Taxi Driver Online

Taxis push through 7 per cent fares hike

GARETH ROSE


TAXI fares are to be hiked but no more black cabs will be allowed on the streets of Edinburgh, under proposals set to be approved by city chiefs.

Passengers face a seven per cent increase in average fares despite Edinburgh already having the most expensive black cabs in Scotland.

The fare hike is a recommendation of a consultants' report which also rules out granting any new black cab licences as there is no "unmet demand".

Under the proposals, the amount on the meter before people get into the cab will rise from £1.45 to £1.50, and the time/mileage rate will increase from 23p to 25p.

Taxi meters are affected by both time spent in the cab and distance travelled, so sitting in a stationary taxi stuck in a queue still costs, but when a vehicle picks up speed the rate of charge also increases.

It is estimated that on average an £11 journey will cost passengers £12 if the increase is agreed and comes into force in February, as expected.

Both proposals will be discussed by Edinburgh City Council's regulatory committee on Wednesday.

If approved they will be seen as good news by many cabbies, who will enjoy higher earnings without an accompanying increase in competition.

However, it will be a blow for one city firm.

Threemaxblacks took the council to court in a bid to force its hand over taxi numbers in Edinburgh.

It claimed taxi drivers as a whole were losing out to private hire companies, which are not regulated by the council. There are currently 1260 black cabs, a total which the council hasn't allowed to change for about five years.

In that time the number of private hire vehicles, which the council does not control, has risen sharply to 791.

Garry Thomson, a spokesman for Threemaxblacks, said the company would consider taking its battle to a judicial review.

He said: "We believe this report is contrived. There's no mention of the increase in private hire vehicles.

"That increase is indicative of an unmet demand which is being met by private hire companies. The bottom line is we will have to wait and see if the council approves this.

"We have a meeting planned with the council for October or November.

"But we are looking at the possibility of challenging the council through a judicial review. That could see the power to regulate the industry taken out of the council's hands.

"We believe the chances are we would win."

However, Jim Muldoon, of the Scottish Taxi Federation, dismissed the chances of a legal challenge to the council, if it decides to act on the recommendation of consultancy company Jacobs.

"I don't think the mechanisms for a legal challenge exist," he said.

"To limit the number of taxis the council must prove there is no unmet demand. The only way of doing that is by getting an independent consultancy company in - that's what they have done."

And he said the trade as a whole would welcome the report.

Mr Muldoon added: "The taxi trade is happy with the report. But there are recommendations we must take on board.

"Over the next year or 18 months we, along with the council, should put the mechanisms in place to make sure that if the situation changes we are aware of it.

"At certain times in the evening there is an unmet demand still, such as at weekends, Hogmanay, and during the Festival season."

In compiling the report, Jacobs consulted various groups including pub and nightclub owners.

It said: "Most venues were particularly busy at weekend evenings and suggested that the existing number of both private hire vehicles and taxis are unable to cater for this high demand."

The problem the council faces is that by issuing more licences it will put more cabs on the road at all times rather than just when the demand is greatest.

The report itself found that in many locations during the day cabbies would sit in ranks waiting for passengers, much longer than pedestrians would stand waiting for a taxi.

An increase in licences would exacerbate that situation.

Instead, Mr Muldoon suggested there should be an expansion of Lothian Buses' night bus network.

He said: "I would like to see more night buses on the road, especially during busy periods.

"The city should look to increase bus coverage and by doing so give people more options."

Lothian Buses recently announced that the number of people annually using its night-time service has more than trebled in three years, from 120,000 to 460,000.

Bosses claim the main reason was a decision to change the night bus schedule to mirror the daytime one, on a smaller scale.

And they are already looking to capitalise on their popularity by introducing night bus services between Morningside and Ocean Terminal, and between the East Craigs Centre and Polton Cameron Crescent.

Iain Coupar, of Lothian Buses, said: "We are aware there is an increasing demand. We are constantly responding to it by introducing new services or increasing the frequency of existing ones."

More people may turn to the night buses if the proposed fare hike is approved by the council.

However, one driver said he was pleased to see that the report recognises that in some instances it was cheaper to get a taxi than a bus.

Keith Bell, chairman of the taxi lobby group CABforce, said: "Taxis are cheaper, if there is five of you, than getting a bus."

He said: "CABforce has lobbied for a separate fare for between 1am and 5am, to encourage more drivers to go out between those hours."

The problems associated with dealing with drunks and alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour persuade many to work until 1am on a Saturday or Sunday morning and then head home. Mr Bell said: "We proposed a night-time tariff which could operate between 11pm and 5am, or between 1am and 5am. There seems to be support from the public for that idea.

"The feedback I get is that they would be prepared to pay a premium for making sure there are enough taxis to ensure they are able to get home at night."

Mr Muldoon also defended the rise in taxi fares. He said: "This recommendation comes from an independent body and has not been asked for by the taxi trade.

"However, we have to remember that the last increase in fares was two years ago, and a whole range of costs that impact taxis have changed since then.

"For example, fuel has increased by 19 per cent during this period.

"These have been taken into account by the consultants.

"We want to keep fares down, but what is proposed is a very modest increase and I think the public will go along with this.

"Of course, these increases won't come through until February, if at all, and the public will be able to object should they wish to."


http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index ... 1892962005

Edinburgh cabs are already the most expensive in Scotland


THE recommendation by officials that the city council should not increase the number of hackney carriage licences comes as no great surprise. There has been no rise in the number of licences granted in Edinburgh for the past five years and there is no fresh evidence to suggest there is serious under-provision. Until such time as the position changes the council is right to restrict the number of licensed operators to protect the trade.

Those who oppose the maintenance of the status quo will be doing so out of personal interest or from the blinkered belief that a taxi in Edinburgh is hard to come by.

The latter may be true at peak periods over the weekends but for every hour a taxi driver spends rushing from one job to the next there will be several others spent waiting patiently for the next fare. Taxi drivers must work tough, antisocial hours to make anything like a comfortable living but it is not an easy occupation to enter.

The council has more than 100 would-be operators on its waiting list, a Hackney Carriage will cost a licence-holder in the region of £45,000 and of course there is the infamous "knowledge" test which must be passed before being allowed on the road. In recent years taxi drivers have faced increased competition from an estimated 800 private-hire vehicles which, although subject to regulations and start-up costs, operate under less severe rules than black cabs.

But what is not so clear-cut is the recommendation that taxi fares should rise once again. Edinburgh cabs are already the most expensive in Scotland. Why this should be is a mystery, as the cost of buying and operating a taxi is presumably fairly universal across the country, give or take some marginal variations in the cost of insurance.

The proposal to hike fares by what will amount to about seven per cent for shorter journeys and eight per cent for longer trips will be something that most customers will find hard to countenance.

There is some justification for protecting the trade by limiting the number of operators to ensure a high level of service and safety, but even allowing for increasing fuel costs, which all vehicle owners have had to absorb, increasing tariffs by a rate equivalent to three times the rate of inflation is much harder to condone or understand. Unless perhaps by doing so the council is pursuing its own agenda by deliberately pushing more people in the direction of public transport.

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/opini ... 1891992005

another quality piece of writing from the edinburgh evening news. "Passengers face a seven per cent increase in average fares despite Edinburgh already having the most expensive black cabs in Scotland"according to the tariff tables supplied by PHM,edinburgh sits 126 in the UK,16 places behind dumfries& galloway."There are currently 1260 black cabs, a total which the council hasn't allowed to change for about five years." the last plate increase was still at commitee stage in nov 2002

"However, it will be a blow for one city firm.

Threemaxblacks took the council to court in a bid to force its hand over taxi numbers in Edinburgh." one city firm of what..... three drivers!
.
"Instead, Mr Muldoon suggested there should be an expansion of Lothian Buses' night bus network. " mr magoo must have an ulterior motive or has he surpassed himself in the stupidity stakes?
"Lothian Buses recently announced that the number of people annually using its night-time service has more than trebled in three years, from 120,000 to 460,000."this must be on the fri/sat nights,what about the other 71% of the week when they are empty
"Keith Bell, chairman of the taxi lobby group CABforce, said: "Taxis are cheaper, if there is five of you, than getting a bus."
DOH! and what exactly is CABFORCE?

So you have Halcrow saying in Nottingham that if the council wants to keep restrictions then fares should be frozen until plate premiums fall, and then you have that shower Jacobs saying fares should rise.

So the visitors and residents of Edinburgh not only have to deal with less cabs available, but they have to pay through the nose for it.

Still at least it confirms all OFT said about quotas, and will help them no end when they come to review.

_________________
IDFIMH

You couldn't f***ing make it up.

The c*** wants more buses on the road to meet taxi un-met demand.

The things folk say to keep plate premiums.

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IDFIMH

I would not bet on it mrt

The c*** wants more buses on the road to meet taxi un-met demand.

he's also the chairman of my radio company !

It's amazing that this committee can find time to process a complex lengthy survey report within six weeks of it being presented, yet they couldn't determine 4 license applications within a six month time frame.

Something is very wrong here.

Regards

JD

Same amount of cabs, fares rise in line with inflation would have been a better title for this post, and who moved it from the Edinburgh back from the brink thread and gave it the title?

It matters not one jot what Mr Muldoon said about the night bus service, it is going to expand anyway so how does putting more Plates on help this situation?

Sussex says "not only will there be less cabs available but visitors and residents will have to pay through the nose for them" how will there be less cabs available, they are not cutting numbers?

Could you point me in the direction of the the unrestricted areas with the lower fares, where is the proof of this?

SIRIUS for fares go to Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2005 2:18 pm

LOOK THROUGH THE BACK ISSUES OF P.H.M

http://www.phtm.co.uk/?inc_id=2


mrT

In the Press report above, it states that Taxi drivers in Edinboro' charge passengers £1:50 BEFORE they get in the cab. Is that legal?

They mean the initial hiring charge.

I find myself laughing at this to, and trust me the trade will see his comments perfectly acceptable.

Less cabs than the market require perhaps would be better. Unless you think that no one will plate a vehicle if the council de-limit.

And is inflation 7% up there?

As for the movement of the thread, maybe the admin thought it would be better if a new thread was created, as opposed to making a very long thread even longer.

But does it really matter?

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IDFIMH

I KNOW what they mean. The comment is on what they PRINT.