Taxi Driver Online

Taken from the Brighton Argus 10/01/05.

Taxis among UK's dearest

Taxi fares in Brighton and Hove are among the highest in the country. Consumer groups say there are not enough taxis in the city

A survey reveals today that the initial daytime fare of £2.30 is 30p more than stepping into a cab in London, although the fare per mile is slightly higher in the capital.

The research, carried out by Manchester taxi expert David Smith, shows the initial charge in Manchester is £1.80, while in Birmingham it is £1.50.

Revellers in Brighton and Hove who choose to catch a taxi after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays face a minimum £4.10 fee before the cab has even pulled away from the kerb, one of the highest overnight tariffs in the UK.

The figures were produced as evidence there are not enough taxis in Brighton and Hove, where the city council has now decided to renew its policy of strict limits on the distribution of hackney carriage licences.

The council, which says it runs one of the best cab networks in the country, feels there are enough taxis to meet demand. Its system of managed growth allows licence numbers to increase by five a year.

Consumer groups have criticised retaining limits on the numbers, a policy renewed by the licensing committee last Thursday, subject to a review next year.

A spokeswoman for consumer organisation Which? said it protected the vested interests of local authorities.

She said: "This means the number of licensed cabs will not rise, the net result being that consumers will be forced to use dodgy unlicensed taxis, which is far from an ideal situation for the public."

Mr Smith, who has compiled a national database of fares, argues there is a shortage of hackney carriages in Brighton and Hove and relaxing the rules would create more competition, resulting in better availability and lower fares.

He also warned carriage plates were being sold on the black market for £45,000 each.

He said unless the licensing system was de-limited, allowing anyone to obtain one, the city ran the risk of encouraging unlicensed, pirate minicabs.

Roy Pennington, who sits on Brighton and Hove City Council's licensing committee, believes fares should be lowered.

But the taxi trade warned that de-limiting might lead to higher fares.

Paul Cracknell, vice-chairman for the Brighton and Hove cabs section of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said: "We are happy with the managed growth of the trade in the city over a number of years."

The only time there was a shortage of cabs was in the early hours of the morning in central Brighton, he said.

A council spokeswoman said: "The council is widely acknowledged to have one of the best taxi networks in the country and taxi drivers in the city provide a high quality, safe, efficient, and reliable service.

"Taxi tariffs in Brighton and Hove are set at a fair level. The last fare increase was in March 2004 and there will be no increase in fares this year."

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ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

Simply the best taxi forum in the whole wide world. www.taxi-driver.co.uk

Cost of decent Taxi, say £15,000 average.

Cost of Plate ( ) Say £20,000

Value of driver = Priceless.

Where in the world can you go and hire a £40,000 plus investment for a paltry £1.50 !!!

Rather than put Brightons flag down, why not put these silly £1.50 flags UP!!!

We are £3.50 flag daytime, and £5.25 flag after midnight.

(Cough) In our de-limited area, that is.

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There is Significant Unmet Demand for my Opinion.

Consumer groups speak the biggest load of B*****KS you'll ever hear.


This is true.

He talks like a T**T.

So.

More B*****KS.

Leave the running of the trade to those who work in it not those who sit in offices all day sucking their pens.

Is that an argument for delimiting Nidge?

I mean, like leaving the pricing to the operators, and not the faceless Council people?

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There is Significant Unmet Demand for my Opinion.

Any fare rises are applied for by the trade and either accepted or rejected by the councils.

Fare rise formulae are increasingly adopted to give an automatic assessment of whether a rise is required or not.

The problem as I see it, in Brighton, is that a fare rise formula was agreed by all the trade representatives and the council, then it was applied and it showed a dramatic rise.

This formula was applied to Gateshead and it showed a rise of 17%.

This is the strange thing, there was agreement to a fare rise formula in Gateshead, when applied it showed a rise of just under 7.5%, the council then, by its own admission, decided that we should only get a 5% rise but apparently couldn't get it to show properly within a tariff so we actually only got a rise of 4.9%. Another questionable u-turn from GMBC.

The operators want lower fares up here, this is because most PH drivers have a monetry target for each shift and get themselves home when they reach it, higher fares mean they get to their target early leaving the offices with not enough carslater on each shift. They don't discount from council set rates because they would lose drivers.

To my mind, we don't get paid enough, whether Brighton drivers get paid to much is not for me to say but it does seem that they get a better deal per mile than most.

B. Lucky

Funny that quote because a fare rise is on the next forum agenda.
So whats the point of having a discussion if they arent going to give us one.
isnt that fettering or something?

No it's not Andy I'm just fed up of people sticking their noses in a trade they know nothing about, leave it to the real drivers who've been doing it years.

I take your point about the formulae system Nidge. My point however, is not that Brighton drivers earn too much. IF they do, then good luck to them. What is more important in my eyes, is to get everyone up to a decent and consistent living wage, before we crab about other areas earning too much.

Also, in our area, where we are delimited and the operators set the rate, we have had consistent pricing structures for nearly 18 years.

We still get the odd operator come in with lower fares from time to time, but usually they go out of business or adjust up to everyone else's rates.

The costs of operation are fairly consistent wherever in the Country you live. Differences in work volume and live mileage however, are the factors which vary from area to area thus causing rate differentials.

Our market is very competitive, but the Council enforce rigorous safety standards which do have a semi-limiting effect, but bar no one from entry.

The pricing levels thus form themselves from supply and demand here. It works, even though our work flow is not consistent. We can do 4000 jobs one week and only 2500 the next. That is a problem, but not insurmountable, as its the average that matters.

Most PH fleets work on their own pricing structure, but one which is based upon what the Hackney rate for the area is so they can be competitive.

It matters not whether you take £5 as a 1 mile flag, if you only do one of them in an hour.

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There is Significant Unmet Demand for my Opinion.

Who is David Smith? Sounds like another nom de plume.
Ged

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taxi driver @manchester airport

Come on Ged it's not hard to figure out

I found that about drivers targets interesting, in fact this happens all over.

but I got the distinct impression that there were so many cars nobody made a living!

well, fares should be not held low for the reasons stated, self exploitation is the worst of all exploitation,

best way for operators to carry on is to set a shift system, and opportion its take accross this restricting number of cars on the system, and setting core hours each car must work, this would be popular with drivers and it could lead to more drivers working reasonable hours.

we can all work for nothing, and operators will let you, but hey if someone maximises earnings we get accused of being leeches

thats life!

Yes Nige
I sympathies with your view, problem is if you read Gateshead Angel is that the boys in the trade leave thier expectations so low to keep us working longer

no that will not do will it? if the bloke sucking his pen can give better pay for shorter hours let him.

after all hasnt the bloke in Mansfield who has led the trade for years just given up the ghost?

Quality provision brings in more cash,

Nigel the lads running the trade are not taking the money you say, and I think they could.