Taxi Driver Online

Is it just me, or are the numbers here utterly crazy?

Anyone do the math? (As they say in the states...)

I'll have a go later on. But the numbers here seem well over the top.

And they don't even follow an obvious logical progression - look at the increments and the way they go up...

And, I mean, it would be up to the driver to add the surcharge via extras, referencing the price of diesel from who-knows-where?

What could possibly go wrong?

(And the headline isn't very clear as regards what the article is all about, in my opinion at least it makes it sound like a fixed surcharge is going up from 20p to £2 )


Sheffield taxi fares could rise by 20p to £2 a journey to cope with fuel increases

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics ... es-8690087

Sheffield taxi passengers may have to pay a surcharge of between 20p and £2 a journey to help cab drivers cover rising fuel prices.

Drivers of city Hackney Carriages – cabs that can be hailed in the street or operate from taxi ranks – have approached Sheffield City Council to ask for approval for a surcharge. Their fares are legally controlled.

The request will be discussed next Friday (June 19) at a meeting of the environmental services and regulation policy committee.

A report to the committee says that the council approved similar measures in 2023 when prices rose.

The council licensing service proposes a sliding scale for a surcharge, linked to the cost of diesel fuel. This would range from 20p per journey when the cost per litre hits £1.65, up to £2 when the price rises to £2.10.

If approved, the full sliding scale would be:

• £1.70 – 40p;

• £1.75 – 60p;

• £1.80 – 80p;

• £1.85 – £1;

• £1.90 – £1.20;

• £1.95 – £1.40;

• £2- £1.60;

• £2.05 – £1.80;

• £2.10 – £2.

A report to the committee says: “Any agreed change in fares must be published for a statutory 14-day public consultation period. If no objections are received during this time, the revised fares will be implemented at the end of the consultation period.

“However, if objections are received, the committee must consider those objections and set a date for any change to take effect no later than two months from the date of the original public notice.

“If approved, Hackney Carriage drivers would be required to apply the relevant fuel surcharge as an additional charge via the vehicle’s taximeter at the conclusion of each journey.”

So is the applicable fuel price the one at the start or end of the run

And where does the driver obtain this information from?

As I said, what could possibly go wrong?

Actually, I was incorrect in claiming the progression isn't logical

Everytime fuel goes up 5p per litre, the fare would increase by 20p per run.

So the progression per se is logical enough. It's just whether the numbers per se are logical in terms of substantive costs.

Which necessitates a bit of number crunching

But, I mean, you don't need to be a mathematician to work out that while the higher surcharges might be logical on longer runs, on shorter runs they're going to be well over the top.

And, most obviously, if it's a longer run they'll be off-meter anyway. Therefore...

As SW mentioned above, it's basically fuel goes up 5p a litre, fares go up 20p a mile.

A number of councils use a fares formula that suggests 60% of taxi mileage is paid and 40% dead.

If we say vehicles do 30 miles per imperial gallon, that's 6.6 miles per litre.

If we go back to the 60/40 split, that 3.96 paid miles per litre.

So, having gone down a rabbit hole that I wish I hadn't, if the running rate is £2 a mile, the 20p increase for every 5p increase makes sense.

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IDFIMH