Taxi Driver Online

Nothing much to see here in normal circumstances, but you'd think this was taking place in a time warp

No mention at all of you-know-what.

Of course, all this might just be going through the motions, and nothing much will actually happen


Taxi fares in Malvern could rise for the first time in six years

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/18 ... six-years/

TAXI fares could increase in Malvern for the first time in six years following a call by drivers to raise prices.

Malvern Hills District Council’s executive committee rejected a call by the town’s taxi drivers to put up prices by ten per cent to £4.40 for a one-mile journey last September but agreed to meet to find a compromise.

Councillors meet again next week (May 6) to decide whether to keep fares the same or allow an increase.

Taxi drivers argued the increase is needed because of the rise in the living wage, inflation and council tax as well as rises in bus and train tickets.

The three options put forward include keeping prices the same, keeping the first mile the same and charging more for every extra mile or increasing the cost of the first mile by an extra 10p and also charging more for every extra mile.

If councillors decide to increase fares, the base fare could rise from £4 to £4.10 with each extra mile also rising by 10p from £2.50 to £2.60.

The 2.5 per cent increase would be well below the ten percent rise the town’s drivers formally requested last year.

Alistair Smith, trade representative for hackney carriages and private hire taxis in Malvern, said the living wage had risen by 30 per cent since the last fare increase and fares would need to rise by around 15 per cent to cover the cost.

Despite not increasing fares for six years, Malvern already has the most expensive two-mile journey in the county at £6.40.

The national average fare for a two-mile journey is £5.98 according to monthly figures published by Private Hire and Taxi Monthly.

The magazine placed Malvern as having the 90th most expensive fare in a table of 358 councils.

Only a basic fare would increase under the proposal with late-night, Bank Holiday, Christmas and New Year prices staying the same.

If councillors agree to the fare increase, the proposals would go to public consultation and be accepted as long as no objections were raised by the council.

Malvern Hills District Council’s executive committee meets next Wednesday (May 6) to discuss the proposal.

I suppose once in the system it's hard to get it out of the system, other than hearing the application and saying no.

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IDFIMH

Taxi fares in Malvern will stay the same after councillors rejected a plea by drivers to increase prices

TAXI fares will not be rising in Malvern despite a call by drivers after councillors agreed to free prizes for at least another year.

Malvern Hills District Council’s executive committee rejected a call by the town’s taxi drivers to put up prices saying the cost of using a taxi was already expensive and fuel prices had dropped.

Councillors rejected a call by by the town’s taxi drivers to put up prices by ten per cent to £4.40 for a one-mile journey last September but agreed to meet to find a compromise.

The three options put forward include keeping prices the same, keeping the first mile the same and charging more for every extra mile or increasing the cost of the first mile by an extra 10p and also charging more for every extra mile.

If councillors had decided to increase fares, the base fare would have risen from £4 to £4.10 with each extra mile also rising by 10p from £2.50 to £2.60.

Cllr Tom Wells, the council’s portfolio holder for community services, said: “We have amongst the highest fares in Worcestershire currently and at the same time the average income in Malvern Hills is amongst the lowest in the West Midlands.

“Also we will all be aware of the recent cut in fuel prices which will help the taxi industry at this time. I’m minded not to go to for an increase having considered all the information,” he told the executive committee at a meeting on Wednesday (May 6).

Taxi drivers argued the increase is needed because of the rise in the living wage, inflation and council tax as well as rises in bus and train tickets.

Alistair Smith, trade representative for hackney carriages and private hire taxis in Malvern, said the living wage had risen by 30 per cent since the last fare increase and fares would need to rise by around 15 per cent to cover the cost.

Despite not increasing fares for six years, Malvern already has the most expensive two-mile journey in the county at £6.40.

The national average fare for a two-mile journey is £5.98 according to monthly figures published by Private Hire and Taxi Monthly. The magazine placed Malvern as having the 90th most expensive fare in a table of 358 councils.

Despite rejecting an increase, the cost of hiring a taxi in Malvern is decided yearly and will be back before councillors later in the year.

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IDFIMH

'Freeze prices', presumably

Wonder if that was a deliberate error, or some sort of Freudian slip by the journalist - ie inadavertently displaying his true feelings?

I mean, councillors agreeing to 'free prizes', maybe for themselves?

Who'd have thought that?

Still no mention of you-know-what, though