Large operators in the London Private Hire Industry could see a massive increase in the fee’s they pay, if proposed plans by Transport for London go ahead.TfL has today opened a consultation on proposals to change the fees private hire operators are charged for the costs of licensing, compliance and enforcement activity. It will be based on the size of the operators fleet, and split into five tiers rather than the current two.
The proposals would see an end to the current system where ‘small’ operators, with no more than two vehicles, pay £1,488 for a five-year licence. ‘Standard’ operators, which have more than two vehicles, regardless of the size of their fleet, currently pay £2,826. For those with more than 20 vehicles, the fee would rise to a massive £22,104 for a five year licence – according to TfL figures, there are just under a thousand operators with fleets between 20 and 1000 vehicles.
For those two companies listed as operating over 1000 vehicles – fee’s will also increase to £166,518, plus £68 for each vehicle registered – a rise of 6000%. Better news for those operating less than ten vehicles – the five year licence will increase by around £800.
The private hire industry has grown dramatically, from 65,000 licensed drivers in 2013/14, to more than 117,000 today. The number of vehicles has increased from 50,000 to 87,000 over the same period.
TfL says with this growth, there has been a substantial increase in the cost of ensuring private hire operators fulfil their licensing obligations and in tackling illegal activity to keep passengers safe. It is estimated that over the next five years enforcement costs alone will reach £30 million from a previous estimate of £4m.
The total projected cost for licensing, enforcement and compliance for the taxi and private hire trades over the next five years is £209m.
As set out in the Mayor’s Taxi and Private Hire Action Plan, income from operator licensing fees will be used to contribute to funding the extra 250 Compliance Officers who are currently being recruited with a number of them now in post and the remainder being recruited by the summer.
Helen Chapman, General Manager of Taxi & Private Hire, said: “The operator fees system is no longer fit for purpose. It is only fair that licence fees for private hire operators accurately reflect the costs of enforcement and regulating the trade. The changes to fees would also enable us to fund additional compliance officers to help crackdown on illegal and dangerous activity.”
The consultation closes on 16 June 2017.
Customers and stakeholders can respond by visiting:
https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tph/pr ... proposals/http://www.thechauffeur.com/tfl-plans-7 ... operators/
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