Taxi Driver Online

Anger at taxi fare rise during the bad weather

A TAXI firm has been criticised for hiking prices during the bad weather.
Angry customers have hit out at Portsmouth cab firm AquaCars for charging time-and-a-half to ferry passengers around in the treacherous conditions.

Managers decided to increase fees on Tuesday night when the snow first hit in a bid to entice more drivers to work. Despite that though, fewer than 80 drivers turned out compared with the 240 who are normally on the roads at that time. But the firm stayed open.

AquaCars then opted to keep the increased prices in place as snow continued to fall and driving conditions worsened even further when temperatures dropped on Wednesday night. The price hike is still in place, but managers say the situation is under constant review.

Matthew Oram, 25, from Oxford Road, Southsea, normally walks the mile to work at the Old Vic in St Paul's Road, and back but decided to call a taxi in the dangerous weather conditions. He was angered at the rise.

'I normally walk to work - it takes about 20 minutes,' he said. 'But I finish any time between about midnight and 3am so I decided to get a taxi earlier this week. 'It normally costs me about £4 at night but it was £9. I couldn't believe it.

'Obviously there are fewer taxis on the road because of the bad weather but considering the fact that public transport is limited I think it's ridiculous to charge more.'

Mark Dixon, 26, from St Andrew's Road, Southsea, was also annoyed at the taxi company's fare rise. 'I normally walk everywhere because I don't have a car, but I was really worried about slipping and injuring myself or breaking a bone and not being able to work, so I've got a couple of taxis this week. I think it's a bit of a cheek that they're charging extra.'

Robyn Timberlake, of Balderton Close, Hilsea, branded it 'a disgrace'. 'I have friends in other counties and I asked them about the taxis in their areas and it seems that taxis in Portsmouth are the only ones that have the nerve to do it and get away with it,' she said.

Bruce Hall, general manager at AquaCars, defended the prise rise. He said: 'On Tuesday night the buses stopped - we still provided a service. 'We could have closed everything down, it would have been easier for us, but we carried on.

'The decision was taken on Tuesday night when it was very difficult to get around Portsmouth. 'To entice drivers to work and provide some sort of service we decided to charge time-and-a-half and run a skeleton service. 'We tried to prioritise people like doctors and nurses - normal members of the public, I'm afraid, came second that evening but we did the best we could.

'We normally have about 240 cars on a Tuesday night - that night we had just under 80. 'And with the big freeze on Wednesday the conditions got even worse. In my mind the weather warrants it.'

Nickii Humphreys, licensing manager at Portsmouth City Council, said private hire cars were allowed to increase their charges. 'She said: 'Local authorities regulate hackney carriages and prices are not allowed to go above the agreed rate. However, local authorities do not regulate the fares of private hire vehicles who can set their own prices.

'It is an offence for hackney carriages to charge more than the agreed rate and this would be investigated by the local authority.'

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IDFIMH

Spot the theme?

The fact that they didn't need to walk was because there were extra drivers out prepared to put their health and livelihoods on the line.

I say well done to the owners of that firm, and wonder why more firms (that could) didn't do likewise.

Maybe it's because the bosses were all nice and comfy at home in front of their tellys.

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IDFIMH

Very well spotted, it's OK for the customer to get a cab to save them from breaking their bones but what about the driver who's risking his car and livelihood taking these people 200 yards down the road? IMO when the snow falls and the roads get bad prices should go up.

Well so far i've only had one customer suggest i should be charging more and a lot of complaints about higher fares on Boxing day and bank hols despite the weather people do expect to get service at non premium prices in this day and age in all circumstances

Some of the firms here are charging fare an a half and some are just putting an extra pound on the fares. Some of the drivers are just charging what they consider to be fair dependinng on how long it is taking to do the job.

All I know is it takes longer to do the job and it gives me a headache. Also some of my customers deserve to be buried in the snow, but, that's another story.

If you're working in this just be careful cos at the end of the day it's your livihood your driving around in

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Quite right! Serve your customers, don't fleece them!

Our meters are time locked due to blatant overcharging by some drivers so we couldn't charge more even if we wanted to.

Well I suppose we could've hit the extras button a few hundred times per trip

The amount of work easily made up for it anyway

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Life? Don't talk to me about life!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjm2eslm6hI

Yup. I was quite happy with metered rate; There was plenty of it!

Having a time locked meter will not stop overcharging. Drivers around here just don't turn the meter on and say it is a set fare.

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Grandad,

we were charging time and a half didnt get any complaints i felt people appreciated us more for staying out and getting them home. As the gentleman said we could have quite easily pulled the plug and gone home like everybody else....

I think a balance needed to be found, and I think meter and a half meets that balance. Quoting double or treble meter is too much, but I think drivers needed to be rewarded properly for putting their livelihoods on the line.

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IDFIMH

It is an offence to charge more than the metered rate, if someone complains to the council heads will role

Not if they have a PH plate on the back.

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IDFIMH

I think it was fairly clear from the article that this was a private hire firm. There is a quote from the council to this effect in the article.

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Grandad,

...or even a hackney plate occasionally...if the "job" destination is a point outside of the proprietors LA (all agreed prior to commencement of the journey, of course).