Taxi Driver Online

Surprised no mention of Wolverhampton here...

But I'd guess it's certainly being alluded to, if not specifically mentioned...


Taxi and private hire licensing fees in Redcar and Cleveland going up after rubber stamp from councillors

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... s-28099326

The increases were described by one taxi firm as "misconceived", but the council suggested it could face a financial deficit otherwise

Taxi and private hire licensing fees paid to Redcar and Cleveland Council by drivers and their companies have been hiked following further agreement by councillors.

The fee increases, which range from 5.34% to 38.53%, went out to statutory public consultation with an objection being received on behalf of Middlesbrough-based Boro Taxis describing them as “misconceived”.

The fee increases mean that, for example, renewing a private hire vehicle licence will now cost £303, rather than the previous £265, while hackney carriage (taxi) renewal goes up from £270 to £309. A fee paid by private hire operators after five years goes up from £740 to £1,025, while drivers making variations to their vehicles will have to pay £57 to register these with the local authority.

The proposed fees were agreed at a meeting in August and came back to the council’s regulatory committee last month where they were approved for implementation.

The proposed fees were agreed at a meeting in August and came back to the council’s regulatory committee last month where they were approved for implementation.

A report for councillors said that fees could be set with a view to recovering the costs associated with the issuing and administration of licences. It also said: “Due to rising costs that the service is experiencing, particularly with local authority pay awards, licence fees will need to be increased to recover those costs and to ensure that the taxi accounts do not fall into a deficit.”

In a letter to the council’s licensing team, David B Wilson, a licensing consultant acting on behalf of Boro Taxis, claimed the time it took to process various licences and permits required in Redcar and Cleveland were generally “50 to 100 per cent more” than those in neighbouring Middlesbrough. The letter also complained about a disproportionate amount of licensing officer time being taken up by “general non-specific activities”.

It added: “If the council had made efficiency savings like those made by other Tees Valley local authorities, fees would not only have been coming down, but the licensing service would be functioning more efficiently for the good of the trade and the public.

“The council is respectfully asked to abandon this misconceived fee increase, review the service to make efficiencies and only then to review fees, hopefully following the lead of other local authorities to reduce fees.”

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Philip Thomson, a member of the council’s regulatory committee, said he had asked for the relevant performance data in comparison with local authorities.

He said he had also attempted to find out what extra revenue would be generated from the increased fees and whether it was justified. Cllr Thomson said: “It was indicated that without this there may be a deficit in the departmental budget.”

The councillor said he alone on the committee had abstained in response to a motion to increase the fees with remaining members agreeing they could be put in place.

A quick look at the DfT stats suggest Middlesbrough issue maybe four times as many licences as Redcar and Cleveland.

So scope for economies of scale, and I wonder of David B Wilson has taken account of that?

And, of course, Wolverhampton's economies of scale will be, er, off the scale these days

Didn't see it mentioned but that committee meeting would have been a perfect time for the trade to ask for a fare rise.

But maybe Mr Wilson and the operators don't want that.

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IDFIMH