Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers' demand for 15% fare rise

14th July 2008

TAXI DRIVERS are heading for a showdown with Coventry City Council tomorrow (Tuesday) over cab fares.

They have reduced their initials demands for a whopping 25 per cent increase to cover runaway fuel prices.

But they are still asking for more than the city council’s licensing committee is being recommended to approve.

Whatever the outcome of tomorrow’s meeting, taxi passengers face a big leap in fares.

The city council’s top offer so far is a 12.9 per cent rise – which would add £1 to an £8 trip from the city centre to the Ricoh Arena outside rush hour.

The taxi drivers are holding out for 15 per cent plus some extras.

They haven’t had a rise for two years – in which time the cost of diesel has risen from 89 pence to £1.32, easily outstripping inflation.

Alias Yousef, chairman of Coventry Taxi Drivers Association, said: “The trade feel this offer is not good enough to meet the cost of living.”

Last month he warned that taxi drivers were wanting a strike but yesterday he played down that possibility. The association is hoping the licensing committee will increase the offer.

Mr Yousef has put two options forward. Both are for a 15 per cent rise.

One is to allow drivers also to charge 20 pence per extra passenger, the other is to raise the minimum fare from £2.80 to £3 during the day and from £3.60 to £4 at night.

He said: “The drivers are all very angry. The last thing we want to do is cause strike action and cause disruption in Coventry.

"That’s not what we’re about.”

He said drivers were now doing lots of short trips as people were cutting back on longer taxi journeys because of the credit crunch and rising cost of living. That was why they wanted to reintroduce the charges for extra passengers, which were abolished at the last fares rise, in 2006.

He said: “If I took four people from the station to the Ramada Hotel (off The Butts, Spon End) the fare would have been £3.40 in 2005. Now it’s £2.80.

Where’s the increase?”

The licensing committee will meet at 9.30am tomorrow at the Council House.

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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greedy swines


the increase in fuel costs hasnt incresed TOTAL running costs by anything like 15%, and certainly not 25%

Agreed.

But do you know how big the HC fleet is now compared to before de-regulation?

If my memory serves me well, before de-restriction 99 plates, now 657 plates & that was in April.

So it could be 700 plates now.

De-restriction ............. lovely!!

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Brummie Cabbie.

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Disagree with other members' views;
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so they are using a fuel price hike as an excuse for a rate rise to make up for a downturn in income, can PH demand the same when their numbers are rarely restricted.....

that quoted 5 mile job would have cost what 2 years ago at 90p/ltr?

and now?

50p extra (at the most) - but they are getting £1 more.....result!

I didn't think they had to demand anything. Don't English PH set their own tariff, without having to go cap-in-hand to a council?

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

ive yet to find a LA that requires a PH use meters, and obviously a PH would be mad to charge more than a hackney, except where (maybe) the PH supplies a 8 seater, i do think hackney's are mad to supply more than 4 seats when they cant charge more (usually anyway) when a party of 8 would therefore need two 4 seaters... in most things in life you pay more if you need more...

i think £1.50 a mile is plenty

Only if you can make a living at that rate.

If there are too many noses in the trough, you can't keep throwing new passengers in.

Passenger custom grows far more slowly, compared to the effects of total de-regulation.

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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Disagree with other members' views;
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but isnt that true of any trade?

aim low, hit your targets....greed kills.

It's a fine balance between a rise that reduces trade and a rise that increases income.

However justified or not the 15% increase is, I feel damage has been done by the press coverage.

For the record I would rather do three £5 jobs an hour than two £6 jobs.

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IDFIMH

Whatever you say to the press it is almost always mis-construed, mis-quoted etc. There job is to always get headlines by sensationalism, otherwise they have no job.

Best policy in cases that are emotive is, 'No comment, until after the councillors have deliberated on the matter & come to a decision'.

That way you are saying nothing, but more importantly showing respect to councillors who are the 'movers & shakers'. And that matters.

IMO the local Association could have done better with the press. There quoted comments in the newspapers should have been reserved for the council's debating chamber.

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.