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PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 8:56 pm 
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Being a taxi driver is set to become more expensive in one part of Merseyside

Being a taxi driver has many perks including being your own boss and fitting work around your schedule.

However, for those wanting to become a taxi driver in the Sefton area the cost of being your own boss is going to increase.

On Sefton Council’s website a report suggests a “much larger percentage increase in driver licence fees” with the annual cost rising from £24 to £30.

If the proposals are approved, in next week's license and regulatory committee meeting, taxi drivers will also have to pay to make a new application.

The report states this will reduce the current levels of "no shows" for appointments and also recover the costs from "applicants who for whatever the reason do not successfully complete the application process.”

This means new taxi drivers will have to pay £30 plus a £15 application fee if the proposals are set to be approved - new drivers currently pay £24 in Sefton.

For vehicle licences, the report suggests that there is an increase for an annual licence from £139 to £145 and an increase for ancillary fees such as transfers and variations which will rise from £19.50 to £25.

The council report suggests the increase in fees is necessary otherwise there will be a shortfall in income and expand the enforcement team to deal with an increase in licensed vehicles.

However, the local authority does note that Sefton has the lowest fees in the region at present.

The increase in fees was set to go ahead on November 4, however the council received two objections received during the statutory consultation period from trade representatives, which therefore needed to be considered.

The report states the objections have now been considered and "the proposal to raise fees has been adjusted to address the relevant matters raised by objectors."

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2019 8:57 pm 
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Quote:
On Sefton Council’s website a report suggests a “much larger percentage increase in driver licence fees” with the annual cost rising from £24 to £30.

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 8:19 pm 
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Quote:
Being a taxi driver has many perks including being your own boss and fitting work around your schedule.

Have noticed a few Sefton pieces in the Echo which have sounded like this - a bit like those 'advertorials' from cab offices saying how good the job is, come and work with us etc.

But then you read the piece and it's not really about that at all, which is why I think I've generally ignored them rather than posting them on here.

But at least this one actually seems to be saying something else, but the unusual way it kicks off makes it look like it's going to be something different.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:34 pm 
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And the follow up piece partly reads like a pitch for new drivers (particularly the stuff at the end), while the piece is largely about something else. Odd.


Date when new taxi price hike comes into force announced

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... e-17440823

New taxi drivers will now have to pay a £15 application fee

An increase in taxi licensing fees is to go ahead and drivers will have to pay more to be their own boss in one part of Merseyside.

In a licensing and regulatory meeting for urgent referrals at Sefton Council on Wednesday, December 18, members of the committee agreed in the increase of taxi licensing fees.

New taxi drivers will now have to pay a £15 application fee and the annual driver licence fee will cost £30 rising from £24.

Council officer Terry Wood told members of the committee the application fee helps to cover the cost of "no shows" and new drivers who don't complete the process.

He said: "What we have identified also is when someone is a brand new applicant it does take longer for that license application to be processed rather than a renewal, so we are suggesting we should introduce an application fee.

"That will do two things - obviously it will recognise that there is extra work in setting someone up on the system and brand new license application is longer.

"But also we get a lot of cancels by appointments and a number no shows at the One Stop Shop and for whatever reason do not complete the process and for a lot of work that goes into that, so we believe the introduction of a £15 application fee will help recover some of those costs."

Members of the committee heard an increase in fees is necessary otherwise there will be a shortfall in income and expand the enforcement team to deal with an increase in licensed vehicles.

For vehicle licences, there is an increase for an annual licence from £139 to £145 and an increase for ancillary fees such as transfers and variations which will rise from £19.50 to £25.

However, the local authority does note that Sefton has the lowest fees in the region at present and Wirral and Knowsley council also have application fees.

At the meeting Cllr Pat Keith asked whether talks had taken place between the council and trade representatives and how they felt about it.

Council officer Terry Wood replied the representatives were "largely supportive of the new increases for now" however going forward discussions will need to happen between the "wider trade and how we go forward as a group and how fees should be pitched in the future."

Mr Wood added taxi trade representatives also had the opportunity to petition the meeting which happened today if they were unhappy.

The increase in fees was set to go ahead on November 4, however the council received two objections during the statutory consultation period from trade representatives, which therefore needed to be considered.

The objections were considered and talks with those who rejected the increase in fees took place and "the proposal to raise fees has been adjusted to address the relevant matters raised by objectors."

The new increase in taxi licensing fees is set to go ahead on January 2, 2020.

Who can become a taxi driver?

You need to have held your full UK driving licence for one year to become a driver.

You also need to be over the age of 21 and pass a DBS check.

As well as this, you'll need a level 2 introduction to the role of the professional taxi and private hire driver and a medical.

You’ll need to be able to provide evidence that you have a right to work in the UK.

In some places you may also need a test of geographical locations.

Would you know how to get from Bootle Golf Club to Knowsley Safari Park, for example?

How do you apply?

You'll need to contact your local authority to begin the process


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:37 pm 
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Sefton Council officer wrote:
"What we have identified also is when someone is a brand new applicant it does take longer for that license application to be processed rather than a renewal, so we are suggesting we should introduce an application fee.

Well spotted :-s

Of course, 'application fees' pretty bog standard, although I think normal practice is to charge more for new applications than renewals, as opposed to a separate 'application fee', although the end result is the same in terms of cash.

But even after the rise, driver renewals seem extraordinarily cheap at £30 per annum, while plates sound nearer to the norm at £145.

But overall fees look decidedly lop-sided towards charges for plates rather than badges.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:18 pm 
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StuartW wrote:
Sefton Council officer wrote:
"What we have identified also is when someone is a brand new applicant it does take longer for that license application to be processed rather than a renewal, so we are suggesting we should introduce an application fee.

Well spotted :-s



But even after the rise, driver renewals seem extraordinarily cheap at £30 per annum, while plates sound nearer to the norm at £145.



You are kidding the Norm is around £300 for a plate and £150 + for a 3 year badge

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:47 pm 
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edders23 wrote:
StuartW wrote:
But even after the rise, driver renewals seem extraordinarily cheap at £30 per annum, while plates sound nearer to the norm at £145.



You are kidding the Norm is around £300 for a plate and £150 + for a 3 year badge


I said *nearer* to the norm rather than representative of the norm [-(

And the figures I quoted are annual, but you're using three-year figures [-X

My point was more about the comparison between *badge and plate* fees in Sefton - difficult to make precise comparisons with elsewhere, because you can't compare Sefton with nearly 4,000 PHV plates to somewhere with a few dozen, or even a couple of hundred - economies of scale, and all that.

In fact the fees you cite arguably underline my point - you're saying the norm is for plates to cost just double the badge fees, while my point was that in Sefton plate fees are almost *five times* that for badges :shock:


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:26 pm 
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sefton £30 annual=£90 3 year is a VERY VERY VERY cheap badge the point I was making is that these don't seem normal prices to me

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 10:25 pm 
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You also need to be over the age of 21 and pass a DBS check.

](*,)

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:42 pm 
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Quote:
The objections were considered and talks with those who rejected the increase in fees took place and "the proposal to raise fees has been adjusted to address the relevant matters raised by objectors


They wanted 15% across the whole board


Rehamn - v - Wakefield Council 10/12/2019 :D :D

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 5:41 pm 
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They wanted 15% across the whole board

Across the board rises are evidence of clueless and lazy council officials.

And a 15% across the board increase is also evidence of greedy bas***d council officials.

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