http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/why-it-s-so-hard-being-a-taxi-driver-in-plymouth/story-30361559-detail/story.htmlIt's not easy being a taxi driver in Plymouth right now.
Some are spending twice your working week on the road just to make ends meet.
With licensing on the rise, many drivers in the trade are finding themselves having to work extra hours to get by.
Plymouth City Council says the city has one of the lowest licence fees for taxi drivers in the South West.
Herald reporter Charlotte Gosling spoke to black cab drivers in the city centre to find out exactly why life has got so tough.
You can watch the video above.
Why life is getting tough for cabbies
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The council plans to increase charges across the board for taxi drivers of both Hackney carriages and private-hire vehicles.
Hackney carriage drivers currently pay £182 a year for a vehicle licence but this will be raised to £210.
And for private-hire drivers the cost will raise from £97 to £117 per year.
This is just one of the costs they incur each year.
One year's driving licence for a Hackney cab driver was £97.50 but this has now been raised to £112.
Likewise, those who drive a private-hire vehicle will need to pay £13.50 more than they were.
We took to Plymouth's taxi ranks to talk to drivers about the difficulties of being in the transport industry in the city.
One driver seeks an alternative career as he says working seven days a week away from his family is "no life".
But Keith Scott, aged 65, has been a taxi-driver for 40 years and says for drivers who have a family to support, the job is an "awful" one.
He said that he now works many less hours than when he first started out in the business simply because he has the means to do so.
"It's not so bad for me now because I've been there, done it all and got a bit of money behind me but someone who's starting out, a bit younger with a family - they're going to find it really hard," he said.
"When I was an owner driver I paid out £3500 a year just to keep the car on the road. I'd be working day and night seven days a week just to make ends meet."
He added: "I'd have to pay for my taxi license, driver's license, vehicle license and on top of that you've got your MOT once a year or after the vehicle has been on the road for five years you have an MOT twice a year and then you have your tax, servicing and fuel bill."
"It's a lot of money to invest in the trade and now you're not getting the returns - trade has dropped right off from where it used to be. I've seen a big difference in the time I have been a driver."
One Hackney cab driver, who wished to stay anonymous, told The Herald: "I don't get two days off a week - if I did I wouldn't be able to live.
"I usually work 35-40 hours during the week and then 16 or 17 on the weekends. They say you shouldn't because of tiredness but out of those 10 hours I'm sat in the rank.
"If you want to make a good living as a driver - basically what you would do in a factory hours wise - double that.
"That's all I seem to do is work."
The family-man who has been a taxi driver for 12 years said he has attempted to get out of the business in the past but not been offered the hours he has needed to be able to provide for his family.
He added: "What would I possibly do instead? I applied to Iceland once but they said that they couldn't offer me more than nine to twelve hours and sometimes couldn't guarantee this. What am I meant to do with ninety-odd pounds a week?
"And the issue is, we don't want fairs to go up for customers - it just alienates people.
"Lots of taxi drivers work 20 hour days on a Saturday because, for example, my rent is £880 a month so my weekend wage is what I then have to live on.
"It's a horrible trade - the easiest to get into but the hardest to get out of."
Julian Lascues, aged 30, has been a taxi-driver for five years and is looking for alternative work.
He said: "In a black cab you can't make ends meet without working the weekend so usually you work nine or ten hours a day and then on Friday you work more because you have to work the night as well.
"On Saturday, ten to twelve hours, otherwise you will not manage to get through the week.
"I'm a family man - it's hard.
Julian said his half-day off each week is spent sleeping after working throughout the night before.
"I only have half a day off on a Sunday and I've not had a holiday in a long time," he said.
"I hope by the end of the year to quit taxiing and find something else - this is no life."
A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said: "Plymouth currently has one of the lowest licence fees for taxi drivers in the South West and will continue to do so even with the planned increases in our fees.
"We have not increased our taxi licensing fees since 2012 and are only increasing the charges to reflect the cost of the taxi licensing operation.
"The purpose of licensing is to safeguard the public by ensuring vehicles are safe, reliable and comfortable, operators are efficient and that drivers are 'fit and proper' to transport fare paying customers safely.
"We are currently reviewing the way we operate which includes looking at putting applications online. We will continue to make savings where we can, however the charges have to be increased to ensure we cover our costs."
It's not just black cab drivers feeling the pinch
One private-hire taxi driver contacted The Herald anonymously to explain the struggle he faces and how the latest shake-up in licensing fees means he will barely be able make ends meet.
Here is his letter in full:
"To whom it concerns,
I have just received a letter from Plymouth City Council informing myself of yet another increase to the already high fees that we pay to them in order to be able to work.
As a private hire taxi driver of 13 years, I have seen these fees increase over the years and cannot see where the council justify spending these extra fees!
Over the 13 years it has become very difficult to earn a decent living without having to do ridiculous hours.
To give you an idea of what a taxi driver has to pay on a weekly basis, I work for the cheapest office in Plymouth, paying them £140 per week.
My insurance is £40.70 per week - just short of £10 per week increase over the past three years.
Some drivers are paying more than double what I pay on insurance.
On average, to take £100, we need to put £20 of fuel in the car so for every £500 it costs around £100, leaving ourselves with £400.
Some drivers for one reason or another rent their vehicles - costing them between £100-£150 per week.
Some drivers can't afford to buy their own vehicle and others have put that much into maintenance of past vehicles that they have chosen to rent.
Other drivers have found somebody to sell them a car on a "rent to buy" which means they are paying off the car at around £100pw and also maintaining the vehicle on average the maintenance of a taxi is around £50-£75 per week.
This week alone I have spent £210 on maintaining my vehicle and with the hot weather coming I need to service my air-con at around £30 and also have tyres that will need changing in the next two weeks not due to wear but due to our roads not being maintained and my tracking being put out on a regular basis which costs a minimum of £20 a time to put right.
And even picking up budget tyres I am still looking at £100 every 12 weeks. With all of this to make a half decent living I have to work around 70 hours per week.
And some weeks if I am lucky I have £300 to show for this, most weeks less, and then of course I have to take into consideration tax and national insurance bringing my total take home even less.
If I was to be in a employed job and working 70 hours a week with the national living wage at £7.50 I would take home around £420 per week holiday pay and sick pay.
So is it fair that the council want to charge us more for us to be able to carry on working?
Disgruntled and over-worked taxi driver"
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