Taxi Driver Online

Well this is a wee bit different

Fares frozen, and no response from anyone anywhere, either the trade or the public, to the consultation. Or that's what it sounds like.

But the driver here seems to think a freeze is inevitable, despite rising costs. And makes the point that the cost of living crisis is starting to put people off from going out

That's what I've been thinking as well - once the central heating's on, and the bills start coming in, it's bound to have an effect...

Of course, the gas and electricity rises are not as bad as anticipated, but they're still double what they were two years ago, which will dig into family budgets during the winter months in particular.

Lastly, he actually praises the Scottish Government for the lockdown cash

No mention for HM Government, though, which was the source of most of my Covid cash


Taxi tariffs remain unchanged following council review



Taxi tariffs in East Lothian will not be changed for a further 18 months, following a review by East Lothian Council.

Prices will remain the same on all three tariff levels of taxi fares throughout the day.

Tariff one fees, which run from 6am to 6pm, begin at £3 and remain at that price for a distance of 713.7 yards. From then, the price rises by 20p every additional 40 seconds of the journey or every 146.5 yards distance covered.

Tariff two fees, which run from 6pm to 6am, begin at £4, with all other details the same as tariff one.

Tariff three, which runs from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am December 27, and from 6pm on New Year’s Eve until 6am January 2, begin at £5 and remain at that price for 713.7 yards before increasing by 40p every additional 40 seconds of journey time or 146.5 yards covered.

George Ross, owner of GR Taxis in Tranent, told the Courier he wasn’t aware the review had taken place but admitted he hadn’t expected to see any increase in fees.

He said: “I didn’t know that they had made that decision.

“I’m not surprised because I think it would take a lot of pushing from taxi companies to make them change the fees.

“I do a lot of council contracts, taking kids to and from school, and the council have put the price for them up a wee bit, which has helped me, but it’s nothing major.

“It’s not just the price of fuel that’s up, the price of everything is up, from [diesel exhaust fluid] AdBlue to screenwash.

“Prices are doubling and it’s making running the cars more expensive.”

Mr Ross added that the cost-of-living crisis was having an impact on the volume of customers using his family-run business, which operates three cars in Tranent.

He said: “I’ve noticed in the last two or three weeks that the street work has dropped drastically.

“There’s nobody using the taxis at the moment, people are trying to save as much as they can and that’s impacting the number of people out at the weekend who would need taxis.”

Mr Ross praised the Scottish Government for its assistance during the pandemic, particularly during lockdown, when taxi work was brought to a standstill.

He said: “If it hadn’t been for some of the grants, and for the council continuing to pay me for my contracts with them, then I probably wouldn’t still be operating.

“So I can’t fault them for how they responded during lockdown because that really saved my business.”

East Lothian Council reviews the taxi tariffs every 18 months, when a consultation is carried out to establish if changes are needed.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Taxi tariffs are reviewed every 18 months using a set procedure which includes public consultation and direct notification to all taxi operators.

“We had no responses to any stage of the public consultation or the public notices advising that we were proposing to keep the taxi tariff unchanged.

“The decision was approved at [a meeting of the] licensing sub-committee.”

The procedure is quite intricate, and can't be bothered looking at the details. But pretty sure he should have got a letter when it was almost finalised giving him the option to appeal to the Traffic Commissioner. Think that's what the council is alluding to here, but the operator says he was completely unaware of the whole thing

But what % of your punters give two hoots about rising prices?

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IDFIMH

But readers of the East Lothian Courier, TaxiPoint and regulars on here knew all about it months ago

0% increase one year, and 20% the next. Makes so much sense.

Taxi drivers supporting 20 per cent increase in cab fares in county

TAXI drivers are supporting a 20 per cent increase in cab fares in East Lothian, telling licensing chiefs it is a matter of "survival".

East Lothian Council’s licensing sub-committee will be asked to consider putting up the current charges, which have remained at the same rate since 2019, at a meeting later this week.

A review of current taxi fares saw two representations on behalf of local taxi firms back the increase.

Ian Torrance, from Torrance Taxis in Dunbar, said he was speaking for himself and Robert Campbell from AC Taxis when he said that a 20 per cent rise, which he said had been introduced in Edinburgh and Midlothian, was needed.

Mr Torrance said: “East Lothian taxi fares have not increased since July 2019.

“As with many businesses, we needed to recover from Covid and a price rise sooner would possibly damage our recovery.

“However, the time has now come for survival.”

And Elvis Taxis agreed, pointing to the increase in the cost of fuel, insurance, licences and general cost of living.

Currently, taxi fares in East Lothian start at £3 and increase by 20p for each additional 40 seconds of waiting time, every additional 146.5 yards or a combination of the two. Between 6pm and 6am, the initial fare increases to £4, while a special fare in place at Christmas and New Year begins at £5 and goes up by 40p instead of 20p.

The planned new fares would start at £3.60 and increase by 24p – the 6pm-6am starting fare would be £4.80 and the Christmas and New Year fares would begin at £6 and increase by 48p.

The new increase, if approved by the committee, would also apply to the car valet charge if customers ‘misuse’ the vehicle, which would go up from £100 to £120.

The proposed new tariff will require to be put out for public comments before it can be introduced.

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IDFIMH