OAP shocked by £105 taxi fare THE inconsistent nature of taxi charges left one man outraged after he was charged more than £100 to be taken from Hereford to Knighton following a spell in hospital.
Peter Hill, 77, said he wants to warn others to check fares ahead of their journey after forking out £105 following a trip in the early hours of the morning.
He believes the 31-mile journey should have cost around £40, as quoted by a Knighton taxi firm, but it appears he was charged a tariff two rate due to the time of the trip.
Mr Hill said: "I was taken from Hereford County Hospital at 4.30am on Tuesday, August 2.
"The taxi was ordered from the reception desk of the hospital. I was ill and the driver on arrival at Knighton charged me £105 for 31 miles.
"I am on a state pension and find myself desperately short of money for food now."
It is not known which taxi firm took Mr Hill home but the Hereford Times understands that a tariff two rate – imposed by the council between the hours of 11pm and 8am – would have cost around £106.37.
Some firms, such as High Town Taxis, will only ever charge a maximum of the lowest set tariff (tariff one) for any bookings and distance jobs are always discounted.
However, a tariff one charge for the same journey would be expected to cost around £70.
Mr Hill is now urging people to be aware of the possible costs they could face and to check ahead.
Jon Barnes, chief operating officer at Wye Valley NHS Trust said there was limited resource available for patient transport and the NHS needs to prioritise patients with a medical need.
“We are committed to making sure hospital transport is available to those whose medical condition makes it impossible for them to travel to and from hospital by any other means, in line with national NHS criteria," he said.
“The trust therefore provides a non-emergency patient transport services (PTS) for those with a medical need, which is provided by an approved transport company and at no charge to the patient.
“Patients who are not eligible for non-emergency PTS are in general expected to make their own transport arrangements.
"This may be a friend or relative providing transport or via a private transport company.
“If patients require assistance with contacting a friend, relative or private transport service, the trust, where possible, will endeavour to assist with these arrangements."
However, he said this is a private arrangement between the patient and the person/company providing transport and patients are advised of this at the time.
They are also asked to ensure they have sufficient funds to pay for the transport.
Help is also available with travel costs for patients who meet the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) criteria.
Patients can find out more about this scheme by visiting nhs.uk and searching for healthcare costs.
source:
http://www.kidderminstershuttle.co.uk/n ... taxi_fare/
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