Taxi Driver Online

Northumberland taxi fares could rise

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk ... -1-9146589

Taxi fares in Northumberland could rise for the first time in five years.

Local authorities are responsible for setting the maximum tariffs that can be charged by hackney carriages, but the last increase by Northumberland County Council was in 2013.

Following a request to raise those maximum charges, the issue was discussed by the council’s licensing and regulatory committee, which heard that a consultation of drivers received very few responses and those that did reply had mixed views about increasing the fares.

Any proposed hike is further complicated by the fact that the tariffs in Northumberland are ‘a minefield’ and ‘a headache’ due to the fact that they were set by the old district councils, meaning there are significant differences across the county.

Not only does this apply to the various tariffs at different times of the day, but also additional fees such as for larger vehicles for more than four passengers and soiling charges.

For example, the current maximum charge for a 10-mile, daytime journey is £11.70 in Alnwick, £14.20 in Blyth, £14.50 in Tynedale, £15.90 in Berwick, £16.10 in Wansbeck and £16.50 in Castle Morpeth.

Coun Catherine Seymour suggested raising the lower charges while keeping the higher ones as they are with the aim of eventually making them the same across the six former districts.

“It doesn’t seem quite fair to me,” she added. “It seems like a huge difference.”

Coun Trevor Cessford said: “It’s going to be practically impossible to standardise this, but we could make a start with the tariffs, for example, so they all start at a certain time.

“You couldn’t suddenly start to charge Alnwick people £16.50 when they are currently paying £11.70 for a 10-mile trip.”

Blyth Valley is the only zone which has additional tariffs for larger vehicles, but Coun Cessford felt that this should be the case everywhere.

Coun Wendy Pattison said: “We have been one authority for eight years and I think it’s time we go about equalising everything.”

Council officers were asked to produce a detailed proposal for how the tariffs could be increased or amended based on what was discussed by the committee.

They have had five years to sort this mess.

Would it have beyond the wit of man to have merged the fares in a gradual yearly manner?

_________________
IDFIMH

Its Northumberland you are on about,they allowed the oppertunity of solving the Berwick scenario to by pass them,but they charge everyone the same fees.Not a very good Council for enforcement of licensing.

The numbers look nonsense anyway - £11.70 for 10 miles?

The PHTM tables show Alnwick as £5.05 for 2 miles, so £11.70 for 10 miles seems unlikely.

If the figures below are correct then 10 miles should be around £18.

Five miles is around £10, thus closer to the figure cited.

https://yourtaximeter.com/local-authori ... nwick-zone

the PHTM tables are highly inaccurate and completely unreliable you cannot trust any of the information in them

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

Amalgamated Northumberland taxi fares increase agreed

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk ... -1-9226692

Taxi fares are to increase in Northumberland, with quite significant hikes in some places due to a new standard tariff for the whole county.

However, county councillors voting for the rise, which will be subject to a formal consultation, were told that they were simply setting the upper limit so firms or drivers could choose to charge less.

Local authorities are responsible for setting the maximum tariffs that can be charged by hackney carriages, but the last increase by Northumberland County Council was in 2013 and before that in 2009.

At the April meeting of the council’s licensing and regulatory committee, members described the tariffs in Northumberland as ‘a minefield’ and ‘a headache’.

This is because they were set by the six former district councils, meaning there are significant differences across the county, even for the likes of soiling charges.

Council officers returned to the June meeting with a suggested new set of amalgamated fares and charges, which were approved by the committee.

Coun Trevor Cessford said: “It was a very difficult job you were given at the last meeting, asking you to come up with a standardised tariff. There are some massive rises, but I’m glad it’s been clarified that these are maximums.”

As an example, the new Monday to Saturday (except 11pm to 7am) tariff will be £2.50 for the first 500 yards or part thereof, 10p for each subsequent 91 yards or part thereof and 20p per 30 seconds of waiting time or part thereof.

This would mean a 10-mile journey in a Hackney carriage would cost a maximum of £21.30 anywhere in the county, a rise of between two and 30 per cent, depending on the former district.

Coun Catherine Seymour, who represents Berwick North, pointed out that some of the increases for Berwick were ‘huge’ and voted against the changes as they were ‘too high’.

But the committee chairman, Coun Ian Hutchinson, said: “We are never going to get a level playing field unless we do something.”

Coun Rupert Gibson added: “As it’s a unitary authority, it could have been done a long time ago, but it hasn’t and I think it’s time I was levelled off.”

Councillors also agreed to increase the licence fees for taxi drivers, over and above what officers had suggested, to ensure that the costs were fully covered.

Therefore the proposed new fees, also subject to consultation, are £78 for a one-year licence, £112 for two years and £146 for three years. An additional licence would cost £30.

Ben O'Connell, Local Democracy Reporting Service

And that wasn't the case five years ago?

_________________
IDFIMH

So why not put the year 3 years from when they renew or apply , they should be the same price as a 1 year one