Taxi Driver Online

Turkeys voting for Xmas, or just plain f******* stupid? You decide.

Could Harrogate taxi fares be reduced?

https://www.yourharrogate.co.uk/local-n ... e-reduced/

Councillors are set to consider changing the maximum charges for taking a taxi in North Yorkshire to ensure they are fair to customers and drivers.

North Yorkshire Council sets the limit for taxi fares and aims to strike a balance between setting a price that is reasonable to the public and the trade.

Fares are reviewed regularly to ensure drivers are fairly rewarded for their work, and that members of the public are not deterred from using taxis in their area.

Older people often rely on taxis to attend doctors and hospital appointments, and many people with disabilities use them to travel to school. Therefore, the impact of fares needs to be carefully considered.

The council’s executive members will be asked to consider whether to propose amended tariffs at a meeting on Tuesday (16th September).

Proposed new tariffs would then be consulted upon before a final decision is made.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for licensing, Cllr Richard Foster, said:

“When setting the maximum fares for taxis, we must be mindful of setting a price that is acceptable to the customer as well as the trade.

“If we set fares too high, customers may choose not to use them or use alternative providers. Similarly, if they are too low then the trade cannot afford to make a living and may leave the profession.

“Of course, the fares are also the maximum a driver can charge, and they can charge a lower fare should they wish to do so.”

A consultation took place for six weeks this summer and about 300 people responded.

When asked about the current maximum fare for a three-mile journey during the day, 97 per cent of residents, visitors or businesses, and 70 per cent of the trade felt that fares were currently much too high, somewhat high or about right.

Similarly, residents, visitors or businesses believed the same with the nighttime tariff (96 per cent) and the festive period tariff (92 per cent), with 75 per cent of the trade on both counts.

However, the council acknowledges that drivers should be compensated for providing this service, with many working unsociable hours, especially over the festive period.

There were also concerns that the cost of running a taxi has increased significantly over the years, as has the cost of living.

The fares are based on distance and waiting time, with an initial flag fall charge followed by charges per distance and per minute of waiting time.

They are also not applicable to private hire vehicles, meaning those vehicles booked in advance, as these are set by the operator rather than the licensing authority.

Passengers are urged to agree the fare before travelling.

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IDFIMH

no sh*t sherlock

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Is it just me, or is there absolutely nothing in the article to support the headline?

Apart from the headline it just reads like a standard tariff-review article

(I've kind of lost track of the amalgamation stuff, but it may be related to that and the difficulty of unifying tariff structures across the new council area. But can't see anything at all in the piece to support that...)

And had a look at another source to see if there was any clarification, but it just looks like the same article rehashed.

And they did use a typically odd photo as illustration, so it's maybe the usual haven't-a-clue sort of thing

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IDFIMH

Agree it is an odd photo.
North Yorkshire must have its own LAW for licensing of vehicles. Wished I could have a 3 year vehicle license.
Captain Cab this photo should have been added to the response if it had been available.

Sussex, I see what you're getting at, but then again I don't think that kind of thing is that unusual in fare review stuff, and I think the headline is just misrepresenting the whole thing, and that in reality the likelihood of any fare reduction is effectively nil

The Harrogate Advertiser and the Northern Echo also carry what's effectively the same article, but with different headlines as compared to the one at the top of this thread:


'Tricky balancing act' as North Yorkshire Council faces key decision on taxi fares across county

https://www.harrogateadvertiser.co.uk/n ... ty-5308218


Maximum taxi fares to be reviewed by North Yorkshire Council

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/ ... e-council/


I suspect that despite both the articles containing the same stats as the one at the top, if you'd read either of those two first then I wouldn't be surprised if you came to a very different conclusion

And, while articles of this type are often shared across several outlets (or are just rehashed press releases, or whatever) the headline will probably be composed by a sub-editor, and to that extent may portray things very differently. And, indeed, it's a bit like the 'framing' thing I often bang on about with regard to spotchecks and the like - the headline used may focus on one particular aspect to sensationalise it, and will provide a very different impression to the reader as compared to the original news release, or whatever.

So to that extent I'd guess the sub-editor who wrote the headline at the top of the thread maybe doesn't really know how these things work, and thus has skewed the whole thing in terms of portrayal...

On the other hand, the consultation stuff may be related to the amalgamation of fare levels, hence maybe more respondents than usual saying fares are too high, but that still doesn't necessarily equate to any likelihood of a fare reduction, but who knows. Another thing, too, is that the 70% figure isn't elaborated on, thus it's possible that 68% of the trade could think that fares are 'about right'

Heathcote, not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but obviously the registration number indicates that the plate in the photo is a dummy...

But we can have three-year plates in Scotland, so that's another Scottish benefit that could have been submitted to the inquiry

Not to mention allowing plates to remain in force until the council has gotten round to deciding a renewal application, so drivers wouldn't be left unlicensed because councils can't get their act together

One world cup qualifying win and get you

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin