Taxi drivers angered by plans to raise fees in Lichfield and BurntwoodTaxi drivers in Lichfield have hit out at plans to raise fees.
Lichfield District Council is discussing proposals to increase operator licences from £50 per vehicle to £65 a year.
Meanwhile, hackney carriage vehicle licences will rise from £180 to £205 under the new plans.
The report will go before the local authority’s regulatory and licensing committee today (November 28).
But the Lichfield Hackney Association has warned the council not to use taxi drivers to make up shortfalls in its funding, insisting that they “utterly and unanimously” disagree with the plans.
“My members are hard-working people who are already struggling to make a living due to the unfair and harsh policy regarding the hackney carriage trade, not to mention the economic state,” said the Association’s chairman Mohammed Imran.
“I do appreciate the council needs to raise money due to Government cuts, but you [the council] cannot and should not do it by breaking the back of my hard-working members.
“Just because you can do something, it does not mean you should.”
Although hackney carriage licences are set to rise, prices for private hire vehicles will drop from £165 to £145 under the plans.
Councils are entitled to put charges in place to cover the cost of administering taxis in their area.
A report to today’s meeting from Lichfield District Council’s principal environmental health officer, Gareth Davies, says that charges need to be revised.
“Our objective is to set our fees at a level to cover the cost, but not make a surplus,” he said. “Historically, the taxi trade has only paid part of the costs for running this service.
“Recent reviews of fees have been aimed to reduce the level of subsidy and move towards full recovery.”
Full details of the proposed fees and the report can be downloaded from Lichfield District Council’s website.
source:
http://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2013/11/28/t ... burntwood/
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