Taxi Driver Online

Doesn't seem that long ago since the Aberdeen press portrayed the same fare proposal as quite different between their morning and evening papers. Same here again, this time an office boss saying it's overdue, a union rep saying otherwise.


Aberdeen trades union representative says ‘don’t hit hard pressed public with more taxi fare rises’

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/ne ... are-rises/

A north-east taxi union boss has said he doesn’t believe Aberdeen drivers would back another fare hike.

Plans have emerged which, if approved, would mean passengers facing a 7% increase in charges, just months after a 5% increase was introduced.

That was the first fare increase in seven years, but together they would represent a jump of 12% in two years.

Papers presented to next Tuesday’s licencing committee suggest the fresh increase be implemented from next January.

It is one of two options to be presented to councillors amidst concerns driver are facing increasing costs.

The other option is that fares are not raised.

Once an option is chosen, consultation will then begin with city drivers and operators.

Using the special formula to calculate cost changes for drivers, a report to councillors said that city drivers are now paying around 21% more to work in the trade compared with last year.

Based on a rise in inflation, fuel, servicing and replacement parts, the council calculates it now costs £4,633 to keep a taxi on the road in 2019, against £3,810 in 2018.

Currently passengers are charged £2.40 for the first 950 yards and then 20p for every additional 180.5 yards.

Under the new pricing structure, this would be changed to £2.60 for the first 940 yards, with 20p then charged for every 160 yards travelled.

The city’s taxi trade has faced numerous challenges in recent years, notably the downturn in the oil and gas industry, which has led to a fall in passengers.

But Peter Campbell, a driver for 18 years and the shop steward for Aberdeen taxi drivers in the Unite Union, said that despite the difficulties he didn’t think city cabbies would back the change.

He said: “It might sound strange, and I would have to speak to all the members properly, but my personal opinion is that most drivers would want to keep the status quo.

“I think we recognise that things have been tough in the city and don’t think the public would accept paying more.

“There is a perception already, wrongly when you look at other cities, that the fares are high here anyway.

“In a way recently it has been a perfect storm. There are fewer passengers but also more drivers, with some guys getting redundancy packages from offshore jobs and joining the trade.”

The report to council adds that any decision made following the consultation can be appealed.


Aberdeen taxi boss says plan for 7% fares rise ‘overdue’

https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/new ... e-overdue/

An Aberdeen taxi boss has welcomed proposals to increase fares by 7% from next year.


Image: Aberdeen Evening Express

Aberdeen City Council’s licensing committee will discuss the potential hike at a meeting next week.

Councillors have two options to consider which include confirming the increase or keeping the current rates the same.

If any changes are approved they would be introduced at the end of January.

Russell McLeod from Rainbow City Taxis is backing the price increase and said it was “overdue” for cab drivers in Aberdeen.

He said the plans would help offset the rising costs of running a vehicle in recent years.

Mr McLeod said any increase would have a “short-term impact” and that drivers in the city have been “patient” while waiting for a change.

He said: “It is the council who have come up with this. It is overdue and the taxi drivers have been patient.

“I think like everything it may have a short-term impact, but the reality is that we have bills to pay.

“The drivers have been patient with the city economy and we have to recoup what we are not earning anymore.”

As it stands, taxi passengers are charged £2.40 for the first 950 yards and then 20p for every additional 180.5 yards.

Under the new pricing structure, this would be changed to £2.60 for the first 940 yards, with 20p then charged for every 160 yards travelled.

Members of the licensing committee will be asked to back one of the two options next Tuesday with a consultation then held with taxi drivers and operators.

A report to councillors said: “At the meeting of the Taxi and Private Hire Car Consultation Group, the trade representatives provided an initial view on both options.

“Although the trade appreciated it was never a good time, in relation to the public, to ask for an increase in the tariff, they were generally happy with the two options proposed.

“Once the committee has undertaken the consultation with the representatives of taxi operators in their area, reviewed the scales and agreed on proposed new scales, they require to carry out a formal public consultation on the proposals.

“Steps will also be taken to consult with current licence holders.”

Part of the reason for the proposed hike is the result of new information being used to calculate prices.

Previously the council used information provided by the AA to work out costs but these figures have not been revised since 2014.

The report added: “The significant increase in costs are due to the AA source not being updated since 2014.

“Therefore, this has had the effect that five years of small increments are now being reflected in this fare review.”

21% rise in running costs sounds a lot over one year, but the second article states that the formula hasn't been updated since 2014 because the AA figures have been discontinued (or something like that), so first article a bit misleading here.

On the other hand, second article doesn't state that a rise was implemented just a few months ago, so again this doesn't show the full picture

Or to put it another way, a 12% increase over seven years!

That did cause a problem down here, but it is quite easily resolved by using the Bank of England inflation calculator.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetar ... calculator

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IDFIMH

Indeed, but it's not the most sensible way of increasing fares.

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IDFIMH

Better than nothing, I suppose.

But while the AA's price index wasn't in my opinion the most relevant for the trade, the Bank of England's will be even less specific, and therefore potentially coming up with the wrong figures. For example, no way would it include specialist items like licensing fees and taxi insurance, which could be rocketing while the Bank of England's inflation figures could be very low, largely static or even going down

What's really needed is a cab trade cost index, which would include costs specific to the trade, such as fuel, repairs and maintenance, cab insurance and licensing fees.

Of course, even if a national index figure was calculated, it could potentially be very misleading across different areas.

For example, if one area required all-electric cars and another doesn't, then a price index assuming largely electric vehicles would be misleading in an area that still allowed 12-year-old diesels, say.

Here's an easy one. Taxi fares increase at the same rate as council tax each year

Not so sure about that - we had a council tax freeze over the whole of Scotland for about eight years

Talking of all-over freezes, the car roof was covered in ice this morning, but it's thawing as I type

Winter's almost here, though

But the above are always in addition to the cost index, so the BoE calculator can still be used.

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IDFIMH

Problem with both insurance and fees is the huge fluctuation between areas.

In some northern cities insurance is £5,000 plus, and fees can be anything from under £100 to £400 plus.

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IDFIMH

Don't quite get your point, but would really need to know your exact process before saying anything more

But the Aberdeen piece was about using the AA figures as the basis for cab trade *costs*. I think that must have been the old 'costs of motoring' stats (or similar) that the AA used to produce.

My point was simply that as regards cab trade costs the AA figures were just a crude approximation (they're really about private motorists and/or company car drivers).

And the BofE figures are more general still - and might include things like the price of bananas or razor blades, for example - and my point was basically that they're even less relevant than the AA figures for working out cab trade costs, which are then used to calculate fares.

So my point was basically that the BofE figures are even less relevant to the cab trade than the AA ones.

And that ideally specific cab trade cost figures would be the most useful for calculating fares.

But still not ideal, as your next post rightly said, because things like cab insurance and licensing fees can vary wildly between areas.

Of course, there's not so much variation as regards fuel across the country, and we pay the same as private motorists, so to that degree the AA's fuel figures would have been a good indicator.

But that in turn shows where the BofE figures might not be that relevant - fuel prices might be rocketing, but that might not really be reflected in the BofE figures.

now that would drive the punters away

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

The AA numbers didn't include fees, so that wont effect matters as fees were always an addition to the fare formula.

The AA numbers did include normal insurance costs, so an estimate was/is always needed to make the fare formula fair. Down here we add £1,000-1,500 extra to cover the difference.

So taking the above into account, we use the AA numbers, adjusted by the BoE calculator, then add fees and the £1,000-£1,500 insurance surcharge.

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IDFIMH

But the alternative is getting into the fine minutia of not just your costs, or my costs, but everyone involved in the trade's costs.

And that's not doable, and even if it was I doubt it would be a million miles away from the AA numbers. If of course we adjust for inflation and add fees and the extra insurance costs.

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IDFIMH

If they just stuck to 2-3% each year the punters wouldn't care, they just don't want to see 10-15% increases, which is exactly what you get if you wait years between increases.