Taxi Driver Online

Obviously several unusual things going on here despite the shortage of detail, so no real need to comment on the case per se.

But I wonder how the fare came to be £99.50, precisely?

It was presumably metered - I mean, who would quote £99.50 for a run?

And my other immediate thought was, assuming a fare did clock £99.50, how many would wait for the 50p change?


Man accused of dodging £99 taxi fare fails to appear in court

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/202 ... -in-court/

A man accused of making off without paying his £99.50 taxi bill for a trip across Mid Wales has failed to appear in court.

Ryan Lee Polverino was expected to attend Llandrindod Wells Magistrates Court on Tuesday (June 3) to answer the charge of making off without payment.

The 18-year-old, of Trefonen Avenue, is accused of failing to pay the £99.50 taxi fee to Gary’s Cabs’ taxi service for a trip from Aberystwyth to Llandrindod Wells on July 25 last year.

But he did not appear at court.

Magistrates issued a warrant without bail for his arrest.

According to Google it's around 44 miles, and as the fare itself would suggest, presumably across border, but I can't be bothered looking it up.

Of course, assuming it was an HC they might have agreed to use the meter, hence the £99.50.

It certainly approximates to what our Fife meters would clock for a run of that length, on T1 at least

Which (I think) means he'll be held in the slammer until appearing in court?

Which maybe suggests there's more to this guy than a common or garden runner? Or is 'warrant without bale' standard for this sort of thing?

But, of course, as per usual the fact that this was prosecuted in the first place maybe suggests he's not a first offender, or whatever

Fixed fare.

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IDFIMH

He will be held in custody until he can be produced before a court.

It's standard for all non-attenders to be issued with a warrant without bail, unless they have informed the court of a good reason beforehand.

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IDFIMH

Well that's the thing, Sussex - maybe it's different these days, and it all depends on the scenario under which the price was quoted.

But I could simply never imagine quoting anyone a fare with .50p appended, even on the shortest run, never mind something nearing £100

It sounds a bit like the 99p thing, or how filling stations always price to nine tenths of one pence (140.9p/litre) for example, which is the old psychological trick to make something seem cheaper than it is (the left-digit effect it seems to be called - people look at the first digit rather than the last).

So it may be slightly different now in the days of Uber and automated pricing, but the likes of one of our biggest firms here still uses whole numbers, and all the bigger fares are quoted to the nearest £10. And that's basically how I do it, whether on the rank, or via phone, or whatever:

https://rhtaxis-standrews.co.uk/rates/

A man accused of not paying his £99.50 taxi bill for a trip across Mid Wales has failed to appear in court

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/202 ... taxi-bill/

A man accused of making off without paying his £99.50 taxi bill for a trip across Mid Wales – has failed to appear in court.

Ryan Lee Polverino was expected to attend Llandrindod Wells Magistrates Court on Tuesday to answer the charge of making off without payment.

The 18 year-old of Trefonen Avenue is accused of failing to pay the £99.50 taxi fee to Gary’s Cabs’ taxi service for a trip from Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth to Llandrindod Wells on July 25 2024 at Trefonen Way.

But he did not appear at court.

Prosecuting, Ms Skye Connors said the matter was listed in court three weeks ago but the postal charge requisition notice sent to Polverino was returned to the police.

She said the police now know where he lives and a new notice has been sent to him.

Magistrates issued a warrant without bail for his arrest.

That solves the problem.

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IDFIMH

they've got to catch him first

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