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CHARNWOOD BOROUGH COUNCIL (02/B/00242) (2002)

Local Government Ombudsman 30/9/2002

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

FARES : TAXIS : REVIEW

Fares - Taxis - Review

On 16 February 2001 the Council received a formal request from the Association of Licensed Hackney Carriage Drivers for an increase in fare rates for licensed hackney carriages. The Council took no action upon the request for five months when a draft report to Committee was prepared. A further seven months elapsed before the report was presented to Committee for approval. This delay was maladministration.

HELD: The Ombudsman made a finding of maladministration causing injustice and recommended that the Council (1) pay each member of the Association whose vehicle is licensed to carry four passengers £100 for loss of income; (2) pay each member of the Association whose vehicle is licensed to carry more than four passengers £150 for loss of income; (3) pay Mr Holt £150 for his time and trouble in pursuing his complaint with the Council and with me; (4) review the way in which it deals with requests for fare increases to ensure that, as far as possible, the maladministration I have identified does not recur; and (5) also that those drivers who consider the remedy insufficient should submit documented claims to the Council by 31 December 2002 detailing their loss of income for assessment by an independent accountant appointed by the Council. The Council should then pay the claims if verified.