Taxi Driver Online

This is a couple of weeks old now, and is quite interesting in some regards, but drones on a bit with the letter from Unite - could spend another couple of weeks going through all that. But quite normal as regards fare stuff from the Wirral, as I recall it...

The photo is quite interesting, though, and I disappeared down a wee rabbit hole trying to work it all out

(It's from Barrow-in-Furness, as can be discerned from the office front in the photo.

And, as the £1.50 in the window and the car's registration number suggest, it's almost a decade old now...but assuming that's the price you could get a car for at all, for even the shortest distance, you'd guess it was a lot older than a decade )

But, I mean, it's quite normal to have stock/generic photos illustrating stuff like this, but this is certainly one of the stranger ones, particularly when even the average reader will realise it's not local

(And the importance of using capital letters correctly is nicely demonstrated towards the end of the piece. The reference to 'satellite' is presumably Argyle Satellite, a private hire platform

I suspect many locals would guess that, but potentially confusing for those who don't know the local trade )


Wirral's Hackney carriage day rates could be set for rise

https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/2519 ... -set-rise/


Image: Wirral Globe

HACKNEY carriage day rates could see a rise as a union representing taxi drivers issues a warning to Wirral Council ahead of a vote.

Unite the Union has put forward a proposal that would see some fares increase in the borough after the local authority kept rates the same in 2024. Rates for taxis during the day would see an increase with people paying £3 more for a ten-mile trip.

Night rates would stay largely the same with a slight increase for trips that are between three and four miles long. This is the same for bank holiday rates.

Christmas and New Years rates would also see an increase with costs going up by £1.20 for a one mile trip. A new charge for trips more than four miles beyond Wirral’s borders is also being brought in starting at £7.70 for one mile while a £5 Liverpool drop off charge is scrapped.

Other charges include 30p for every minute left waiting, £1 for each animal unless it is an assistance dog, £5 for bulky items, and £35 fouling charge. If councillors decide to approve the changes put forward by Unite, it will go out for public consultation.

For a ten mile trip, the proposals fees in Wirral are generally less expensive than Liverpool or St Helens. However they are generally more expensive than Sefton, Knowsley, and Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The proposed rates will all be considered at a Regulatory and General Purposes committee on June 4. In a letter published by the council ahead of the meeting, Unite the Union criticised the council for making a decision over taxi fares last year with no consultation with drivers.

Some drivers felt the decision to keep day rates the same was an effective pay cut. Last year, drivers who spoke to the LDRS said they were worried about costs and one criticised the council as out of touch.

According to the union, Wirral has around 140 hackney carriage drivers with around 85% of those working only during the day. Unite also claimed 20mph speed limits had an impact on earnings as fewer fares could be completed in a shift.

The union said the council’s decision last year appeared to ignore their concerns, adding: “We feel this is a slap in the face to the taxi trade.” The union questioned whether there was any point in calling a branch meeting to discuss the issues for the council to then go against this due to objections arguing the previous fares were “totally unworkable.”

The union said: “This is not democracy in any sense of the word. This has angered the drivers. Many are now talking about leaving the trade and driving private hire vehicles as the operating costs are considerably lower and there are no highly expensive replacement vehicles to worry about.

“Moreover, it is a simple process to get a Wolverhampton badge and plate the same week and it is all much cheaper than Wirral. However, I feel there is an opportunity to put this right and hopefully grow the hackney fleet to a healthy level.”

In the letter, the union also raised other issues claiming councillors lacked knowledge of the trade and called on the council to recognise Unite the Union as the representatives for hackney drivers. The union said any proposal put forward by them had to have majority support amongst their members.

The Unite representative said: “There have been objectors to my knowledge to every fare increase for the last 38years. However drivers and it generally is drivers who make objections should be requested to attend the meeting and explain through factual evidence why the objection should stand. Just having an opinion that is not based on fact should be dismissed.

“I have witnessed satellite drivers driving hackney carriages who operate without the meter, object to fare increases but then run on a higher rate. We feel drivers working private hire systems operating on different tariffs should not be taken seriously when making an objection.

“What appears to be absent from weighing up the value and credibility of any objection are the individual objectors’ financial circumstances. For example, is the objection coming from a driver who has an occupational pension or an additional source of income perhaps additional employment and the cab is just extra income to pay for holidays etc.

“Compare that against a driver who has a mortgage, cab payments and mouths to feed and desperately needs an increase to survive. This needs serious consideration.”

At the same meeting, councillors are also expected to review whether to bring in a reduced registration fee for temporary tattoo artists and cosmetic piercings. A review of private hire operator conditions is also taking place.

Can't be bothered wading through all that stuff from last time round, but the press reports about the £5 Liverpool drop charge were, er, confusing, and the question of the legality was also unaddressed.

But I was thinking now that the £5 Liverpool drop charge had been, er, dropped because it was illegal.

But now they've introduced a cross-border tariff as well, which would presumably be similarly illegal

As I recall it, the Liverpool tariff card also has a tariff for a length of trip that must be well beyond the city council boundaries

Nothing new here that hasn't been discussed before, and this is just the rubber-stamping of the stuff above, by the looks of it.

But another example of a delay caused by bureaucracy, as highlighted


Black cab fares set to rise in area as 'trade is dying'

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... e-32131093

Unite criticised the council for not consulting drivers last year when no taxi fare rises were implemented

People can expect to have to pay more to get around in black cabs on the Wirral after councillors approved a rise to day rates.

Unite the Union put forward a proposal that would see some fares increase in the borough after the local authority kept rates the same in 2024. After approval by councillors on July 24, rates for taxis during the day are set to see an increase with people paying £3 more for a ten-mile trip.

Night rates would stay largely the same with a slight increase for trips that are between three and four miles long. This is the same for bank holiday rates.

Christmas and New Year rates would also see an increase with costs going up by £1.20 for a one mile trip. A new charge for trips more than four miles beyond Wirral’s borders is also being brought in, starting at £7.70 for one mile while a £5 Liverpool drop off charge is scrapped.

Other charges include 30p for every minute left waiting, £1 for each animal unless it is an assistance dog, £5 for bulky items, and £35 fouling charge. After councillors approved Unite’s proposal, it will now go out for public feedback.

For a ten-mile trip, the proposal fees in Wirral are generally less expensive than Liverpool or St Helens. However, they are generally more expensive than Sefton, Knowsley, and Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The fares were originally supposed to be considered in June. However as the political makeup of the regulatory and general purposes committee was only decided earlier this week, that meeting was postponed.

In a letter published by the council ahead of the meeting, Unite criticised the council for making a decision over taxi fares last year with no consultation with drivers. They called it “a slap in the face to the taxi trade.”

Last year, drivers who spoke to the ECHO said they were worried about costs and one criticised the council as out of touch. Some drivers felt the decision to keep day rates the same was an effective pay cut.

At the meeting, Gary Gregory, a representative for the union, said they were bringing forward their original request which had been thrown out by councillors arguing it would help support the trade. To councillors, he also said the introduction of 20mph speed limits had also had an impact on trade and raised the issue of taxi ranks being lost.

He said: “The taxi trade on the Wirral is dying. In ten years time, there will be no one [...] there’s no new blood coming in. They don’t want to do it. No one wants to invest in the black cab trade because it’s hard to make a living.”

Well if the trade 'dying' means a lack of new drivers, then bring it on here in NE Fife

But I think what he means is lack of work due to Delta, and now Uber, as someone in the comments is pointing out.

And, more generally, the comments simply saying that they're all using Uber because of high HC prices, boundary charges, drivers' attitude etc

So, aye, the new fare rises will stop the trade dying, innit?

to be fair probably as well to drop the charge because from a business standpoint I bet the PH barons and Uber were rubbing their hands with glee.

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

So the local trade has to wait whilst councillors play musical chairs.

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IDFIMH

Struggle to argue with that.

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IDFIMH