Taxi Driver Online

Hundreds of taxi drivers object to council plans to double annual licence fees


Cardiff council committee will today decide whether to go-ahead with plan to increase fees from £230 to £435

Hundreds of furious Cardiff cabbies have objected to a council proposal to almost double their annual licence fees.

A Cardiff council committee will today decide whether to rubber-stamp an increase in the annual hackney carriage vehicle renewal fee from £230 to £435.

Under the plans, which were first approved by councillors in April, the private hire vehicles renewal charge will drop from £230 to £97.

A host of new fees are also planned, including £30 for a driver’s first two oral knowledge tests, £19 for the written knowledge test, £15 for replacement plates and a £26 admin charge for change of vehicle.

A petition with 527 signatures was collected by Capital Cabs company secretary Sharyn Donnachie, who also submitted 89 signed letters from the hackney carriage trade.

Dozens of other objections were lodged by other drivers, who say the large increase hike in running costs during an time of economic downturn could put some out of business.

One cabbie said it appeared the council was trying to “force out of business the smaller owner drivers in favour of the bigger companies”.

Another said it would result in more black-and-white hackney drivers switching to private hire, resulting in less cabs with wheelchair access on the city’s roads.

The Cardiff GMB taxi branch wrote: “One can ponder if there is not a deliberate policy to phase out (the) hackney taxi trade in Cardiff. This will definitely kill off the trade.”

In a report to councillors, the council’s head of regulatory services Dave Holland said the hackney carriage trade incurs more cost to the authority than private hire, such as higher enforcement costs and the supervision of ranks.

The increases, he said, would cover the cost to the council of operating the licensing regime.

The proposals were agreed by the council’s Public Protection Committee in April, but will once again go before councillors for a final decision.

The committee will vote on whether to implement the proposed fees and charges, make modifications or withdraw the proposal altogether.

Representatives of the city’s taxi trade, meanwhile, have also launched legal action against the council.

On March 1, an application for a judicial review in the High Court challenging the council’s current fees and those of previous years. The proceedings are in the early stages and are being resisted by the council.

source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local ... il-4040735

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

Sounds like another Council using the trade as a cash cow.

I wonder if the sudden realisation about licensing fees has anything to do with the Guildford case and other rumblings?

From memory Cardiff are reducing the cost for PH operators - after all why should PH finance taxi demand surveys?

It seems obvious if licensing departments cannot take certain funds from specific licenses - other licenses where the laws are different are going to be the ones that get hammered.

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

Basically the council are expecting us to fund the "Taxi Marshall" initiative that was either introduced by them or the police. I made an FOI request back on the 24th April 2013 regarding the issue, but have yet to receive any information despite the fact that they have a 20 day turnaround to supply information.

My e-mailed objection is printed below.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

Why would you not object to such a increase,its not like it was out of touch with the current fee.

For any "Body/Organisation" to come up with a 100% increase in any fees/bills, demonstrates negligence, and should not be doing the job. They are in receipt of over £700,000 of licence fees per annum - and are now claiming that it is running at a loss

The number of taxi/hackney vehicles went up from 450 to 967 from eight years ago! It is fair to say that the fees have doubled their coffers, probably creating off of the backs of the drivers, some nice highly paid jobs - "CASH COW" is definitely the words.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

But I'm sure according to their accounts after legal fees and consultancy fees it costs £800000 a year to license taxis

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Plus quite a few staff on excess of 35K - not a bad salary down here.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

How do they warrant paying that sort of salary within a Council for pushing pens?

But for every Pen pusher their will be a Supervisor over seeing how well the pen is being pushed, a Health and safety officer to ensure the Pen is held correctly, a senior council official who has to check up on the connectivity of the aforementioned Pen Pusher, Supervisor and Health and safety officer.

Then to over see all those will be a Director to direct everyone below them but who in turn will be answerable to a Councillor who will be Answerable to a the Council Convener.

That Single Pen actually takes at least six people just to simply get it to work!! And it'll will take at least a further 10 council officials to decide what the pen pusher is actually permitted to write.

Now that's 16 People all earning on average £40,000 per year which totals £640,000 per annum.

I reckon that good value for rate payers money just to pen one Letter.

WHATS THIS GMB MUSH ON ABOUT??

35K AND A SHEEP TO SHAG ---------------------------OOH JOHN'SIN HEAVEN

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All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

grow up TT this is a serious discussion

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local ... ke-4044623

It will not be the end of it, if it is, then it will have implications for all drivers up and down the country that have "Taxi Marshals".

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

Taxi marshals fees don't come out of licence fees

If this goes through - then it will.

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.