Taxi Driver Online

Maybe time for a new thread on this topic.

Or maybe I'm biased, because it's the tariffs on my meter in dispute here.

But another good reason I didn't go to the meeting a few days ago

But don't forget that an 'operator' here means, in the main in East Fife, HC plateholders, although there are a few PHCs working alongside the HC circuits.

However, EFTA is effectively run by the two folks who run one of the circuits in the St Andrews area, and I'm not sure how many others are part of the EFTA.


Press release: Taxi operators call for the resignation of Licensing Committee convenor as Council failure costs the trade over six months of lost fare increases

https://eastfife.scot/2026/02/taxi-oper ... SR3jy7E4vg

Taxi operators call for the resignation of Licensing Committee convenor as Council failure costs the trade over six months of lost fare increases

Taxi fares should have risen on 3 December 2025 but Fife Council missed the deadline and there will not be an increase now until the summer, leaving operators short by more than six months of urgently needed fare income.

Fife Council fixes taxi fares via meters which all taxis have to have installed. According to the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, fare scales have to be reviewed at intervals not exceeding 18 months. The current fare scale came into effect on 3rd June 2024.

Fife Council’s taxi fare review process was formally initiated at the Regulation and Licensing Committee on 9 September 2025, with the committee agreeing to commence the 2025 taxi fare review and publish proposed scales for consultation. The consultation ran until 10 November 2025, ahead of the intended new scale effective date of 3 December 2025.

However, the Committee failed to implement the new fare scale at its meetings of 2nd December or 13th January, where the outstanding increase did not even feature on the agenda. Now operators have been told an increase won’t come into force until the summer.

At a heated meeting on 3rd February with taxi and private hire operators from across Fife, business owners expressed anger to the Depute Convenor of the Licensing Committee, Cllr Patrick Browne, that the Committee’s failure to follow their statutory obligations in time meant operators lost out on months of fare increases. Fife Council solicitor Steven Paterson agreed the Council had failed to meet its obligations and apologised to operators.

Operators rejected the Depute Convenor attempt to blame operators for the delay because they objected to how small the increases were at the statutory consultation. They said the Committee should have listened to operators in the first place and set more realistic fare scales. They accused the Committee of being out of touch with the taxi trade, with very few, if any, of the members having any experience of the pressures of running a small business, let alone a taxi company.

East Fife Taxi Association spokesperson Linda Holt, who attended the meeting, commented:

“Taxi operators have to comply with a whole raft of legislation and regulation – if they fail to do so, they have to pay. When Fife Council fails to fulfill its statutory duties, they don’t pay but taxi operators do.

This is a significant failure by the Committee which is costing operators dearly when trading conditions are already extremely hard. For many small operators, six months of delayed increases represents thousands of pounds in lost income.

We want to see some accountability from the Committee, which is why we are calling for the resignation of its convenor Cllr Tom Adams. We have written to Cllr Adams on numerous occasions in the past year and have never received a reply.

The reason the Licensing Committee called the meeting with operators was to discuss the issue of vehicle age limits, a meeting which was initially promised for the autumn after EFTA wrote to Licensing in early August last year. The requirement that vehicles must be less than five years old at first registration and must be taken off the road by the time they are ten years old imposes a significant financial burden on operators.

Operators feel they are being squeezed from all sides — rising costs, strict vehicle policies, and now delayed fare decisions. Every day the Licensing Committee dithers and delays on raising fare scales and lifting vehicle age limits, operators in Fife are losing money and leaving the trade.”

And, of course, most of those who attended the meeting would have been operators from outside the East zone, assuming the numbers attending were proportionate to the size of the sector in each zone.

I still can't work out why the committee needs to wait until the summer.

Surely the committee can arrange an emergency one-issue meeting and get the matter sorted.

_________________
IDFIMH

Don't really know the answer to that, Sussex - even if delayed, you'd think it would have progressed by now, one way or the other. And EFTA have gotten a good write up here, but the response from the council provides no illumination.


Fife taxi operators ‘losing thousands’ in fares call for council resignation

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/fi ... tion-call/

One taxi operator says Fife Council's failure to increase fares in December is costing firms dearly.

Fife taxi operators say they have lost thousands of pounds of potential income after councillors failed to increase fares.

East Fife Taxi Association spokesperson Linda Holt says Fife Council missed a deadline that would have allowed fares to rise on December 3.

Changes will now not be made until June.

Ms Holt branded the situation a “significant failure” which is costing operators dearly and forcing many to leave the trade altogether.

https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/thecou ... 6x1024.jpg

She has now called on licensing and regulation committee convener, Labour councillor Tom Adams, to resign.

“For many small operators, six months of delayed increases represents thousands of pounds in lost income,” she said.

“Operators feel they are being squeezed from all sides — rising costs, strict vehicle policies, and now delayed fare decisions.

“We want to see some accountability from the committee, which is why we are calling for the resignation of its convenor.”

Fife taxi fares review went nowhere

Fife Council fixes taxi fares via meters which all taxis have to have installed.

According to the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, fare scales have to be reviewed at intervals not exceeding 18 months.

The current fare scale came into effect on 3rd June 2024.

However, while councillors agreed to a review in September and even consulted operators, no follow-up discussions were held.

Ms Holt claims the council has failed to meet its obligations and accused the committee of being out of touch with the taxi trade.

“Taxi operators have to comply with a whole raft of legislation and regulation – if they fail to do so, they have to pay,” she said.

“When Fife Council fails to fulfill its statutory duties, they don’t pay but taxi operators do.”

Council response

Mr Adams did not comment on Ms Holt’s claims other than to say he will not be resigning.

https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... 6x1023.jpg

However, legal and democratic services head Lindsay Thomson confirmed the council is in the middle of a taxi fares review process.

She said: “There has been a short delay to the analysis of the responses to our recent consultation.

“But the next meeting of the regulation and licensing committee on March 10 will decide on next steps.

“We had a meeting with taxi operators earlier this month and will continue to discuss progress with the trade.”

There was a bit more to it than that - the consultation process went ahead, and they published a proposed tariff card and invited responses, as required by the legislation. But at that point everything came to a halt, presumably as a result of responses to the proposed tariffs.

Certainly keeping the pot boiling here

Don't know what that stuff about 'meter calibration' is alluding to, but I'd guess it's related to the objections about introducing pennies to the fares show on the meter.

(And, just in case Jimbo's reading, strictly speaking that should refer to meter *programming* rather than *calibration* - calibration is installing the meter and, er, aligning it with the car's electronics, or whatever. Programming is entering the figures so that the calibrated meter shows the correct tariffs. So when the tariff is changed the meters need to be reprogrammed. Or something like that )


Open letter to Licensing Committee: Taxi Fare Review

https://eastfife.scot/2026/02/open-lett ... re-review/


Dear Committee Members,

I write on behalf of the East Fife Taxi Association (EFTA) regarding the ongoing taxi fare review.

Under Section 17 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, the licensing authority is required to review and fix taxi fare scales within an 18-month period from the date the current scale came into force. As the existing fare scale took effect on 3 June 2024, the statutory period expired on 3 December 2025.

As no new scale has yet been fixed, the Council is now operating outwith its statutory duty.

Drivers and operators across Fife engaged constructively with the review process and provided detailed evidence on operating costs, recruitment and retention pressures, vehicle replacement requirements, and compliance burdens. The proposal published by the Committee did not reflect many of the concerns raised, resulting in a significant number of objections and representations from the trade.

Since that stage, the review has been delayed, and operators remain without clarity on the next steps, the expected timetable, or when a lawful fare scale will be fixed.

We also understand that there may have been practical issues arising from elements of the proposed fare structure, including potential difficulties with meter calibration at later stages. If correct, this would further underline the need for careful scrutiny and a transparent resolution.

EFTA has called for the resignation of the Committee Convener, Cllr Tom Adams, on the basis of accountability and leadership of the process. We wish to stress that this is not directed at Committee members generally, many of whom have engaged in good faith, but reflects concern about governance and oversight given the missed statutory deadline and the lack of clarity since.

Ahead of the Committee meeting scheduled for 10 March, we respectfully request confirmation of:

• Whether a revised proposal will be published;

• The timetable for fixing and implementing a lawful fare scale; and

• How the Council intends to restore confidence and transparency in the review process.

The taxi trade requires certainty and a properly concluded statutory process in order to continue providing safe and reliable services to the public across Fife.

We look forward to your response.

Where to start with all this?

On second thoughts, maybe little point...

But makes a change to see someone actually taking the blame for the delay...

But still not clear what the delay was all about - the increases now implemented are *precisely* the same as those first proposed to be implemented on 3 December via the usual processes which have been in place for years.

But I suspect it's something to do with the way the 5% on T1 and 10% on T2 were implemented and the pennies that would have appeared on the meter

Which is why there's again mention of 'calibrating'* the meters, which should be no different to what's been happening for years

So I suspect that's to do with needing six months to do a bit of number crunching so that the yardage rather than the monetary increments could be adjusted to reflect the increases, and thus the meters would still clock up in 20p increments, or whatever.

(Those were certainly the points I made in my response, but I didn't receive any reply, nor a reply to my other specific email about the associated question regarding overcrowding at ranks etc...)

But who knows, until the fare card is published.

(*Usual qualification in case Jimbo's reading - the meters will actually be *reprogrammed*, as opposed to *recalibrated* )


Taxi fares in Fife set to increase after council decision

https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/2 ... -decision/

TAXI fares are set to increase across Fife.

Members of Fife Council’s Regulation and Licensing Committee agreed to put prices up by five per cent on stage one fares – for hires between 6am and 10pm – and 10 per cent for stage two fares (between 10pm and 6am).

While a date has not yet been set for the changes, it is likely to take effect some time in May as the increase will need to be advertised and time is needed for taxi meters to be calibrated.

A review of fares started in the summer of last year and councillors had agreed on an increase back in September.

A report returned to the Regulation and Licensing Committee on Tuesday in which members were told that the process had not met the required timescales due to “operational” pressures.

It stated: “Notwithstanding the current delay in fixing the taxi fare scales, it is important and of necessity to continue to conclude the cycle/process to ensure taxi operators are not disadvantaged.

“Given the current economic climate, any fare increases could be perceived as being disproportionately prejudicial to those most affected by the cost of living crisis.

“This could consequently have a negative impact and result in those members of society being denied the use of taxi services due to increased costs.”

Steven Paterson, Fife Council solicitor and legal team manager, acknowledged the delay in implementing the decision.

“It has never been the case that any blame falls on this committee about the timing,” he said. “It is an operational issue for officers. I take full responsibility for any shortcomings in this case.”

Providing feedback during the consultation, one taxi firm had called for a “substantial” fare increase and said it was not all about fuel costs.

“For us and many other fleet owners it’s the ever-increasing motor insurance costs, motor maintenance costs, council licensing costs, but the biggest increase to our business are the staff wages,” they stated.

“As councillors you are continually asking us to improve our standards so it’s up to you to provide us with a reasonable fare structure that will allow us to continue to reinvest in our businesses.”

The East Fife Taxi Association carried out their own survey saying the responses demonstrated clear support for a fare rise.

They added: “While some concerns about passenger affordability remain, the majority view is that without an increase, drivers will continue to struggle to cover their costs and many may leave the trade.”

Another said the proposed changes were not sustainable for operators and are impractical in several key areas.

They added: “The increases do not adequately reflect the genuine cost pressures facing the trade.

“Vehicle maintenance, insurance, parts, and fuel have all risen sharply in recent years, and drivers are struggling to maintain a reasonable standard of living. The proposed fares do not go far enough to ensure that taxi driving remains a viable occupation.”

Committee convener Tom Adams was keen to go with the five and 10 per cent increases.

“It is my own belief that we should go with the decision we took in September,” he said. “We spent a lot of time discussing this.”

Cllr Carol Lindsay added: “We have got to look at it across the board – fairness for taxi drivers and the cost of living for passengers as well. This does strike fair and reasonable for all.”

This is the agenda paper for yesterday's meeting here, if anyone fancies a butcher's.

It's 91 pages, and most of it is the fare stuff

But they've included the pro forma responses from East Fife Taxi Association members, and they're identical apart from who's signed them

So it looks like there's 34 pages of identical responses, basically

https://www.fife.gov.uk/_services/share ... emId=84672

Some interesting comments here from council officials about the 'pro forma' responses, and the like - it seems like people from other zones used the EFTA template to respond:

Thing is, I spent about twenty minutes earlier looking through all that, but still none the wiser as to what will be shown on the face of the meter

But this is quite astute from one of the respondees other than the EFTA pro forma/template thing:

There's also this from someone signing off 'Digitax Taximeters Fife'. That's presumably the agent who does most of the Fife zones. But the Digitax chap who does I think most of the meters in our zone is actually based in Dundee.


Which I think is basically saying what I was saying at the time - why not implement the 5%/10% increases via yardage adjustment, as opposed to the price increments shown on the face of the meter

Recording and transcript of the relevant part of the meeting here:


So looks like councillors have ignored absolutely *everyone* as regards the pennies

Haven't listened to the recording nor read the transcript yet

(Although check out the transcript stuff at the end about meter calibration

Using the slightly incorrect terminology seems the least of our worries

To be fair, I think the convener is maybe saying that the yardage could be adjusted rather than the pennies, but it's not entirely clear

But I think he's just assuming the meters can be adjusted, and he's not considering the possibility that they can't )

Really?

Why weren't those so-called blameless councillors questioning officers about the delay?

Why didn't they insist that the law was being adhered to?

They were either ignorant or thick, possibly both.

_________________
IDFIMH

Maybe some of them are customers or residents. In other words, folks fully entitled to share their views.

_________________
IDFIMH