Taxi Driver Online

Proposed taxi license fee hike 'astonishing'


A TAXI chief has said proposed hikes in license fees by the borough council are ‘astonishing’.

Mohammed Ikhlaq, chairman of the East Staffordshire Taxi and Private Hire Association, said the proposed ‘above inflation’ rises in renewing taxi licences in East Staffordshire could see customers having to foot the bill.

The proposals are to be put forward in a report to Tuesday’s licensing committee at East Staffordshire Borough Council which will discuss the setting of licensing fees and charges for 2013/14.

Among the increases in proposed fees are for the renewal of licences for private hire and hackney carriage drivers of £49.30 – from £95.70 to £145 annually – an increase of almost 50 per cent.

Also private hire vehicle licences are also proposed to rise from £39 from £106 to £145.

Mr Ikhlaq told the Mail: “The proposals seem astonishing.

“It is a concern because the fees will go up by nearly 50 per cent and the rate of inflation is only two or three per cent.

“With the economy at the minute it does not allow you to raise fares really.

“But if they are to put the fees up by 50 per cent and we then put the fares up by the same amount, you are looking at a minimum price of £5-6 for the shortest journey.

“Everyone has it tough at the minute with fuel to consider and insurance and MOT’s etc.

“It is too much of a whack to take in one hit and I would call on the councillors to look at this matter thoroughly before making their decision.”

In the report to the committee, it is stated that ‘given the scale of the proposed increases it may be prudent’ to scale them in over a three-year period.

The report says that the council cannot raise revenue through its licensing activities and if the current fees and charges were to remain unchanged the extent of the subsidy the authority would have would be approximately £27,000.

Interestingly the proposed fees for both renewing and registering new private hire operators actually compare favourably with the neighbouring South Derbyshire District Council where it costs £212 annually.

The proposed £145 fee to register a private vehicle licence is also comparably lower to many neighbouring authorities such as South Derbyshire, Lichfield and Tamworth.

Among other notable proposals for licence fees are an increase of £93.50 from £51.50 to £145 for the licensing of hire company vehicles.

One of the odder proposals on the schedule is to reduce the fee to licence a new dangerous wild animal from £296.40 to £220 – a drop of £76.40.

source: http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Propos ... 192727.htm

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