FARES ANDFEES
HARTLEPOOL LICENCE INCREASE MAY SEE FARE RISE
Cabbies in Hartlepool may be forced to pay more to stay on the roads if councils merge their licences. They currently pay more than £200 just to get on the road, but have been warned that their costs could rise steeply as councils across Tees Valley are to discuss standardis- ing their hackney carriage and private hire licences.
Other authorities in the region already require certificates such as disabled awareness training and NVQs in taxi driving that are not compulsory in Hartle- pool.
Hartlepool Borough Council bosses say any changes could see more costs imposed on Hartle- pool drivers and fares, which are the second lowest in the country. Ian Harrison, principal trading standards and licensing officer, told the Hartlepool Mail: “This is a very impor- tant issue. If all the Tees Valley authorities com- mit to going down this line, the result would be a policy to create the same standards for all vehicles across the area.
“But if we do agree to this proposal, we could end up increasing
costs on the taxi trade.” Mr Harrison said the 600 taxi drivers in the town currently pay £67 for their driver’s badge, £36 for a CRB check and around £100 for a medical cer- tificate. But he said any other qualifica- tions could see them needing to fork out hundreds of pounds. Cllr Ged Hall, who rep- resents the Burn Valley area of town, said: “You hear from taxi drivers that they already strug- gle with the burden of legislation they have upon themselves. There are so many issues that need to be considered here.”
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ROADWORK CHAOS” IN CARDIFF
The cost of taking a taxi has almost doubled on some of Cardiff’s main routes after roadworks created “the worst delays ever experi- enced” in the city. Cardiff Council has admitted work had been disrupted recent- ly as contractors were criticised for not mak- ing the most of the long summer evenings to get the work finished. Fares from the north of the city have leapt since the redevelop- ment of Castle Street
started. Taxi driver Ron Graves told the South Wales Echo: “An average fare which would usually be £5 or £6 is virtually getting into double figures on some occasions, espe- cially at peak times.” Mr Graves, who has driven taxis in the city for eight years, described the current state of the city’s roads as “absolute chaos”. He said: “It is undoubt- edly the worst I have experienced, and what enrages me is what
they are doing is just to make it look pretty.” A council spokesper- son said: “While we understand the frustra- tions of all drivers who suffer delays due to these works, we again urge people to find an alternative route wher- ever possible.
“Our contractors are working seven days and four nights a week. Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights are not included due to disruption to the night- time economy.”
ANGER AS BRISTOL CABBIES WON’T PUT FARE ON METER
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Two women were left angry and out of pock- et after five different taxi drivers refused to take them home on the meter, incorrectly claiming they lived outside of Bristol city boundary. Friends Awen Jones, 36, and Carolyn Mor- ris, 28, were enjoying a night out in Bristol when they tried to catch a taxi home from Clifton to Frenchay Park Road.
But the friends claim that five drivers in a row refused point blank to take them to their home on the meter,
they lived outside the city boundary.
Miss Jones’ address is around 0.6 miles inside the boundary. Web analyst Miss Jones, who eventually
paid out a fixed rate of £18 to get home, told the Bristol Evening Post: “The taxi drivers refused to take me home on a meter because they say that I live outside of the city boundary, which is nonsense.
“Usually on a meter it costs me between £14 and £15, but that night they were trying to get me to pay between £18 and £25 as a set price.
telling them
“I have checked on the Bristol City Council map about city bound- aries before and I’m definitely within it where I live. I’ve had problems before, but it’s like word has got round and taxi drivers are all refusing to put the meter on.
“I tried five taxis on Saturday and eventu-
ally had to go with one that offered to take me for £18.”
A spokeswoman for Bristol City Council said: “We will take robust action against any taxi driver who is overcharging, and we would urge people to report any instance to us. “We are taking every opportunity to let peo- ple know what their rights as a passenger are.
“If the journey is out- side the city boundary, the driver can agree a fare before the journey begins but if there is no negotiation, then the meter must be used.
“The taxi driver can decline to take a pas- senger on a journey that ends outside the city boundary.”
PHTM SEPTEMBER 2010
24-7!!
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