Taxi Driver Online

Rethink for Unfair Taxi Fares


COUNCILLORS are to look again at new taxi fares after a previous decision turned out to be unworkable.

Stirling Council’s regulatory functions panel agreed in October to approve revised taxi fare tariffs as of January this year.

These included a waiting time of up to 10 minutes free of charge and a tariff of 60 pence per minute after the waiting time.

However, due to practical issues with the calibration and operation of the taxis meters, the change resulted in a higher overall taxi fare to customers than was intended.

Today the panel is holding a special meeting to consider a reduction in the free waiting time and tariff in order to address the “unreasonably high overall fare”.

If agreed, the free waiting time will be reverted to three minutes, as it had been before January, and the tariff after the free waiting time will be reduced to 20 pence per minute. Prior to January to rate had been 12 pence per minute.

The amendment would have to be publicly advertised before it was implemented, in accordance with legislation.

In a report due before the panel, council officials said: “The original proposals were advertised by public notice and the council received no objections. The revised taxi fare tariffs became effective from January 2010.

“The intention of the waiting time element was that if a taxi arrived at its start destination and had to wait for the customer to come to the taxi, the first 10 minutes the taxi waited would be free of charge. Any further time the taxi was required to wait would be charged at 60 pence per minute.

“It was not intended to be used as an ‘hourly’ rate, but rather on a stop and start situation, with any unused minutes from the 10 free minutes being used up by an stops during the journey.

“Due to practical issues with the calibration and operation of the taxi meters, this has resulted in an hourly rate of £36 per hour, contributing to a much higher overall taxi fare to customers than had been intended.

“Detailed advice has been sought from taxi meter providers and further discussion has taken place with the Stirling Taxi Association, including a meeting on February 3 at which consensus was reached on an appropriate solution.

“To prevent customers being charged more than had been intended, it is proposed that the waiting time element revert back to three minutes free of charge and to reduce the tariff from 60 pence per minute thereafter to 20 pence per minute. This equates to an hourly rate of £12 per hour rather than the £36 per hour that was creating the unreasonably high overall fare.

“This is the same waiting time as before the revision and is in line with similar duration/charges applied by other local authorities. Discussion with the Stirling Taxi Association has shown that the majority of taxi operators would be content with this waiting time and tariff.”

source: http://www.stirlingobserver.co.uk/stirling-news/

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

And who will be paying to have the meters set again?

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Grandad,

Thats nice of them......I wonder how many council employees will give up their earnings for the first 10 minutes each day?

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Maybe it compensates for the £30 an hour waiting time.

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IDFIMH

Maybe if they'd actually looked at the proposed fares in the first place they'd have noticed?

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Taxi fare rethink


TAXI fare tariffs in the Stirling Council area are set to be amended after being found to be unworkable.

A special meeting of the council’s regulatory functions panel last week approved the amendment.

Councillors agreed to convert the free waiting time back to three minutes (as it had been prior to January 2010) and to reduce the tariff after the free waiting time to 20 pence per minute.

Following consultation and agreement between the council and Stirling Taxi Association, the panel approved revised taxi fare tariffs last October, which became effective from January 2010.

A council spokesperson said: “Due to practical issues with the calibration and operation of the taxi meters, the change resulted in a higher overall taxi fare to customers than was intended.

“Detailed advice has been sought from taxi meter providers and an appropriate solution reached in agreement with the Stirling Taxi Association.

“To prevent customers being charged more than had been intended, the waiting time element is to revert back to three minutes free of charge and the tariff thereafter reduced from 60 pence per minute to 20 pence per minute. This is comparable to taxi waiting times and tariffs used in other local authority areas.’’

http://www.stirlingobserver.co.uk/stirling-news/

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin