Taxi Driver Online

Fare whack: Taxi fares hiked by 10 per cent as bosses battle dwindling passenger numbers and increased competition

https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/172 ... mpetition/

Taxi fares will rise by 10 per cent in Glasgow as passenger numbers plummet.

City chiefs have agreed to increase fare scales despite a warning it could lead to a further drop in customers for black hackney drivers.

Glasgow Taxis boss Stephen Flynn yesterday admitted that use of the city’s taxi ranks has halved since 2006.

But he agreed to plans which will allow his drivers to charge a £3.30 initial fee – up from £3 – plus additional costs for the remaining distance and time spent in the cab.

The changes were recommended by Dr James Cooper, of Taxi Research Partners, who was commissioned to carry out an independent report into tariffs in Glasgow.

He highlighted the rising cost of vehicle purchase and maintenance as a reason for the rise, but warned: “There is a very fine balance and I want to highlight that this is a very large increase. There is a very real potential that an increase is going to create a loss in custom.

“We have been in a vicious circle for a number of years.

“The desire is to achieve a change in tariff that reflects a change in vehicle costs without penalising the passenger above the level of that change in costs.”

Under the new fare scale, passengers will be charged 20p for every 167 yards they are driven, with an additional 20p for every 34 seconds they remain in the taxi.

Currently, trips between 12am and 6am incur a £1 additional charge per trip during weekdays and there’s a £2.40 charge between 12.30am and 6am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Those will be replaced by a £1.10 additional fee for all trips made between 11am and 6am every night.

There will be a charge of £2 on Christmas day and January 1.

Mr Flynn, chairman of Glasgow Taxis, said: “What we’ve found in the last three or four years with the app-based firms, people are moving away from using taxis.

“We supplied marshals at Central Station when they were finishing at 5.30am. They are now finishing at 3,30am. Footfall has dropped 50 per cent since 2006 through the ranks.

“I’m happy with the changes and I think we really needed to go with Dr Cooper’s recommendations.”

The latest increase follows a decision last March which saw the cost of hiring a black hackney increase by 2.49 per cent.

That decision was subject to an appeal to the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, who upheld a claim that insisted the 2.49 per cent rise was based on flawed and outdated information.

Driver Thomas McMahon successfully argued that Glasgow City Council had breached contemporaneity rules after it took more than 18 months to implement changes recommended in a 2016 review of taxi tariffs.

At that time the council agreed to immediately review its are scales based on information up to and including August this year.

And yesterday, Glasgow’s licensing committee agreed to push forward with plans to implement the new 10 per cent increase. Committee chairman Alex Wilson said: “I think what we’re trying to do is increase drivers’ earnings. Ultimately, we’re looking to protect the trade and try to maximise their income.”

A date for when the new tariffs will come into force will be issued in the coming weeks.



How the Evening Times covered the Traffic Commissioner's fare appeal

Find it hard to believe the number of on street hirings has halved in just over a decade.

Perhaps they should have asked Dr Cooper - after all, he surveys that kind of thing

But I'm sure a 10% fares hike will help things along nicely

Somehow I don't think punters will or won't accept the fare rise on the basis of how it relates to taxi operating costs.

They'll either keep using them despite the 10% rise, or turn to alternatives

the over supply of taxis and PH that occurred after Blair imported 100000 taxi drivers to pay the pensions bill means that footfall everywhere except london has fallen

round our way you couldn't make a living on rank work alone

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

Not the clearest explanation of a fare change, but think most important points are that a fairly hefty daytime rise is offset by a reduction of over £1 on the late night flagfall, although it does seem to be starting an hour earlier.

Glasgow taxi prices to rise by more than 10 per cent next month

https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/173 ... ext-month/

Glasgow taxi prices to rise by more than 10 per cent next month.

The decision to increase the rate by 10.2 percent was made by Glasgow City Council’s licensing committee on Wednesday.

This means the maximum charge for a journey of 939 yards or less lasting no more than three minutes will be £3.30.

The cost will rise by 20p for every 167 yards or 34 seconds spent in the taxi. A further 10p will be added for more than two passengers and an additional charge of £1.10 will be implemented between 11pm and 6am.”

The proposals were agreed on Wednesday by the council’s licensing committee.

Members asked representatives from Unite the Union and Glasgow Taxis for their comments.

Addressing the board Chairman of Glasgow Taxis, Stephen Flynn, said: “I think this [reduced rate after 11pm] will bring back trade to the taxis.”

Calum Anderson, chairman of Glasgow Cab Section at Unite the Union, said: “The increase of private hire cars in the city as had an affect on the taxi trade. I hope these measures will help.”

Objectors still have 28-30 days to appeal the decision to the traffic commissioner.

Speaking after the meeting Mr Anderson said: “The changes will not be imminent, as objectors will have the chance to raise their concerns with traffic commissioner within the next four weeks.

“Anyone can object although it is more likely that unhappy taxi drivers themselves will take action.

“It is the council’s decision but we need to make sure the taxi drivers are happy with the fares.

“Many years ago a lot of drivers didn’t want to work on a Friday or Saturday night because of the grief they would get from members of the public abusing the service.

“The council allowed us to charge extra from 12am until 6am to encourage more drivers to work and earn some extra cash.

“What was a problem isn’t now. People don’t go out as much as they used to on a Friday night.

“The rate will start at £4.40 from 11pm until 6am instead of £5.50 from 12am until 6am.

“We hope this will encourage more people to use a taxi service late at night rather than a private hire car.”

The new fares are expected to be in place by the end of next month provided no objections are submitted and upheld by the traffic commissioner.

Doubt if a rise in daytime fares of 10% will stop passengers shifting to Uber (the U-word is probably the great unmentionable in the article), which is perhaps stating the obvious.

And doubt if reducing the night rate will attract many customers back - I mean, it's not as if they'll necessarily get to know about it. Think that's the problem with this kind of thing for HCs - once you've lost customers to PH then getting them back is difficult, even with a fares reduction.

At best I would guess it would just stop the rot as regards nighttime leakage to PH, so night drivers will be worse off because of the tariff reduction.

You can't educate idiots.

As do I.

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IDFIMH

I don't,they have halved in our area in less than a decade.

most of the youngsters who would have been partying 10 years ago are now married with kids and don't go out much the new generation of youngsters are millennials who are not into drinking or partying so the nightclubs are all closing and the impact of the likes of Netflix et al has further diminished the night time trade

Our night drivers now are going home at 10 pm some nights or at the latest midnight because whereas 10 years ago it was worth staying till 1 am now the chances of getting a single fare between 10pm and 1 am are practically nil

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

yet still as a PH operator in Glasgow our guys are flat out until 3/4 am at the weekends.

people have moved away from standing about on cold ranks populated by idiots wanting to fight and regardless of putting marshals on the rank or not what would you rather do? hit book on the app get a rough eta and have another drink in the pub/club or stand about a Glasgow street on a cold saturday morning where some nutter may or may not take umbrage at you for no apparent reason.

technology is killing the hack trade more than any other factor. They've dropped the ball big time on this one.

Insightful analysis, I suspect.

Of course, the debate in this regard is usually in relation to the U-word, but maybe it's as much to do with technology and how it's affecting the booking process rather than which providers are competing in the pre-booked market. No doubt Uber is a factor in many areas but, on the other hand, the competition from PH isn't exactly a new thing, either in terms of pricing and branding, or whatever.

And when mobile phones first became a thing and widely available I suspect this also foretold the shift from public hire to pre-booking, and apps have simply accelerated that process.

By contrast, in our wee town I don't think rank-based work has decreased significantly, at least not because of the app factor. There's effectively zero PH here, and the taxi booking offices still rely on two-way radios, as far as I know.

Plus, there's rarely queues of people here, the main rank is literally round the corner from the main night venues and one of the main takeaways is just round the corner as well, and the other is literally the other side of a narrow street* from the taxi rank.

And while the ranks are not without aggro when there is a queue of people, I doubt if people feel the same level of danger as they might in Glasgow and Dundee. So all in all I don't think rank hirings have fallen so much here, but who knows what the future holds.

Not sure if apps are a thing in Dundee either (and there's certainly no Uber), but don't think the recent murder in the taxi rank queue there will do much for on-street hirings, thus consistent with what you say about people in Glasgow.

*Which is why quite a few punters here get into the second or third car on the rank here - it's nearer to them when they fall out of the takeaway

Strange isn't it. We are only 20 miles from you yet between 22.00 and 01.00 on a saturday night is our busiest time with the "oldies" going home and the "kids" coming out. The drivers who stop out after 01.00 are usually busy to 05.00.

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Grandad,

I think down here late night rank work has decreased but certainly not by 50%.

The point made above re app bookings is certainly true, but as many people ring via their mobiles as app book.

The difference is the availability of PH late at night, and if I was a late night punter there is no way I would join a queue of pi**ed up kids.

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IDFIMH

central closing killed Stamford those that want to go partying head to Peterborough where there are still proper night clubs

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