Taxi Driver Online

Telford taxi drivers handed cut in cost of licence fees

Taxi drivers in Telford this afternoon received a welcome cut in licence fees less than 12 months after the charges were increased.

Licensing chiefs at Telford & Wrekin Council backed a cut in fees for drivers to licence a private hire vehicle or black cab from £195 to £170 for a new 12-month licence, and from £195 to £160 for a licence renewal.

They also plan to effectively scrap fees for private hire operator licences who were charged £200 with £43 on top for each vehicle they run. They will instead have to pay a flat fee of £220.

Russell Griffin, spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said the changes had been made to try to encourage and help people working in the trade in the borough.

The move follows two years of increases in costs for taxi drivers which saw hundreds of drivers move their contracts from Telford & Wrekin Council to Shropshire Council, which charged less for a licence.

But Mr Griffin said the reductions had not been made in a bid to bring the borough into line with Shropshire Council’s charges.

He said: “We have reviewed our licences to try and reduce the financial burden in the trade – we have been able to make the reductions by looking at the way that we provide the service and making efficiencies which have reduced the costs of the licences. We are pleased to be able to pass these savings on to the trade.”

A report to the licensing committee meeting, held today at Darby House, said: “Working closely with the new business support team, the licensing team will focus on pro-actively attracting and supporting potential licensees to make sure that the licensing process is as easy as possible for them to use.

“The licensing committee has been very clear that it views local licensing of a local taxi service as a priority – the significant reductions in operators’ fees and drivers and vehicles fees, along with service improvements, is a definite response to the feedback from the trade and members’ concerns to encourage those providing a taxi service in our borough, an absolutely essential public and business service, to come back and be locally regulated.”

source: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013 ... ence-fees/

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