflect the true costs of adminis- tering the taxi licence function, following a review of the costs incurred in administer- ing the badge renewal and taxi enforcement throughout the year. “The costs did not go up at all in 2009/10.”
CASTLE POINT BALLOT CALL
Taxi fares have gone up across Castle Point after cabbies voted for a 6.64 per cent increase in average fares.
But according to the Southend Evening Echo, the bosses of the borough’s two biggest taxi companies
believe the increase was forced through using an unfair voting system and are calling for another ballot. This is because Castle Point Council distrib- uted votes to the taxi owners, not drivers as had been done the previous year.
IoW LICENCES RISE BY 72 PER CENT
Plans for inflation-bust- ing price hikes in the cost of licences in the Isle of Wight were set to be considered by licensing chiefs at the IoW Council.
If they are given the go- ahead, taxi drivers face an increase of 72.4 per cent for a licence. Planned fee increases due to be discussed by the committee will be controversial new charges affecting hackney carriage and private hire firms. The cost of granting a driver’s licence is set to
soar from £58 to £100. Other increases include granting a hackney car- riage vehicle licence, which is set to rise from £228 to £270, an increase of 15.5 per cent, and the cost of a private hire owner’s licence, which is due to go up from £145 to £180 - an increase of 24.1 per cent.
An identical 97 objec- tion letters to the increases were submit- ted by taxi operators saying the increases are excessive and well above inflation.
NEWARK FARES ARE HELD AGAIN
Taxi fares in Newark and Sherwood are to be kept at the same level for the second consecutive year. The district council general purposes committee agreed there should be no increase in the tariff for the coming year. Fares last went up in August 2008. The 6.2 per cent increase was due to a rise in fuel prices.
Strategic director Mrs Kirsty Cole said set- ting the fares was a balancing act be- tween the business needs of the taxi trade and the impact on the public.
She said the trade had to cover its costs but not price itself out of the market.
Mrs Cole said although fuel prices were going up they were not at the levels used in calculat- ing the rise in 2008. She told the Newark Advertiser: “It does not seem appropriate to increase the tariff for the forthcoming
year although clearly the next review will have to take into account the fact it will then be three years since fares were increased.
There has been a mixed reaction from drivers in Newark. Mrs Heather Draper, a taxi driver for 20 years, said if fares increased people would not be able to use the service. Mr Steven Moon, a taxi driver for two years, said fares should have gone up by the rate of inflation. He said there were more cabs than ever on the road mak- ing it harder to earn a living. Mr Tony Thomas, 50, set up TT Taxis only last month. He said fares were at about the right level, taking into account the state of the economy.
Mr Tim Sandaver, a driver for 15 years, said: “We want people to be able to afford our services but we need help with the operat- ing costs.”
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PAGE 20
Canterbury cabbies are locked in a war over fares after two firms decided to drop the extra surcharge for journeys after mid- night and Sundays. The latest row has added to the growing discontent on the hackney carriage ranks following many drivers’ complaints about the number of new foreign drivers who have started working in the city. Now the decision by Longleys private hire and Tudor Cars to con- tinue their single rate tariff into the early hours has caused more
resentment, having broken a fares-charg- ing tradition that has operated for decades. Paul Hilton, a hackney carriage driver for 20 years, told the Kentish Gazette: “It’s not right. Some drivers are advertising they work for the flat rate after midnight on the sides of their vehicles and that’s against the rules.
“It is pinching work off other drivers who aren’t prepared to be out at 3am without being able to earn a bit extra.”
He added: “I’ve com- plained to the city
council’s licensing department, but they’re not interested, as long as they get their fees in. “Quite honestly, it’s a shambles and there’s a real public safety issue because some drivers are working all hours to make money when they should really have a break from being behind the wheel.” Mr Hilton has asked MP Roger Gale to investigate the prob- lem with the city council.
He said: “I’ve also complained about the dress standards of some of the drivers and private hire driv-
ers touting for work, but again the council isn’t interested.” City council senior licensing and enforce- ment officer Dave Stevenson denied the drivers were breaking any rules by advertis- ing on their cars that they didn’t charge extra after midnight. He said: “It’s like any business in the free market these days - they have to go out and get the work. “But when not charg- ing the metered fare, drivers need to be realistic as to what they consider to be a fair charge.”
PHTM OCTOBER 2010
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