Taxi Driver Online

http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/news/ ... ticle.html

SOME taxi drivers in North Devon are breaking the law by not using a meter – because they say the system is unworkable.

And they believe if they have to stick to the rules then they will not be able to serve people in rural communities.

The widespread illegal charges have come to light as North Devon Council tries to crack down on drivers charging for "dead mileage" – the journey from their base to pick up a customer.

But the rule is not policed or enforced, and one councillor admits the situation on the ranks has become a free-for-all.

Several drivers have spoken to the Journal on the subject but do not want to be named.

They say that most of the time they do not use their meters during a fare – a legal requirement in the district – but agree a price with the customer beforehand.

That allows customers to haggle over the cost of their journey. A senior councillor has said the drivers are "cutting their own throats" by not sticking to the rules.

One of the drivers explained: "If we go to a job in Saunton from Braunton, we can't charge on a meter for getting to and from the customer, so on a journey that costs £12.00 we end up with just £5.

"Because of that we don't bother with the meter. We agree a charge at the beginning and stick to that."

Councillor Jasmine Chesters is a member of the North Devon council committee that regulates the district's taxis. She said: "The taxi drivers are cutting their own throats by doing this. It means that passengers can go from cab to cab asking for the best price.

"But we can't enforce the meters. Who's going to go round and police it?"

She admitted that the situation has become a free-for-all.

The full-time cabbies say that if they do not agree these prices beforehand then it will be the people who live in rural areas who will suffer the most. One driver in Barnstaple said: "If we can't charge for the dead mileage getting out to people then they just won't be able to get a taxi. They'll end up being isolated."

It is ten years since the council fixed taxi charges at £2.50 a mile and the full time drivers believe it is time there was a rise.

Meanwhile their biggest concern continues to be the growing number of part-timers who ply their trade during the evening.

"People think we're making a fortune but these people who have full time jobs are able to come out on the street and ruin it for us," said a full time cabbie," said one driver.

Last August, Bob Lethbridge, the drivers' member of the Unite union, described the situation as "desperate" because it was so difficult to make a living.

But councillors rejected his plea for a cap on licence numbers.

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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Believe me, don't get Mercury X2

£2.50 per mile for the last 10 years I will put that on my wish list.

£1.64 for the last three years for us.



I do not know their fare structure, but the above does not seem to add up.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

Punters can always ring round for a price from hackney and/or private hire after finding out the mileage for the A-B of the trip


£1/mile is adequate (on a long run), £1.50/mile is very good

£2/mile is robbery but hey ho......

I know that PH do charge in some rural areas to get to a customer as well as the cost of the job. At the end of the day the council must realise that taxi drivers are there to earn a living they are not a charity service and they are not subsidised like the bus service. I also think that if drivers didn't cover the work the public would do the complaining for them. Having said that PH in the area may well take the work from them and legally charge the dead mileage. It's a difficult position to be in I guess

Don't forget Toots a Hack inside its area must use the meter from A to B then they can discount if they wish, and a punter can use any cab from a rank and can negotiate a price before they get in but the meter must be on

In our district we have provision on our table of fares to cover servicing such runs no one is going to do a 1 mile job which involves 11 miles dead mileage. I remember a few years back having a massive row over the phone with someone who expected us to drive 10 miles to the pub he was at to take him to another pub just 3 quarters of a mile further on when I quoted him the price he got very abusive and demande that we did what amounts to a 21 mile round trip for the £2 that it would have metered and threatened to take me to trading standards complaints to his MP etc etc

Basically if he didn't want to pay that price he had the option to try someone else especially as both the pick up and drop off were in Rutland so we would be operating on a PH basis anyway but he was having none of it as far as he was concerned he had the right as a consumer to demand we accept the work at the price he wanted to pay

I refused to send a car but the point is there has to be economic reality we are doing this to earn a living not for charity fares have to reflect the time and distance involved in doing them

•Hackney Carrige Fare Tariff (Word 24 kB)



http://www.northdevon.gov.uk/index/lgcl ... are_tariff

does that work in Tescos, Sainsbury, Dixons or wherever?

i dont like the cost my insurance either, id like to pay a lot less!

At the end of the day, if you don't want to use the meter, then become a private hire. Or quite simply do as I do. I have some hackneys and some private hire cars. If a rural job comes up we quote the job and send a private hire car. It may mean that a driver has to change vehicles to do the job but at least it is legal.

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Grandad,

This is not the case in our area. Our council have confirmed that we do not have a bylaw requireing the use of the meter "in area" but drivers can't charge more than the fare would have metered. Go figure.

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Grandad,

I take it they have not read the rule book then

I would be very grateful if you can forward to me the rulebook, or part thereof where it states that the meter must be used because of rule book does not state this at all.
In our licencing conditions it states:
8. Fares charged for journeys within the Borough, other than on the fare meter, may not be higher than that charged in the table of fares set by the Borough Council.

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Grandad,

Meaning the meter must be used but your free to discount

Does your council need speck savers???

No Skippy you have to read the whole sentance, you can't just miss bits out. It states "other than on the fare meter" which means that the fare meter does not need to be used.

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Grandad,

Have you pointed this out to your council??? but I think they mean for runs outside your area