Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers say rent rise makes it so hard for them to make a living

Taxi drivers in Cheltenham say a rent rise brought in by the company they work for is making it hard for them to make a living.

They say times were already hard for them because they had fewer customers due to COVID-19 meaning people were not going out as much as before.

And they say things have got worse after Starline Taxis increased the rent they have to pay in order to drive under the company’s banner.

But the company says it has acted fairly and claims most of its drivers are happy and making a decent living.

One driver, who did not want to be named, criticised Starline’s managing director, Leon Jackson. The driver said: “We never stayed back at home. We worked throughout the pandemic.

“The week before last Leon increased our weekly rent to £155 pound per week.

If someone worked for 12 hours, non-stop, they would hardly make £50 to £60.

“If you deduct the company rent and fuel and other expenses, you would be left with £25 to £30.

“All the drivers who work for this firm have raised the concern. He does not listen to driver concern.”

He claimed drivers who had raised the matter had been asked to work without complaining or leave the company.

The driver added: “The owner does not care. At the moment it’s the only company that has got more work compared to others. He is taking advantage of this situation.”

A second driver, who also asked not to be named, said: “It’s a hard time for everyone because of COVID-19 and our boss Leon increased the weekly rent from £105 to £155.

“We were used to paying £155 when work was normal but now it is very hard to pay the rent as we all have to work almost 14 to16 hours a day to make £60 to £80.”

He added: “Every time drivers talk to him he doesn't listen to our concerns and he keeps saying he will sack us if we keep raising them.

“Most of the taxi drivers are scared now to talk to him so all we want is someone to highlight our issues as we taxi drivers work hard and there is no help for us. We feel like a leftover in a society.”

He said the drivers were thinking about contacting Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk about the matter.

What Starline Taxis said

Mr Jackson said: “At the start of lockdown we took the decision to continue trading to ensure that the public, especially front-line workers, would have transport options and that drivers would have the opportunity to make a living.

“Some chose to rely on government schemes for support but many continued to offer a service to the public. More have now returned to work.

“However, at the beginning of lockdown, because it was obvious that the number of passenger journeys would be significantly reduced, we decided to assist those drivers who rely on Starline for work, by reducing their service charge payments.

“This significantly affected Starline’s profitability. Now that conditions have eased, the work available to drivers has greatly increased and so we took the decision to return the rental payment to pre-lockdown rates.

“Only two or three drivers have raised a concern about this and the vast majority of other drivers are happily going about their business and making a decent living.

“Drivers are at liberty to work with Starline or move to another firm as they wish. The drivers are self employed and Starline uses the most up to date technology to provide fares for them through the dispatch system.”

Starline, which is based in Royal Well Place and has been operating for more than 20 years, claims to be Cheltenham’s “premier private hire taxi service”. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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IDFIMH

I doubt there is a single driver in the UK who can truthfully say they are happy and making a decent living.

Unless of course they are selling and using drugs.

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IDFIMH

At the moment my drivers are paying around £20 a week rent and even at that rate can't make enough after fuel/rent etc

I cannot see how they can afford £155 a week because I'm certain the whole of the uk is suffering a huge reduction in bookings

You cannot justify an increase in rent without an increase in takings

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

Join the campaign to get April fools jokes banned for 364 days a year !

In two minds about this. PR spiel from both sides - took me a while to work out that fees were just going back to pre-lockdown levels. Made it sound like fees being increased by £50 from what they've been all along.

And usual spiel from the firm. They know vast majority of drivers won't complain, even if they'd like to. And all that stuff about 'transport options', drivers 'happy' and making a 'decent living', 'most up-to-date technology', blah, blah is just deflection, or bollocks

But normally I'd just say that it's up to offices what they charge, because if it's too much they'll just lose drivers to other firms.

But the firm does seem to have something of a local monopoly, and the circumstances are exceptional, so to that degree it does look a bit exploitative.

An employment status lawsuit would sort them out, though

Who knows what might befall the trade after the Supreme Court ruling