If I'm reading this correctly, Reading currently 12th in the PHTM tables, and the flag is to increase by £1, but this driver still isn't happy
Reading taxi fares increase but driver storms out of meetinghttps://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news ... s-meeting/Taxi fares in Reading have been increased – but not all taxi drivers were happy with the changes.Any change in how black cabs, also known as hackney carriages, operate are considered by Reading Borough Council’s licensing applications committee.
Yesterday (Tuesday, July 12), fares were increased in a tense meeting, as some drivers disagreed with proposed changes put forward by the main taxi driver union in the town, the Reading Taxi Association (RTA).
Asif Rashid, chairman of the RTA, proposed increasing the ‘starting charge’ for a journey by £1.
The starting charge, called the ‘flag drop’ is the first payment you make for any journey – after that, passengers in Reading must pay 20p for every 133 yards travelled.
The increase in the flag drop, considered as the preferred option, was favoured by the RTA over a decrease in yardage that fares would be applicable.
Rationalising the increase, Mr Rashid argued cab drivers have been hit by the ever increasing cost of fuel.
Mr Rashid said: “We’re asking this primarily because the increase in fuel price. At the moment it’s not sustainable.
“We probably have one of the lowest flag drops in the area. The vast majority of our jobs are in the borough. What we’re trying to do is recover the expenditure. The cost of living is going up as well.”
Image: Reading ChronicleBut fellow driver Chris Avery and two colleagues accused the RTA of not properly consulting all cab drivers over the changes.
He argued not every driver had been informed of the RTA’s proposal for them to consider.
Mr Avery passed around a new suggestion for how fares could be increased, which was not viewed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
But the suggestion was not considered by the committee, as it was treated as an entirely new proposal that they had not seen before.
Cllr Paul Woodward (Labour, Church), committee chair, said: “This isn’t the place to negotiate this. This isn’t a consultation.”
At that point, one of the drivers with Mr Avery left the meeting almost in tears, saying that the £1 flag drop increase ‘would not cover’ the substantial costs faced by drivers.
But council officers felt that it was up to the RTA or other trade unions to devise fare increase proposals rather than individual drivers.
Earlier, a council officer said: “If we deal with individuals, we’ll be here forever and a day, and we won’t get anything done.”
Ultimately, the committee unanimously agreed to the flag drop increase of £1, which means it will go up from £2.60 to £3.60 for day tarrifs (6am to 10pm) and £3.60 to £4.60 for night tarrifs (10pm to 6am).
Cllr Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey) commented that if people going out at night are willing to pay 50p extra on alcohol, they should also be willing to spend extra on taxis as well.
Options to increase the flag drop by 60p or postpone the meeting for another fare increase proposal were rejected.
Also, the soiling charge – the amount passengers must pay if they vomit or cause a mess in any other way – was increased from £40 to £75 inside a cab and £10 to £25 outside.
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