Taxi Driver Online

Cost of taxi licence to rise by a third


Taxi licensing fees are to shoot up by 35 per cent to cut the taxpayers’ subsidy of the service, councillors have been told.

Bradford Council’s Hackney Carriage Unit, which deals with licensing taxis and private hire vehicles, is expected to be cost neutral but it is running at a loss and expected to cost the Council more than £250,000 this year.

Despite this, the fees – which cover vehicle testing and licensing as well as drivers’ badges – have not increased at all for the past ten years.

The regulatory and appeals committee yesterday heard the income generated by the service this year is less than half of what is required.

In addition in 2006, after a call from the Hackney Carriage Owners’ Association, two extra inspectors were employed, adding to the wages budget.

The meeting also heard that the fees were significantly lower than those charged by neighbouring councils and below the West Yorkshire average.

Councillors agreed to increase the fees by 35 per cent and include a free MoT for drivers after completing the Council’s own inspection. They also agreed that the fees would increase by inflation every April from now on.

C D Khalid, president of the association, said that a ten per cent increase would be acceptable by the trade and also called for the Council to accept MoTs as an indication of a taxi’s roadworthiness, rather than asking drivers to pay the Council for a separate test.

Sakhawat Hussain, of the newly-reformed Private Hire Association, called for the unit to make savings in its operating budget and said that if there were fewer tests then the two extra officers would not be required.

Councillors also closed a loophole in an agreement designed to increase the number of wheelchair-accessible taxis.

Hackney carriage owners had agreed to start swapping saloon cars for wheelchair-accessible vehicles from next year as licences were renewed.

But in the past week 20 drivers approached the Council about renewing their licences early. Now the unit can either refuse the early renewal or require any replacement vehicle to be wheelchair-accessible.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

35% of what?

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Good bit of house-keeping.

_________________
IDFIMH

wow tests incuded ! we have to pay seperately


How about doing a comparison of fees council by council to see who is charging the most I suspect that drivers of that council are probably getting a good deal anyway BUT it ias amazing that no matter what a council chatges they always seem to be losing money on taxi licensing !!