Price freeze is good news for taxi users
The price of a taxi ride in Wokingham will remain the same for at least another year after licensing bosses agreed to make no changes to the current tariffs.
Customers using a Hackney Carriage can enjoy a price freeze after the decision by the licensing and appeals committee at Wokingham Borough Council.
At its meeting on Monday, January 10, members were asked to decide whether to leave the current charges as they are or reduce the initial yardage from 880 yards to 600 yards.
Had the committee agreed to the latter, the cost of a shorter journey across the borough would have become more expensive.
A consultation process held during the review of the Hackney Carriage tariffs saw 18 of the borough’s 100 licensed drivers respond with possible suggestions.
Around half of those who responded were calling on the council to reduce the initial yardage.
Others, however, argued a rise in the tariffs would not be beneficial to business given the current economic climate.
They were also pushing members to help alleviate existing pressures on the trade by capping the number of new licences being issued to new drivers, however the council has made no move to do this.
The decision of the committee means the cost of a three-mile taxi journey in Wokingham will remain at around £6 for a customer travelling between 6am and 11pm, and around £9 for passengers between 11pm and 6am.
One of those against the proposal of having the yardage reduced in Wokingham was Hackney Carriage driver Imran Hussein.
Prior to the meeting of the committee, which he attended, Mr Hussein told The Wokingham Times how the majority of his colleagues were unhappy with such a suggestion, claiming a price freeze would result in a mutual benefit for customers and taxi drivers.
After hearing the decision, he said: “Overall, I think it is the correct decision because a less than 20 per cent response rate is not enough to justify a reduction in the yardage.
“People visiting or coming to Wokingham would soon realise how expensive it is going to be to get a taxi [if the yardage was reduced] and would not want to come again, and residents would not want to get stung twice, and the biggest losers from that would be us, the drivers.
“I can understand why a yardage reduction was proposed because everyone in the trade is different and unique, and they all have their own circumstances.
“It is all about self preservation and self interest – but the economic situation at the moment is bad for everyone.
“I think this is a step in the right direction.”
source:
http://www.getwokingham.co.uk/news/s/
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