LOCAL FARES
It looks like we are on course to get our second Fare Review with full approval from our council. With the last one only being six months ago, two Fare Reviews within such a short time is unprecedented. This will increase our fares by around 10% which includes the previous 5% we had.
Unsurprisingly, a 10% increase seems to be the figure for other areas elsewhere as well so it’s good to see where local authorities are sympathetic to the costs of running a cab and do not expect the trade to be the local charity transport service.
Of course, this has to be advertised for objections and it’s such a shame this isn’t the procedure for the price of fuel or indeed for when the council tax goes up!
However, the biggest alteration to the forthcoming meter change is the unit-drops going from 20p to 30p. This is because after many years we have reached the end of the time where the yardage can be shortened without the meter running like a fruit machine. We have no doubt that this will cause a problem with some customers but we can always say: “You could have objected”.
I think the last time the unit-drop changed from 10p to 20p must have been around fifteen years ago, which was for the very same reason. There was a bit of a moan from some customers, but they soon got used to it.
Our mileage rate for T1 will be as follows:
Flag: £3 Mile 1- £5.20; Mile 2 - £8.10; Mile 3 - £10.80; Mile 4 - £13.50, Mile 5 - £16.20.
We also now have a ‘Late Night’ flag of £5 from 12 midnight to 6am and our existing Night flag of £4 from 9pm to midnight remains in place.
We are also now looking at the possibility of a ‘progressive meter’ which will allow for a higher rate to be engaged after a certain set mileage kicks in.
This would cater for out-of-town jobs where there is a lot of dead return mileage. But that is for next time.
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KNOWLEDGE TEST
Firstly, the Knowledge Test is the same for a private hire licence as it is for a hackney licence and the council issues a dual-badge that covers the driver to work both types of vehicles.
For some time now since the recovery from the pandemic, we have see a shortage of ‘local’ drivers in the city. I emphasise the word local because we are swamped with out-of-town drivers in the same way that other areas are.
Ironically this isn’t such a problem for the hackney drivers as this means more work on the streets and ranks, but more of a problem for the local companies in maintaining their workforce as they run mixed fleets. Using mixed fleets means the local council metered fares are used for the three main companies in the city.
Having asked for the driver figures I was told that compared to ten years ago we are around 500 registered drivers down.
The more recent figures are:
April 2018 – 1417; April 2019 – 1407 and to date – 1229
This clearly shows quite a drop of locally licensed drivers in the city which we have known for some time now.
The representatives of the Taxi Trade Forum, made up of various organisations, approached the council a few months ago looking for a revision of the pass rate required for the Knowledge Test - which has been 90% for many years. The proposal was to adjust the pass rate to 80% with a review of this in one year.
After several months of delay, we were recently informed that the required pass rate will now be 80% so it is good that the council listened to us. Whether this will make any difference to encouraging new drivers into the local trade is yet to be seen. But if this happens then at the very least the (ring-fenced) revenue goes back into local licensing and not into the coffers of Lewes District Council where the majority of out-of-town drivers who work in the city come from.
OCTOBER 2022 PHTM
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