No taxi fare increases until at least January Sheffield taxi fares will not rise until at least January.
The Sheffield Taxi Trade Association is seeking permission to increase its fares to cover rising running costs, but at a meeting on Thursday morning the licensing committee deferred their considerations until January.
The proposals would increase the pick-up charge from £2.60 to £2.80 in day time, and £3.10 to £3.30 at night. The pricing per mile is calculated with very complex equations but the proposed increase would be from an average of about £1.53 a mile to £1.65 a mile.
Hafeas Rehman, chairman of the STTA, said members had requested an increase back in February because there had not been any increase at all since October 2010, despite rising fuel, tax and insurance costs.
Mr Rehman said: “Last year we didn’t have one and I took a lot of flak from other taxi drivers for that.
“We aren’t just asking for an increase due to living costs, it’s more business associated. We have to recover costs – we have fuel increases, insurance increases, road tax increases – the running costs are up and we have to recover those, not put more money in our pockets.”
A fellow taxi driver said his insurance renewal had gone up from £985 to £1,300, despite his no claims bonus and searching across the internet for the best quotes.
Sheffield taxi fares are the 13th most expensive in the north out of 81 authorities, way ahead of Doncaster (56th), Rotherham (61st), and Barnsley (62nd).
But the licensing committee’s deputy chairman, Coun Clive Skelton, said he could understand why an increase was needed.
He said: “I’d rather have no increase at all but hearing what I’ve heard and the fact that fuel prices are fluctuating considerable, I’d be more than happy to accept or approve an increase but I certainly wouldn’t approve anything higher than the proposals.
“I believe our drivers are high quality drivers, they run high quality vehicles and I think they deserve something, at least our support.”
Committee chairman Coun John Robson deferred the meeting until January so further information regarding running costs could be obtained.
source:
http://postcodegazette.com/news/9002686 ... town-hall/
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