23 November 2007
Swansea Council ran up a massive £3.5 million taxi bill last year.But council bosses
are confident a shake-up of corporate taxi services will save taxpayers' money.
The local authority currently spends around £3.5 million a year on fees to local cab companies.
But it wants to reduce that figure with a new contract system it has put in place.
Council leader Chris Holley said: "In the past taxis have been engaged on a route-by-route basis
upon demand and prices have varied accordingly.
"It is hoped the new system will save a considerable amount of money."
The council currently uses a range of private firms as well employing individual drivers for
certain jobs.
These include ferrying children to school whose parents don't have a car and there is no school
bus where they live.
However, recent figures revealed the system of ringing for a cab, and getting the driver to send
in a bill was proving costly.
Three million pounds was spent on education-related taxi rides and £500,000 on social
services-related trips.
But Swansea Council cabinet members approved a new scheme at a meeting in County Hall yesterday.
It will see 82 operators being used, and parts of Swansea divided into zones.
The report said: "Tenderers will be selected in price order with the lowest being at the top of
the list for a specific zone.
"As a new journey for a zone becomes available, the tenderer at the top of the list will be
contacted first."
Council leader Chris Holley said the scheme would hopefully see council taxi journeys being
shorter and therefore saving public money.
"It is a much more logical approach," he added.
The three-year deal begins on January 1, with an option to extend it for a further 12 months.
However, Mr Holley added there were no projected figures on how much money the new system would save.
He said: "It is too difficult to say right now. We expect to have some figures when the system
is up and running."
Source: thisissouthwales.co.uk
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