Taxi Driver Online

CHICHESTER TAXI FIRM CONVINCE COUNCILLORS PLANNED PRICE HIKE WAS TOO MUCH

Starline Sussex say they are more than happy with a new council recommendation to put up their licence fees over a period of two years instead of in one hit.

Councillors have been discussing a hike in taxi licensing fees in Chichester at the General licensing committee this morning, they were due to be put them up by 37% . There hadn't been a rise in operators and private hire drivers' licence fees since 2016 but Starline Sussex Ltd feared a huge jump in costs would put drivers off working in the district, as traditionally taxi drivers pay for some of their own licenses and inevitably mean a price rise for taxi customers.
Operator Starline attended the General Licensing meeting after citing concerns.

Councillors now say

“After listening to the concerns of local representatives of the private hire trade, our General Licensing Committee members felt that the proposed increase would be too much in one year.

“As a result, they proposed and agreed that there should be an 18.5 % increase for the financial year 2024-2025 and then a further 18.5% increase for the following financial year, 2025 – 2026. The committee also asked for a financial report to be carried out towards the end of the 2024-2025 financial year in order that they can check the financial position of the council’s hackney carriage and private hire licensing service.

“The decision of the General Licensing Committee is now expected to be reported at the next meeting of Cabinet for final approval.”

The recommendation will now to go to full council.

Proposed table of taxi/PH licensing fees

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IDFIMH

Read this before realising it's just a different version of the article Sussex posted above, basically.

One or two different quotes, maybe, and some exaggeration by the operator at the end

And if I'd just glanced quickly at the photo below I'd have assumed it was the entrance to a nightclub rather than taxi office


Huge 37% hike in taxi licensing fees rejected in Chichester

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/po ... er-4539868


Image: Kate Shemilt/Sussex Express

Plans for a 37 per cent hike in taxi licensing fees from April have been rejected by Chichester District Council’s general licensing committee.

Instead, the committee recommended the increase to be spread over two years – 18.5 per cent this April and a further 18.5 per cent in April 2025.

Val Weller (Green & Local Alliance Group, Sidlesham and Selsey North) said her chin was on the floor when she read about the proposed 37 per cent increase, which she felt would be unachievable for drivers ‘if they’re expected to make a living’.

It was a view shared by the whole committee.

And a number, including Rhys Chant (Lib Dem, Chichester East), asked why the fees had not been reviewed since 2016 ‘given that the financial situation of the country has changed multiple times since then’.

They were told that, over the past few years, officers had been directed ‘not to increase fees but to support the trade’.

Henry Potter (Con, Goodwood) suggested a 20 per cent per year rise over the next five years, with reviews of the figures to be carried out more regularly.

But in the end, the committee opted for 18.5 per cent for two years – though officers did warn that they would ‘very likely still be operating the service at a deficit’.

The news was greeted with delight by Starline Sussex, which operates out of Market Road.

The company had warned that a 37 per cent increase all in one go would have ‘huge ramifications’ for passengers and drivers.

Not only would private hire companies have to consider increasing fares to cover the cost but drivers already struggling through the cost of living crisis could be priced out, leaving fewer taxis on the road.

And recruiting new drivers would prove to be ‘virtually impossible’.

Helen Bellingham, representing the company, said: “We’re delighted that councillors took our concerns seriously.”

The recommendation will go to the cabinet for final approval.

So if the 37 per cent rise would have 'huge ramifications' and make recruiting new drivers 'virtually impossible' then surely spreading it over two years won't make that much difference, yet the operator is 'delighted'?

Obviously the rises are huge in percentage terms, but I suspect the circle can be squared by assuming the operator's original comments were slightly exaggerated.

Basket case council that licenses anything that moves.

I would guess 95% of their PH work elsewhere on the Uber app.

And despite it being one of the most rural areas in the south, all hackneys have to be WAVs.

No wonder there are only 32 of them.

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IDFIMH