Taxi Driver Online

Cabbies criticise haggling guidelines

Taxi drivers have criticised new guidelines encouraging passengers to haggle rather than pay the amount on the meter.

They came into force on Saturday to offset a 53p rise per journey in fares, the sixth time the fares have gone up since Ken Livingstone became Mayor in 2000.

But the Evening Standard found many drivers simply refused to haggle, while others were unaware of the guidelines. Standard reporters who attempted to negotiate in different parts of London were rebuffed 13 times out of 20.

Dave Williams, 58, who has been driving a taxi for 27 years, said: "The fares are worked out on the meter, and I think they are fair prices. I wouldn't haggle with anybody as it takes money out of my pocket."

John Richards, 38, of Hatfield, said: "I don't let passengers haggle. For me everything is on the meter."

Transport for London changed the guidelines after an Office of Fair Trading ruling last year that the amount on the meter should be a "maximum" rather than a "mandatory" charge. This was to protect customers from being overcharged - while giving them the opportunity to negotiate.

One driver, who declined to give his name, turned down a £25 offer for a £30 fare from Charing Cross to Barking - saying the rules made a mockery of the hours spent by cabbies doing the knowledge". "If I did not use the meter I would be like a minicab," he said.

According to TfL, the average journey will rise by 53p to £9.91. Of this, 20p is a "green" levy to help taxis comply with new air quality regulations.

But some cabbies warned the introduction of haggling would cause disputes with passengers. Dave Cooper, 35, said: "I was a minicab driver before and it's horrible when people try to haggle. It is safer and easier to use the meter."

Some taxi drivers, however, welcomed the new rules.

Offered £15 for a £20 fare from Charing Cross to Hampstead, Romford cabbie John Kliber, 39, negotiated £17 instead. He said: "As far as I know, passengers have always been able to do it. It doesn't make much difference."

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IDFIMH

Some sensible ones, some not so.

http://www.thisislondon.com/news/london ... s/17687051

Sign of things to come.

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Happy to be legit.

I really dont see an issue here, other than the one your making.

Any cab driver in the country will give a quote for a job and go on the quoted price. And some will stick by the metered rate. The metered rate is there to protect the passenger and the driver.

I think there is a degree of mischief making here

Captain cab

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

What a pile of crap, another classic from the Evening Standard.

There are no new rules that say or mention anything of the sort.

The Public Carriage Office has issued a notice stating this, which is posted in the rear of my Taxi.

The only negotiating I will ever enter into is a trip to Herts or Beds at 4AM when the bags full and I'm heading home. (via the Royal Parks)

oh your right then captain cab

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

So didn't the PCO change the rules following the OFT recommendation, as stated in the article at the top?

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Have a trip to the TFL (taxi-private hire) (there you go Ollie I said it) and have a perusal at the notice issued back in Feb / Mar which covers the above.

I was'nt having a go at you Captain Cab, that was directed at the ever pro-taxi newspaper London's commuters pour over.

No change to rules on taxi fares
There are no plans to encourage Londoners to haggle with taxi drivers over fares.

Following last year’s Office of Fair Trading nationwide report on taxi and private hire regulation, it was recommended that all UK local authorities should set fare tariffs which represent the maximum that can be charged, and not fixed or minimum fares. In London this was in fact already the case.

Taxi and Private Hire Director's response to Evening Standard

(Under press archives)

Interesting, I wonder where the paper came up with this from, particularly since the PCO had quite categorically stated otherwise.

There also seems to be a bit of a conflict between the PCO's view of the legal position with that of the OFT:

Per OFT:

In London, a mandatory tariff is set which does not allow taxis to give discounts to consumers on a regular basis (although they are allowed to depart from this tariff on occasion, e.g. if a passenger has had their money stolen. This judgement must be made on a case by case basis. There is no blanket discretion).

Per PCO response to press article in January 2005:

21 January 2005

Dear Madam

‘HAGGLE FOR YOUR BLACK CAB FARE’ - 20 January

Your article on this has caused a great degree of both interest and concern. I would like to make it clear that TfL has introduced no new rules. Following a report by the Office of Fair Trading in 2003, the Department for Transport asked us to clarify the position of the metered taxi fare in London, that is, whether it is a minimum, maximum or precise amount that must be charged.

Metered taxi fares outside London, where taxi legislation is different, are
maximum fares and the metered fare in London has always been treated as such. Our legal advice confirmed that metered taxi fares in London are indeed maximum fares. In other words, London is no different from the rest of England and Wales, nothing has changed from the past, and no new rules are proposed.

Fare levels in general, since the early 1980s have risen broadly in line with a cost formula reflecting drivers’ costs and national average earnings (the latter usually run a point or two ahead of inflation). Roughly half of the metered taxi fare pays the driver’s costs (vehicle depreciation, fuel, maintenance, insurance etc) while the other half goes towards his salary.

On the subject of haggling, again nothing has changed. Most regular (nonbusiness) users of taxis have probably experienced the driver accepting less than the metered fare – no-one would complain about this and we have now clarified that that drivers doing this are behaving legally!

Metered fares offer clarity to both driver and customer. Widespread haggling, would delay London’s traffic if carried on by the roadside or at taxi ranks. If drivers refuse to haggle and drive off, there will be no ground for complaint by the customer, and at the end of a journey the driver is entitled to the full metered fare. On the other hand, if a driver and customer, for whatever reason and in a friendly fashion, arrive at a fare less than that shown on the meter, that’s up to them.

Yours faithfully


Ed Thompson
Taxi and Private Hire Director

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Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk