Cabbies feeling the pinch over new licensing rulesCABBIES across the county will soon be feeling the pinch after new licensing changes mean that many will now have to fork out triple the amount they were paying to be a taxi driver.
The new changes, which were brought in by the Government and Wiltshire Council on October 1, will see thousands of private hire or hackney carriage drivers have to pay for a three year license – as opposed to a £73 one-year license – which will now cost them £213.
All private hire operator licences have also seen an increase in duration from the standard 12 months license, with them now being forced to pay out nearly £500 for five years.
Paul Carter, who owns Paul’s Taxis, has been a representative of cabbies in Melksham for the last year and was surprised to find out that Wiltshire Council hadn’t put an instalment payment system in place.
“The increase is fine in principal and we knew it was coming because it has been in the offing for a while. But what we didn’t know is that we would be forced to pay for the three years upfront,” he said.
“The process of it being communicated to drivers has been terrible. It’s like yesterday you pay £75 and now you have to fork out £200. Those who renewed before October 1 only had to pay the smaller amount but there isn’t a plan in motion for the amount to be paid in instalments.
“My renewal isn’t up until January so I have three months to brace myself but some people didn’t have any notice especially at this time of the year in the run up to Christmas. I think these changes could put people off becoming a taxi driver because it isn’t the best thing to have to fork out £200 straight away.”
The changes are part of the Deregulation Bill 2015 which received Royal Assent back in March and as Wiltshire Council issue licenses to drivers, they must adopt these changes.
Carol Wilkins from Melksham, who has been a driver for over five years, said she is disappointed that there hasn’t been an official announcement. She added: “My dad has his badge up for renewal next week and he’s had no notification that he has to pay more and it is quite a lot of money to just have at no notice.”
David Pollitt, who has been a part time taxi driver for a year, added there has been a complete lack of communication between drivers and the council.
He said: “If Wiltshire Council are coming into this in hoping of making savings from paper work then we, as taxi drivers, aren’t feeling the benefits of those savings either.”
A Wiltshire Council spokesman said drivers were notified about the changes in a newsletter back in July. They added that the license fee is currently only being accepted in one lump sum and that although refunds or reimbursements are not accepted, it is something they are looking into.
source:
http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/13 ... ing_rules/
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