ROUND THE COUNCILS ABERDEEN:


POSSIBLE FARE RISE FOR ‘UNSOCIAL’ HOURS Aberdeen


taxi


drivers could be allowed to charge more for working “unsocial” hours, fol- lowing a recent decision taken by councillors. According to The Press and Journal, new ranks may also be added to the city centre in an effort to better meet


the


needs of customers. The steps were en- dorsed by Aberdeen City Council’s licens- ing committee fol- lowing recommen- dations made in an


independent report into the city’s taxi trade. The report said that drivers should be “incen- tivised” for working by potentially allow- ing for


“surge


charging” on Friday and Saturday nights due to a “perceived limited availability” of taxis in the city at key times. It also stated that consideration should be given to opening new ranks


on


Upperkirkgate and Guild Street – but added that there


SCARBOROUGH: TAXI FARES COULD ROCKET


appeared to be enough drivers in the city to meet demand. Committee mem- bers unanimously agreed to begin informal talks with police,


disabled


groups, the trade and the council’s roads department on establishing the new ranks while the Taxi and Private Hire Car Consultation Group will be asked for their views on how to encourage more drivers during anti-social hours.


WORCESTER: COMPULSORY CCTV CONSIDERED


CCTV cameras may soon have to be fit- ted in every taxi in the city as the coun- cil floats the idea of making them com- pulsory. Worcester News re- ports that with nine months of work already behind them, city council officers will continue to look at the idea before joining the likes of Hereford in adopting the mandatory cam- era policy. But no decision should be expected soon as councillors voted to give more time to officers to draw up reports with further discussion expected sometime in the next year. Currently, taxi drivers are not required to install cameras as mandatory but can do so if they want to. If the idea did come to fruition, every taxi


24


in the city would be required to install CCTV cameras be- fore they were handed a licence. Initial consultation by council officers found that taxi com- panies and drivers did not support the compulsory installa- tion of CCTV – mainly because of the cost in purchas- ing,


maintaining


was first proposed at a licensing and envi- ronment


health


committee meeting in January but fur- ther discussions and decisions were de- ferred until Sep- tember 10 so that officers could cast a new eye over the idea following the GDPR overhaul


in


installing and the


equipment. The requirement to install CCTV in every taxi hopes to ad- dress


issues – deterring passengers


three big from


making off without payment, preventing passengers


from


physically attacking taxi drivers and lastly to provide evi- dence when com- plaints are made against a taxi driver. The debate over mandatory cameras


April – with particu- lar attention paid to who would be allowed to store the footage. The council has used an article by barrister Ben Williams QC which has outlined a number of


issues


with GDPR and CCTV in taxis and is waiting for afollow- up article due to be published at the start of next year, as well as Local Government Association guide- lines, before making any further deci- sions.


COLCHESTER: TAXIS TO FIT £600 CCTV


Cab drivers could be forced to shell out up to £600 to fit CCTV in their vehi- cles if plans are given the green light. A six-week consulta- tion has begun on the Colchester Coun- cil proposals, which would see all newly registered vehicles required to have the kit fitted. Already-registered cars would be given time to have their vehicles brought up to standard. Black cab and private hire firms have joined together to raise their concerns over the proposals. According to the Colchester Gazette, there is broad agree- ment


that CCTV


would protect both drivers and their customers


but


drivers are angry at the cost they would have to shoulder to fit it. David Green, secre- tary of the Col- chester Hackney Carriage Associa- tion produced 82 points from associ- ation members, largely raising con- cerns over the cost of the equipment. He said: “They just do not see how this cost


- between


£300 and £600 per car - should be down to the trade.” Christine Harvey, who works for Pan- ther Cabs, added: “Without


doubt,


drivers’ biggest issue is the cost. A lot of our drivers actually have cameras fitted already and it cost them £30 from eBay and honestly they are probably better


than ones that cost £200 or £300. There is no question CCTV is a good idea, it’s just the expense. There is a cheaper way to do it.” The speakers also raised the issue of privacy as many drivers, especially in private hire, used their vehicles pri- vately when not on duty, and also sug- gested some cus- tomers would prefer not to have conver- sations recorded. Cllr Julie Young who chaired the meeting, said: “Even if this policy is re- commended, there will be a public con- sultation so both drivers and the pub- lic will be able to give their views.” The policy was rec- ommended for ap- proval.


OCTOBER 2018


The cost of taxi jour- neys in Scarborough could be set to increase by nearly a quarter at night under new plans. According to The Scarborough News, the Scarborough and District Taxi Association


has


asked Scarborough Council to imple- ment the first fare rise in the borough for five years. Under its plans, the aver- age fare would increase at all times and it has also pro- posed a raft of other changes. In a report that went


before the council’s Licensing Commit- tee on Monday Sep- tember 10, the asso- ciation has asked that the cost of a journey between 6am and 9pm go up by an average of 10.7 per cent. The pro- posal for 9pm to midnight could see an average rise of 22 per cent on current fares. Frommidnight to 6am the average rise requested is 13.7 per cent. A number of other changes are also to be considered, in- cluding an addition- a charge of £1 per


passenger where more than four pas- sengers are carried; extending the defi- nition of


‘Bank


Holidays’ to include the bank holiday weekend i.e. Satur- day, to Monday and annual Good Friday and to double the existing


soiling


charge from £40 to £80. If the Licensing Com- mitteemoves forward with the proposals the fares will go out to public consulta- tion. The final de- cision will be made by the council’s cabi- net in October.


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