Taxi Driver Online

'It is killing us', say taxi drivers in Neath Port Talbot making as little as £2.40 an hour

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wale ... i-15882766

They haven't had a pay rise in 8 years and some are considering selling their vehicles, but the council has said it is considering a fare increase


Pictured: (L-R) Nigel Jones, who is the temporary vice-chairman of the Neath Port Talbot Taxi Association, with taxi drivers Derwyn Davies, Mike Loft and Aliga Sarjlijla (Image: Jonathan Myers/Wales Online)

Taxi drivers in Neath Port Talbot have claimed they are having to survive on as little as £2.40 an hour and haven't had a pay rise in eight years.

Cabbies in the area said some days it wasn't worth them working, with some considering selling their taxis.

Neath Port Talbot Council said it was currently considering a proposal for an increase to the maximum hackney carriage fare.

However, it also said that a majority of taxi drivers themselves had voted against a fare increase in 2017.

Taxi driver Jeff Callaghan thinks one is needed. He said this was their eighth year without a pay rise.

"It is killing us - I have sat in this taxi for an hour and I may only make £2.40," he said.

"I started at about 9.30am and I have only made £15 or £16 [by 1pm].

"That is not including fuel and other costs - I would say I have have made about £10 so far.

"I would rather sit in the house than working when it is like this."


Image: Jonathan Myers/Wales Online

Mr Callaghan, who has worked as a taxi driver for 15 years, said it was very quiet at the moment and that, some days, it wasn't worth working as he was spending £15 a day on fuel.

"The council need to do something because it is crippling at the moment," he continued. "I think most of us are struggling at the moment - it is mainly bad days at the moment.

"The last year and a half has been bad.

"I do not want to come out to work because it isn't worth it - if I could, I would sell the taxi."

Speaking from the taxi rank by Port Talbot bus station, taxi driver Derwyn Davies said they have only had one pay rise since he started working as a taxi driver eight or nine years ago.

"Petrol, fuel, insurance... everything is going up every year but our money doesn't go up," he continued. "To try to make a living, you have to work longer hours. You have to spend your day here."

Mr Davies, from Taibach, said he often worked up to 12 hour shifts and called the situation ridiculous, adding that he thought the fares should start at £3. From 8.30am to 1pm, he said he had made £24.

Nigel Jones, temporary vice-chairman of Neath Port Talbot taxi association, said work wasn't as good as it used to be.

Mr Jones - who has had a taxi for 10 years - said they were classed as public transport and that bus fares, for example, went up in price regularly.

He claimed that other areas had seen a fare increase but they hadn't, which he found insulting.

"Our standards of living have dropped dramatically," he continued. "I don't know when it was the last time I went abroad.

"It has affected our lives.

"As they say, you are only earning when your wheels are turning so, if we have got a £2.40 fare, we are not earning anything when you keep in mind fuel and wear and tear."


Image: Jonathan Myers/Wales Online

Aliga Sarjlijla, who has worked as a taxi driver for 23 years, said he felt the council had lost touch with people.

"They are not here, they don't see what is going on," he continued. "I will give them [the council] my car and I will pay for the fuel for the week.

"Let's see what they can do - if they can make a satisfactory living, then I will lower my prices."

Mike Loft, who has worked as a taxi driver since 2006, said they were classed as self-employed and didn't get holiday pay or sick pay.

"There are too many taxis - they are licensing everyone," he continued.

An anonymous letter sent to WalesOnline, signed by a "very disgruntled taxi driver", accused Neath Port Talbot Council of treating taxi drivers with contempt.

It stated: "We have been trying to get a fair increase on our tariff for nearly two years. The last rise was for 10p - that was in May 2011. I ask if you would work for £2.40 per hour because that is what we have to do very often.

"The council's answer is, if you don't like it, you don't have to do the job."


Image: Jonathan Myers/Wales Online

According to council documents, tariffs are £2.40 for the first 7/10 mile, with each subsequent 1/10 of a mile 20p.

It said the minimum charge for hiring was £2.40 for first tariffs, and £3 for second tariffs, which applied between 11pm and 7am as well as on Sundays and bank holidays.

A council spokesman said: "The council considered a request from the Port Talbot Proprietors Association for an increase to the maximum hackney carriage fare in September, 2017.

"This was the first such request for an increase since the council previously set the maximum hackney carriage fare in May, 2011.

"The council carried out a consultation exercise with the hackney carriage trade and despite the council in principle supporting an increase, 65% of respondents were opposed to any increase at that time; the request was therefore refused."

The spokesman said they had continued to engage with the various associations and unions, and as a result a number of additional proposals for an increase to the maximum hackney carriage fare had now been received.

"The council is currently considering these proposals in accordance with the statutory process," the spokesman added.

Image: Jonathan Myers/Wales Online

At least they must have plenty of rank space, if that's the normal distance they leave between cars

And also good to see the bilingual 'TACSIS and TAXIS' markings on the road, just in case anyone gets confused

Judging by the first photo they are not going short of food !!

I personally think it is about time taxi tariffs were set regionally using tried and tested formulas and not by councils maybe then fares might be a little more realistic

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

It's the way it's going I'm afraid, councils dishing plates out like street party invitations and cross boarder issues will only lead to one thing and that's a race to the bottom.

Yes, and I always take these things with a pinch of salt - I mean, I don't doubt it's hard at this time of the year, and seems worse than usual this year and it's exceptionally good weather etc, but they'll always quote the worse possible figures:



Seems a strange time to start a taxi shift - just finished the school run?



If he's spending £15 on fuel the he must be taking £100 or thereabouts? Unless he lives a long way from Port Talbot



Yes, stick fares up 20%, then they can earn £2.88 per hour instead of £2.40

Taxi fares in Neath Port Talbot could rise under new proposals

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/loca ... t-15993095

Recently a number of taxi drivers called for an increase saying the current fares were “crippling”, with some saying they were having to survive on as little as £2.40 an hour

Taxi fares for hackney carriages in Neath Port Talbot could rise under new proposals being considered.

The current table of fares, fixed by Neath Port Talbot Council, has not changed since May 2011.

Recently a number of taxi drivers called for an increase saying the current fares were “crippling”, with some saying they were having to survive on as little as £2.40 an hour.

On Monday, March 11, the local authority approved plans for a consultation with taxi drivers on a proposal to increase the maximum hackney carriage fare.

Speaking at the registration and licensing committee the council’s licensing manager Neil Chapple said: “The last time we looked at this we went right the way through the process and then 60% of taxi drivers didn’t want an increase, that was in September 2017.

“We have had another request in now.

“Obtaining approval from councillors today, we will carry out a short consultation exercise with taxi drivers before taking it to cabinet for final approval and a statutory notice period.”

Officers told councillors that the price of petrol and diesel had fallen by around 10% since 2011 but insurance costs had increased significantly – up 60%.

And while the licence fee costs had not changed since 2011 inflation had risen by 15%.

Mr Chapple said: “All that points to that there probably should be an increase of some sort but what level of increase is the important question.

“Some of the associations want a lot more than the others want – my proposal looks at an average increase of between 8-9% on tariff one with an average increase of between 7-8% on tariff two.”

It means that tariff one fares would be £2.60 for the first 7/10 mile with each subsequent 1/10 of a mile 22p rather than £2.40 and 20p respectively.

And for tariff two, fares would be £3.20 for the first 6/10 mile with each subsequent 1/10 of a mile 25p rather than £3 and 23p respectively.

The second tariff applies to journeys commenced between 11pm and 7am on any day, on Sundays and Bank Holidays, and from 6pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

The proposed increases sit roughly between those put forward by the Port Talbot Proprietors Association, the Port Talbot Drivers Association and the RMT Union.

Committee chairman Suzanne Paddison said a meeting about fare increases between the council and various unions representing taxi drivers had been confusing.

She said: “There was such a dichotomy present and I couldn’t fully understand why.

“I just assumed that as there had been no rise since 2011 most people would expect to have some sort of rise.

“But they couldn’t seem to come to any agreement at that meeting.

“The issue seems to be that some drivers are fearful of pricing themselves out of business.”

Councillors voted in favour of carrying out a consultation with taxi drivers on proposals put forward by the council’s licensing manager.

maths not your strong point is it Stuart

if fares went up 20 percent their fuel, Insurance, council fees, garage bills etc wouldn't so they would average a much higher amount i.e. a 20 percent increase in fares might equate to a 40 to 50 percent increase in average hourly takings or more

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

Yes, good point, but doubt if a 20% increase in fares would equate to 40/50% increase in profit (which I assume is what you mean by 'takings').

20% on his fares would be £3 or a wee bit more, so his profit would increase from £10 to £13, so about 30% profit increase from 20% on fares. Of course, the precise figure will all depend on your profit margin, but suspect that for most drivers 40/50% would be a tad optimistic

But you're right in general terms when, for example, people say that they're earning 50% more on a festive tariff. It's a lot more than that, at least if by 'earnings' you mean profit.

But you forget that fuel, insurance etc. has already gone up by 2 or 3% EVERY year !
This is the first rise in 8 years, overall the increase in costs (3% for that 10% for this etc.) is probably more than 20%.
And don't forget a 10% rise on a £2500 insurance policy is more than a 20% rise on a £2.40 fare ! - 500 fares just to cover the insurance increase.

My previous post only relates to increases in 'taxi' expenses, should also mention that ;

Energy bills are due to rise by an average of £120 this year,
Sky have increased charges by £2 a month,
The TV licence is going up,
My ISP is increasing charges in April,
Mobile phone companies are putting their rates up (2.5% ? ) in April,
My council tax has gone up by £8 a month this year,
My water bill is increasing,

Plus a rise in just about every other outgoing.

So a rise in fares is immediately swallowed up by a rise in everything else - the net result is at the end of the year I actually have LESS than the previous year.
Compared to 10 years ago, I may be earning more, but I'm also spending more so my profit remains the same. In other words I'm no better off than ten years ago - in real terms worse off as having £100 a week left over now is worth less than the £100 a week 10 years ago !