Taxi Driver Online

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Taxi fares could soon be on the up if new plans are approved to change hackney carriage tariffs.

Plymouth City Council held a taxi licensing committee meeting in which the proposed changes to increase the cost of fares and vehicle licences for taxis were brought to the table.

The reason for the need to increase prices is to ensure the hackney carriage taxi reserve account doesn't drop into deficit, which it will do in just two years if action isn't taken.

It's been six years since Plymouth fares have been increased – and the council says a balance needs to be struck between the trade's right to make a decent - and the needs of the travelling public.

Plymouth taxi fares could go up and this is how it would affect you
By CturnerHerald | Posted: July 28, 2017


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Taxi fares could soon be on the up if new plans are approved to change hackney carriage tariffs.

Plymouth City Council held a taxi licensing committee meeting in which the proposed changes to increase the cost of fares and vehicle licences for taxis were brought to the table.

The reason for the need to increase prices is to ensure the hackney carriage taxi reserve account doesn't drop into deficit, which it will do in just two years if action isn't taken.
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It's been six years since Plymouth fares have been increased – and the council says a balance needs to be struck between the trade's right to make a decent - and the needs of the travelling public.
image: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/images/ ... 0asdma.jpg



Committee documents say: "Like many other business sectors, the taxi trade is facing financial pressures in the current economic climate and there has been no increase in taxi fares since September 2011.

"There are, therefore, arguments to support the proposed fare increase. The proposed fares tariff increase put forward would keep fares broadly in line with the national average.

"The reduction of the number of fares tariff from six to five and the alteration of units of distance measurement from yards to fractions of a mile will provide a simplified more user friendly table of fares sheet to allow passengers to more easily calculate the approximate cost of their journey."

The suggested new plan is to remove tariff four - a minimum £4.50 fare - which applies on Sundays and Bank Holidays from midnight to 6am, and put into place tariff three - a minimum of £4.00 - which would run from midnight to 7am on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

The tariffs are to go from six different costs over certain times of days to five, creating one tariff for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, rather than having a separate fare for New Year's Day which is currently adopted by Hackney Carriages.

The change from yards to fractions of miles is to allow passengers to more easily understand the distance travelled and calculate the approximate cost of their journey, the council added.


On the current tariff, it costs 30p for the next 200 yards of a journey after initially travelling 200 yards once you get in a cab.

This will change to a tenth of a mile for the same price – equating to 176 yards.

For a three mile trip, the current cost is £7.20, which under the new plans would rise to £7.50 – a 4.17 per cent increase in charge.

And for a five mile trip it costs £9.60, but with the adjusted tariff this could rise to £10.50 – a 9.38 per cent increase.

The Plymouth Licensed Taxi Association has also requested that the fuel surcharge is added when diesel reaches £1.30 per litre at Exeter Street Service Station, currently set at £1.40.

In comparing the cost to travel two miles on the proposed tariff one with the national average and other Devon authorities who regulate taxi fares, it can be seen that Plymouth – at £5.70 – is slightly under the national average of £5.74.

The city also has the lowest fares in the county, currently 49p under the Devon average.

Although the tariffs will only change for hackney carriages, and not private hire vehicles, both types of taxis could see their licence costs increase.


It is also proposed that the cost of a Hackney carriage licence jumps from £182 to £210 per year, whilst a private hire licence could go from £97 to £117.

wow that's cheap

Any person wishing to object to the new table of fares should do so in writing to the licensing service manager by Tuesday, August 15.

The address is: Licensing Department, Windsor House, Tavistock Road, PL6 5UF or email taxi.licensing@plymouth.gov.uk.

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector