Taxi Driver Online

Cost of becoming a cabbie almost doubles

8th October 2010

If you want to be a taxi driver in the Manchester, the cost of a licence is set to almost double – and you’ll have to enter a lottery to get one.

The city council is set to increase the price of a Hackney carriage and private taxi licence from £377 to £700, in order to pay for a new allocation system that will see the licenses handed out at random.

The increase in cost is also due to costs associated to an increase in vehicle test fees, due to start in January, and increased testing on older vehicles.

Those applying for a licence with a new vehicle will have to pay £642.50, as it will only need to undergo one service test in the first year.

The increase in fees will mean an extra £19,000 for the council, which it said would pay for the new random allocation process.

The Electoral Reform Services (ERS) will operate the random licence distribution process for the council. The draw of all the applications sent to the ERS will take place in November; application forms are available until October 25.

Kashef Ahmad manger of the Taxi Academy, based in Manchester and which trains would-be cab drivers, said the increase was too much.

“I understand that this council have been quite effective in sorting out a few major matters, such as plating distribution,” he said.

“But I think the increase is beyond need. We don’t have 100% increases in any or most walks of life yet even in the current climate they are heaping on pressure on drivers who may not have the funds to pay for this."

"It’s just too much more to add straight away. The council should find better ways of increasing revenue, not just from the poor taxi driver.”

The price hike will only apply to new licence holders, although some existing cabbies have told Manchester Confidential that it’s getting harder to make any money.

“I’m working 60 hours a week and making 35 per cent of what I was earning six years ago,” said one black cab driver, who asked not to be named."

“The price of everything is going up. Petrol, vehicle testing, licences. It’s getting harder.”

Cllr Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council's executive member for the environment, said: "The increase will pay for the introduction of a new random selection system, being introduced to make sure the way we allocate new hackney carriage licences is fairer and better meets the needs of the city."

"Unfortunately, there are costs involved in setting this up, and it was considered fair that people who receive new hackney carriage proprietor licences should pay for this instead of it being passed onto to all hackney licence holders."

“When we asked taxi trade representatives for their views, the majority agreed the cost should be met by new applicants."

Source; http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk ... _15574.asp

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

expensive hat!

What to buy a hat and a book of raffle tickets?

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IDFIMH

Is this the official Manchester Promotional Video that goes along with such a well crafted Council Plan?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ePEUhKlchg&feature=fvsr

Don't forget that in order to carry out some sort of raffle or lottery will also require a license from the council.
BTW you can't just go out and buy a book of raffle tickets. Raffle tickets must have the promotors name and address printed on them. If you are talking about the numbered books that are sold in stationary shops, take another look. They are cloackroom tickets, not raffle tickets.

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Grandad,

And the only people left that sell those are usually from the 'me hat me coat' families.

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

Actually they are used in most clubs when customers deposit their coats or cloaks into the CLOAKROOM.

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Grandad,

As usual the article is a load of Bo**ox. The fee's which are too high. have gone up five pounds a year on Taxi and Private hire vehicles up to the age of 7 and 5 years old respectivly. Taxi over 7 years old have gone up 55 quid to pay for an additional test, Taxis over 7 years now go on 3 test a year. PH vehicles over 5 years old have gone up 55 quid to pay for an additional test for them. Oblections have gone in, I believe, over the proposed increases and the inequality of 5 and 7 years between each type of vehicle. The 600 plus for a free plate in the Lottery (oops we are not allowed to say that in Manchester because it could offend Asian drivers who are not allowed to gamble) sorry the RANDOM SELECTION (totally different from random lottery you will notice) that 600+ is totally true. They will get away with this because everyone likes a gamble.(oops ! again, except Asians).