Taxi Driver Online

Where to start with this?

When I saw the words 'hike', 'fares', and an 'angry councillor' in the Sussex Express, thought someone on here might be equally angry

But they've got the wrong f-word in the headline. And I'd guess a lot of this is bullocks anyway...

But presumably the CCTV stuff has put an end to Lewes-plated HCs working in B&H?


Potential hike in taxi fares angers Newhaven councillor

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/po ... or-5006987

A potential hike in taxi fares has angered a Newhaven councillor.

Cllr Sean Macleod notes Lewes District Council (LDC) proposes to put many licensing fees up by some 50-60%. He says: "This is so wrong and largely affects the taxi trade which is struggling already. "He says LDC claims this is down to the council being the data controller for CCTV that it introduced three years ago. The CCTV introduction was controversial at the time due to the cost to the trade which is about £600 a car.

Now, he notes, Lewes is proposing to increase by 50/60% and this will cripple the trade even further especially the hackney carriage trade which is becoming extinct with only 89 cars left across the whole district.

Cllr Macleod feels strongly that members should vote these increases down they are going to cripple the trade even further and they should never have been approved by the licensing committee.

"The taxi trade is being hammered by policy changes and increases in fees in recent years and it’s staggering just how much fees have gone up. It’s time we stopped targeting the trade and actually helped support them."

A spokesperson for LDC said: "Following full consideration of multiple factors, the Licensing Committee has recommended increases which are subject to Full Council approval next week. These proposals have been put forward to address budget pressures related to taxis in our role as the licensing authority, and to cover the increased operational costs associated with CCTV data control."

Uber did that by not allowing them on their app, mainly because they would have to use the council's set fares.

Which is why loads of hackneys crossed the floor and now work PH on Uber in B&H.

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IDFIMH

I haven't read the report but that does sound like a bloody big increase, not using my pet hate word hike.

All the more strange when Lewes and Eastbourne share the licensing team, and Lewes has loads of PHVs paying loads of licensing fees.

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IDFIMH

Not sure if this adds much to the debate, except that the good councillor seems even more likely to suffer an aneurysm

The U-word gets a mention this time, though

And at least they've got the right f-word in the headline this time


Frustration over ‘staggering’ rise in taxi licensing fees across Lewes District

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/po ... ct-5018753

A Newhaven councillor has voiced his disapproval following a rise in taxi licensing fees.

Lewes District Councillor Sean MacLeod (Newhaven North, Independent) said councillors at LDC have voted to put licensing fees up by ‘a staggering 60 per cent in some cases’.

He said: “This increase will just cause devastating damage to the taxi trade, while Lewes District Council have a ridiculously high number of private hire drivers. Thanks to Uber the Hackney fleet is dwindling with just 89 drivers across the district.”

Councillor MacLeod said the Hackney trade in the district ‘should be flourishing’ but has become ‘depleted and down to the very bare bones’ after a number of decisions over recent years and increases in fees.

He said: “Since I have been a councillor, six years ago now, the licensing fees have gone up a staggering 110 per cent, which is just an absolutely obscene number and one that can’t continue as it is just absolutely killing the trade. Councillors and Officers need to sit down and meet with the trade and discuss what is needed to help the hackney fleet recover.”

In a statement before the approval of the increase in fees, an LDC spokesperson said: “Following full consideration of multiple factors, the Licensing Committee has recommended increases.” They said: “These proposals have been put forward to address budget pressures related to taxis in our role as the licensing authority, and to cover the increased operational costs associated with CCTV data control.”

LDC confirmed that the increases have now been approved.

No way would I allow the Council to be data controller of a ctv system fitted in my vehicle unless they had purchased and paid for system to be fitted and agreed to pay all costs of removal and refitting when I change my vehicle.

If I purchase a ctv system I am the data controller not anyone else.

How independent would your assessment be of your data?

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IDFIMH

Not sure if there's much new here except it's the union rep moaning rather than councillors

But it's an, er, complex dynamic down there with the cross-border angle etc, so I'm saying nothing

But I wish some of the drivers would quit in my manor, rather than moaning about it


Taxi drivers may quit over licence costs - union

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8x4d1ederyo

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/9 ... f.jpg.webp
Image: BBC

Taxi drivers in Lewes and Eastbourne may have no choice but to leave the industry after licensing fees were increased by 50% with some additional charges up by 66%, a union representative has said.

James Kiernan, a Lewes taxi driver of almost 25 years and the Unite union rep for Lewes and Eastbourne, said drivers would think twice about renewing their licences.

Councillors at Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council voted last week to bring in the new fees from 1 April, but customer fares have not increased since 2021.

In a joint statement, the councils said increases were approved to address budget pressures related to taxi licensing, increased CCTV data control costs and, in Lewes, work to reduce a backlog in new applications.

A driver's licence will increase by £60 a year, from £120.75 to £181.13, while a vehicle license will rise by more than £100, from £205.50 to £308.50.

The English language test retake fee has gone up by 66%, from £68.25 to £113.20.

Fares on the other hand have not gone up since 2021.

Drivers applied to the councils for a fare increase last summer but said they were still waiting for the council to launch a public consultation into any proposed changes.

Mr Kiernan said drivers would struggle to absorb hundreds of pounds of additional fees so soon after spending about £700 to install CCTV in their vehicles after both councils made it mandatory.

He said: "We've certainly got a handful of drivers that I know of who are already looking for work before their licences run out.

"Vulnerable people won't be able to get a taxi, won't be able to get their lifts to the shops, to the town, to stations."

"The department needs to explain itself as to why it costs so much to run that department, because it's a lot of money. We would like to see it audited."

In a joint statement, Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council said the increased fees had been approved "following full consideration of multiple factors".

It continued: "These are being introduced to address budget pressures related to taxis in our roles as licensing authorities, and to cover the increased operational costs associated with CCTV data control.

"Additionally in Lewes district, they will fund extra resources to reduce a backlog in new applications, ensuring a more efficient service for the future."

Maybe they should get Shropshire Council in to do the audit


Oh, well, maybe the increase in new applicants coming through will make up for those not renewing because of the increased fees

And, in keeping with the Shropshire logic, presumably the fees for those new drivers will be lower than the ones for the incumbent drivers giving up because of the fees above

I wonder if the union rep objected to the increase in fees at the time, rather than after the event.

And no doubt the trade rep will be reminding the council that once the backlog is dealt with then fees should be reduced.

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IDFIMH