Taxi Driver Online

Couldn't point to Splethorne on a map before reading this, but it's mainly Staines and Ashford, and borders Heathrow Airport...

But not sure I'd call a five per cent increase in fees 'shocking', but seems that's in the context of numerous other gripes.

Most obviously, no tariff rise since 2015

Because of staffing issues, by the looks of it


Spelthorne taxi drivers slam price hikes and say it will have a 'knock-on effect'

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey ... e-28760115

Taxi drivers claim they have been ‘neglected and taken for granted’ by the council in asking for change

Taxi drivers have slammed price hikes that will see them charged more to operate in Spelthorne. One driver called the increases 'shocking' while another said the move was 'unfair'.

Spelthorne Borough Council licensing bosses agreed to increase taxi licences by 5% and other related charges to ensure taxi fees are cost neutral so taxpayers are not subsidising the service. However, taxi drivers say they have been ‘neglected and taken for granted’ by the council in asking for change.

Taxi fares per mile are set by the council but have remained frozen in the borough since 2015 with a planned review failing to go ahead. Drivers fees will now increase by £16 for driver's licence in a private car to £204, while one-year operating fees for taxi companies have increased by £17 to £366.

Jon Barlow of BlueStar Taxis said: “There’s nothing happening here. I don’t know why they want to increase the fee. There’s no [taxi] rank for us, no security for us, hundreds of drivers next to Heathrow [who make up traffic]."

Costs to change vehicles, which Jon said several drivers have done to avoid the extra ULEZ charges, have also increased by £8 to £175. The increases were confirmed at licensing committee earlier this month and will be introduced from April 1 this year.

The committee heard that fares have not risen in line with 2024's level of inflation, representing a 31% drop in value. Officers said the licensing department had intended to review fare tariffs in the financial year 2023/24 but due to issues with staff absences from long term illnesses and two vacant posts, this has not been possible.

Taxi drivers who submitted responses to the council's proposed fee increases claimed the service from the licensing department was ‘poor’, with one individual calling the department a ‘joke’.

Complainants also argued removing tinted windows and replacing cars when they reach 10 years old would restrict business and cause great expense to drivers and firms. Considering the feedback, the licensing committee decided it would review the restriction on 10-year-old vehicles with the taxi licensing policy in summer 2024.

Taxi drivers 'struggling to operate'

The main reason Jon said he liked working in the taxi industry was the ‘flexibility’ it provided. However, he said new ULEZ charges and council rules against tinted windows makes his taxi operating service increasingly constrained.

“We’re struggling but we’ll keep on going,” Jon said.

Drivers' comments recieved during the consultation labelled the price hikes as ‘an abuse of common sense’ and ‘unfair’. Dominic, another taxi operator, described the increase as ‘shocking’ and said it will have a ‘knock-on effect’.

Licence holders criticised the limited taxi ranks available in the borough, as well as the ‘poor’ condition of faded markings on the Gresham Road taxi rank in Staines causing confusion with other drivers. Councillors on the committee agreed to review the condition of Gresham Road taxi rank in the coming financial year. The licensing committee also suggested that Shepperton Train Station could benefit from having a taxi rank.

You have got to be f***ing joking.

No increase in fares/wages because the council, who have just raised fees, has no one to process the issue.

Who undertook the process to increase fees, the fairies?

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IDFIMH