Taxi Driver Online

Plan to increase Aberdeen taxi fares for first time in seven years

A consultation is set to be launched looking at whether to raise taxi fares across the city by 5% – the first rise in seven years. One of the two proposals under consideration is increasing the basic tariff from £2.40 up to £2.52 for the first 950 yards, with the second option to keep the fares at their current level. Under new proposals, the basic tariff for every additional 180.5 yards would also rise from 20p to 21p.

Members of Aberdeen City Council’s licensing board are being asked to agree to put both options out to consultation when they meet on Tuesday. Taxi trade representatives have indicated they could propose a higher increase when councillors meet next week.

Russell McLeod, managing director of Rainbow City Taxis, said: “I think it’s something that has to be looked at. “December 2011 was the last increase. Given the circumstances, I think the trade would be supportive of any kind of increase at the moment. “Given the length of time since the last, it’s long overdue as far as I’m concerned. Every time it’s needed reviewed up until now, the trade has said it was happy with the status quo – but we are almost seven years on.”

A report to the licensing committee said representatives from the taxi trade appreciated it was “never a good time” for the public to be asked to pay more. It added: “The trade representatives agreed to arrange to meet and further consult their members on whether to back option A or option B or indicated they could propose a higher increase.”

Graeme McColl, chairman of Aberdeen Taxi Group, said: “We have had a trade meeting about it and the trade support the rise of 5%. “The trade realise that although Aberdeen isn’t particularly buoyant, there hasn’t been an increase in the past seven years. “There will never be a good time for it, it’s not a particularly large rise but it’s enough with costs for everything going up.”

The local authority reviews fares every 18 months but has not increased them since 2011. The licensing report said drivers’ costs have increased by 5.09% between 2016 and 2018 from total estimated costs of £42,991 to £45,123. This includes a predicted increase of £2,459 to £2,630 for fuel costs.

If councillors agree to begin the consultation next week, a report will be submitted on the outcome of the consultation. A final decision on future fee levels would need to be adopted from June 26

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IDFIMH

If they're introducing pennies into the fare structure then I wouldn't be surprised if they've got some consultants in to do the job

So instead of adjusting the yardage to implement a %age increase in fares, they adjust the increment in pennies instead.

I mean, it's not as if adjusting down to the pennies has even meant a nice round yardage figure - it's 180.5 yards

Looks like someone wanted precisely 5% as an increase, which couldn't be implemented exactly with penny increments, so they came up with a half yard rounding on the yardage.

Surprised they didn't use feet and inches as well, but suspect they were disappointed when they realised the meters couldn't cope

2011 was our last increase. The council don't ask the drivers they ask the operators.

With respect it should be the drivers asking the Council and not the Council asking anyone.

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Grandad,

I suspect many of the drivers are to afraid to upset the operators.

Maybe the council should send surveys direct to drivers.

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IDFIMH

As some will be aware an oddity in the Scottish system is that once a council has set a fare any taxi *operator* can appeal to the Traffic Commissioner.

A taxi *operator* in Scotland is the equivalent of a taxi proprietor in England.

So if you're a driver without a plate or an office without a plate then you can't appeal, but someone who neither drives nor runs a despatch operation can.

Lovely to see the butcher the baker the candlestick maker can have a say over fares but journeymen and women have none.

What year is it again?

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IDFIMH

I think that it would be better if all areas used a formula that is agreed between drivers and the local authority. The formula should be set at least to give the living wage but better still higher than the living wage.

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Grandad,

Even ignoring that, the appeal process is very crude anyway. Although any taxi plateholder can appeal, you need to demonstrate the support of one third of total plateholders. Difficult enough to do that (you'd need their signature at the very least) in a city council area like Edinburgh or Dundee, but in Fife most of the taxis are in Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline, which from here in East Fife might as well be Birmingham or Manchester as far as gathering support is concerned - don't think I've even been in Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy or Dunfermline this year.

Then there's things like private hire cars, which if fitted with a taxi meter must be set at the taxi fares - I think that's the norm in places like Edinburgh and elsewhere in Fife, where in fact PH possibly outnumber taxis.

So a taxi plateholder living abroad (known one or two) can appeal to the Traffic Commissioner, yet someone running a fleet of PH with taximeters fitted and running a big despatch operation can't.

Then there's the hearing itself, which seems to be like a mini court hearing. Read one of the 'judgements' from Edinburgh last year (or at least half read it) and the council *hired* an external lawyer and submitted a case amounting to 50 or so pages.

To be fair, though, from what I've read the hearings give the trade a fair chance to put their case, are reasonably informal and don't just accept the arguments of the council's fancy lawyers and licensing officials.

Still a pretty daunting process though

Fife Council uses this formula:

Annual percentage increase = x ( x (( + ) / ( - )))

I doubt they are alone.

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IDFIMH