Taxi Driver Online

Volunteer drivers say they can not afford to drive

Volunteer driver say they 40 pence per mile is not enough
Elderly and vulnerable people in the South West could miss vital health appointments because of a growing shortage of volunteer drivers.

That is the warning from charities and volunteer support groups who say out of date mileage rates are driving volunteers away from the service and making it difficult to recruit replacements.

But the Government says 40 pence per mile is a generous reflection of the cost of motoring for most journeys.

Retired deputy headteacher Jane Winston, from Shaldon, has been a volunteer driver for four years.

"I do it because I think you need to help people who can't get out and about themselves," she says. "A lot of people would be stuck indoors, they can't go places, getting to appointments is difficult and the people that we see often have all sorts of problems."

Elizabeth Thornbury lives in nearby Bishopsteignton. After suffering a stroke she is no longer able to drive and Jane is taking her to a hospital appointment in Newton Abbot.

"It's extremely beneficial here, especially when you've suddenly had a demand, like today, to go to the hospital, says Elizabeth. " I wouldn't be able to go or I'd have to take a taxi."

Patients like Elizabeth pay a tariff of a few pounds, where they can afford it, and the drivers are reimbursed for the actual mileage at a rate of 40 pence per mile.

But the rate, which is set by HM Revenue and Customs, hasn't been revised since 2002. Fuel prices, maintenance and running costs have all risen since then. Figures from the AA, suggest the true cost of running a small car today is around 60 pence per mile. And some volunteer drivers are finding themselves out of pocket.

"Some drivers have fallen away and some are probably thinking of doing so," says Jane Winston. "At present I'm going to stay with it because I enjoy doing what I do, but I understand where they are coming from."

Jane is one of 50 drivers on the books of the Teignmouth-based charity Volunteering In Health. Manager Tina Graham says they need to recruit more, but are struggling to do so.

"We've lost three drivers in the last couple of months. One of the biggest things when we go around and have recruitment drives is the current cost of fuel and the cost of wear and tear on their car. People are saying they don't want to do driving."

Modern matron at Teignmouth Hospital, Tracey McKenzie, says the service is vital.

"We have a very elderly population here. If it weren't for Tina and her volunteers we would have a huge problem getting people to appointments and to outpatient clinics, doing the day-to-day stuff which people tend to forget about."

The obvious solution would appear to be simply to raise the mileage rate, but the Liberal Democrat MP for Teignbridge Richard Younger-Ross says HM Revenue and Customs rules mean it is not that simple.

"If you're given more than 40 pence in the mile then you are taxed on it. If you have something you are potentially taxed on, then that's an earning and that has all sorts of other implications for volunteer drivers," he says.

"What we need is a flexible system which allows us to pay volunteer drivers, which doesn't put them into an employment category, but does allow them to cover their costs."

Volunteering England has been lobbying the HMRC for a review for 18 months.

"It's not just the money," says Director of Public Affairs, Mike Locke. "People are doing this out of the goodness of their heart. They want this to be straightforward and they want to be appreciated. They don't want this kind of hassle."

A spokesman for HM Treasury said: "The Government believes that 40p per mile is a generous reflection of the cost of motoring for most journeys.

"Charitable organisations are free to pay their drivers mileage payments at whatever rate they choose. The 40p mileage allowance threshold applies to businesses; and charities are able to use this as a guide, but HMRC will not tax payments to volunteers as long as they can demonstrate that the payments do not result in a profit."

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

More than enough in my view.

Of course those drivers could get licensed. One has to wonder what they are afraid of?

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IDFIMH

Well aound here I did see a N reg nissan doing the volunteer work........just think with a county the size of Cumbria.......the guy would have got his money back for the nissan within a month.

CC

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

I know I must have got it wrong, but I was under the impression that it was 40 pence a mile per person... four people £1.60.

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

I reckon the AA just plucks a feching figure out of thin air....I run a Big car with Big insurance and charge just over 70 pence a mile and have to pay income tax and and National insurance on top and enough to live on. The AA will not be getting my roadside assistance cover payment next year if they come up with guff like that. its the type of guff that plays right into the whining volunteers hands.

Besides...the Volunteer driver already runs and pays for their own vehicle first and foremost for their own private use, its not like an extra purchase...at most its going cost no more than say 12 per extra Volunteered use mile for Fuel and Maintainance, If the Volunteer doesnt like it then bloody well unvolunteer then.

And as for Government..well they just love any kind of Volunteer cos they save them £Billions buy not having to lay on Passenger transport.

I bet a certain someones State funded/assisted teachers pension pot probably returns more per annum than most Taxi/Ph drivers earn in a year...and guess who helps the state to build up these professionals inflation beating pension pots....us!!!!!

Funny this post should come up, I picked a guy up last night who worked for Patient Transport at the Ambulance desk at Kings Mill Hospital, he was telling me how much he makes a week when he's done.

On the Mileage issue you get paid both ways, there and back and there and back again. If he's getting 40p per mile on a round trip of 15 miles he's earning £6.00, if he picks another one up on route he gets paid separate for that one, so in a nutshell he could be claiming 30 miles for a 15 mile job.

I pointed this out on another post recently.

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Grandad,

I had a rather heated discussion once with some folks from the local Ambulance Trust who were paying around 40p a mile, as per most so-called volunteer drivers. Anyway where the trust dropped a bollock was they paid 50% extra if the driver took more than one punter.

My question was how the running costs would increase by 50% simply by taking someone else. Never did get a proper reply, but thankfully this thread has reminded to carry on the discussion.

As for that retired Headmistress, how would she feel if we all volunteered to teach kids for nothing, with no checks, and put all her colleagues out of work. Stupid cow.

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IDFIMH

The difference is that we wouldn't get away with it.

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Grandad,