Slightly scattergun article this, and some of it could maybe be worded more clearly
I mean, even the brief headline could be misconstrued as referring to fares rather than fees.
And the whole Wolves thing is rehashed, and they've still got vehicle and driver numbers the wrong way round, correct me if I'm wrong...
As for the advertising policies, you'd think the gambling adds would have been banned previously - they usual are
Anyway, presumably the first paragraph about the fees is about badges, while reading it literally it reads like it's about HC vehicles, but then private hire drivers
The articles then returns to the fees further down, and then it's a bit clearer that it's the badge fees that are being cited. Which, of course, begs the question, what about all the rest
And a few scattergun stats thrown in here and there for good measure. But life's too short...
Anyway, even after the first fee rises in 14 years, they don't really seem too bad...
But, of course, with a shedload of licences in a big city council, you'd expect economies of scale etc, and indeed Wolverhampton demonstrate on an industrial scale
Taxi costs to rise in Liverpool
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... g-31676123
How much it costs to drive a cab in the city is proposed to go up for the first time in more than a decade
The cost of driving a taxi around Liverpool is to increase for the first time in more than a decade as the city council also clamps down on adverts placed on the side of cars. With new details revealing how almost 500 private hire licences were granted to drivers with Liverpool postcodes in Wolverhampton, Liverpool Council is to make changes to how much it will cost to secure terms here.
As it stands, it costs £60 for a single year or £150 for a three year licence as a hackney carriage - known as a black cab - and private hire drivers. The city council is now looking to increase these fees for the first time in 2011.
Committee members will also be asked to approve a change to what can be displayed on the side of cars, which could lead to a ban on gambling and electronic cigarettes. According to documents released ahead of a general purposes licensing committee session next week, there has been a decrease in the number of hackney carriage drivers in the last four years by 131 while during the same time period, an additional 1,063 private hire drivers has been reported.
Though passengers may expect private hire drivers to have been licensed by their local council, current legislation means they can work outside their licensed area.
A number of these drivers are registered in Wolverhampton, and their vehicles are now frequent sights when booking journeys in Merseyside on apps such as Uber.
It is understood that the main reason drivers register in Wolverhampton instead of the region they operate in is because it's regarded as an easier, quicker, and cheaper licensing regime.
A Freedom of Information request made to the City of Wolverhampton Council has now revealed the local authority issued 479 private hire driver licences and licenses for 695 private hire vehicles to applicants with Liverpool postcodes in 2024.
Across Liverpool since 2021, there have been 77 new private hire operators - an increase of 92%. Should committee members agree, fees for both private hire and hackney carriage drivers would increase to £75 for a year and £180 for three years.
According to the committee documents, a full calculation exercise was conducted which detailed the proportion of time that officers dealt with all driver applications, vehicles and operators. The report added: “It is considered that the proposed increase in fees will have very little impact on licence holders and customers.
“The proposed increase is minimal, the figures are comparable with core cities so it is highly unlikely that many private hire drivers and licence holders will be motivated to licence themselves elsewhere.” Councillors will also be asked to update the terms with which cars can display advertisements on their vehicles.
While commercial advertising will be permitted, conditions will be adopted to prohibit any promotion of e-cigarettes and gambling. A report said: “Gambling can be detrimental to health and the promotion of the product may encourage gambling/betting.”