Taxi Driver Online

Interesting, but not much to the substantive criticism in terms of concrete evidence, but plenty of blather from the council


Herefordshire taxis accused of 'ripping off' county council

https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/2558 ... y-council/

‘UNSCRUPULOUS’ taxi firms have been accused of ‘ripping off’ Herefordshire people at a time when the county is under growing financial pressure.

Non-aligned county councillor Jim Kenyon told colleagues at a full council meeting this month: “I want to put the taxis on notice because they’ve been charging up to four times what you’d pay on the meter to get our children to school.

“They’ve had it too good for too long and it’s ripping off (the council).”

Such work is so profitable for some that “they’ll do school runs and that’s it”, meaning that residents then “can’t get taxis”, Coun Kenyon claimed.

Confirming that the council now spends an “extremely high” £7 million a year on taxis out of a school transport budget of £13 million, leader Coun Jonathan Lester replied that the council had “to react to increased demand” for such transport.

“We have a strategy to reduce costs while making sure those vulnerable children get the education they need,” he said.

“That needs detailed negotiation with individuals – you can’t just flick a switch. We don’t want a situation where that capacity dries up or is not viable.”

Following the meeting, former taxi firm owner Lyndon Gore echoed Coun Kenyon’s concerns, saying he believed some “unscrupulous” firms “charge what they want for school work”, before subcontracting the work out to other drivers at a lower rate.

“Instead of the council saying, ‘this is the distance, this is the rate we pay per mile’, they are saying, ‘give me a price’,” he claimed.

Cllr Pete Stoddart, cabinet member for finance and corporate services said: “We are currently undertaking a comprehensive review of our home-to-school transport services to ensure they are managed effectively, deliver the best outcomes for children and represent good value for money for the taxpayer.

“As part of this, we are taking immediate and ongoing action to address cost pressures and inefficiencies. This includes direct engagement with taxi companies to renegotiate contracts and reduce costs, including minimising single-occupancy journeys.

“We are also introducing new planning software to improve data analysis and route optimisation; reviewing SEND transport policies, exploring in-house or lease fleet options, and increasing the use of personal transport budgets for families.”

He added that the council was committed to providing home-to-school transport – including to approximately 3,500 students attending mainstream schools – as well as meeting its legal obligations to provide free transport to around 500 students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Herefordshire.

He said: “Like many councils, we have faced growing demands and rising costs in this area, which is why we are acting urgently to manage demand, improve efficiency and ensure sustainability. No final decisions have been made, and we remain committed to working transparently and constructively with all stakeholders to deliver a child-centred, financially sustainable transport service.”

Hereford Taxi Association representative Graham Wood said: “I appreciate Coun Kenyon is trying to highlight what he sees as a problem, but he is likely oblivious to our recent work (with the council’s review).”

I'd guess they'd be quite short runs, and not the 20-milers, or whatever

And probably involves quite a lot of time and hassle for the length of the run, so no one's going to be doing it on or close to meter...


So he's saying there's no competitive tendering process in place? - maybe he should provide the evidence.

And as people on here who know about these things have said previously, the council might be lucky to get a tender at all, so to that extent it's a suppliers' market.

So no doubt some in the trade are doing well out of it, but that's the state of the market, unfortunately for the taxpayer.

We have a school run where the mileage from pick up to drop off would come to about £8.00 on a meter but we have to travel 8 miles to the pick up point and then get home after the run. It takes an hour to do the job each journey. How much does this chap think the price should be? We are Private Hire and the driver is employed.

Much like one of the scool runs I used to do, pickup 8 miles from base, school run 12 miles, dead run back to base, twice a day. could have been a "nice earner" s it sometimes fitted with another run, but kid's attendance was sporadic. Most days he never went to school and we'd not find out until we'd got to the pickup, and we never got paid of course. The number of firms that backed that job, most lasted 4 weeks on it because it was a dead loss.

If they are taxis, and if the work is within the local licensing area, then one wonders why that's allowed.

I often wonder how many taxis, nationally, are breaching their licensing bylaws by charging more for fixed-priced school runs within their licensing area.

Some say hundreds, I suspect thousands.

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IDFIMH

This is what is stated on the bottom of our tariff sheet,

“This vehicle may be hired for special occasions which may be subject to an extra charge
agreed by the hirer. Prior written agreement to the additional charge must be
received from the hirer in advance of the journey. In all cases, this agreement must
be made at least 48 hours prior to the commencement of the journey”

So I don’t believe any bylaws would be being breached.

I suspect you are correct.

I suppose that's to cover events like proms or weddings; however, I believe that to be 100% unlawful.

Fare regulations are clearly outlined in the 1976 Act, and there is a lengthy list of case law stating that what's on your tariff card is 100% incorrect.

A couple of years back, I inquired with my council if, after having it passed by the council and included on the tariff card, a version of surge pricing could be used. The council took that suggestion to a very senior licensing solicitor who, very politely, said not in a million years.

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IDFIMH

I agree that ist is unlawfull however who is going to prosecute? presumably it would be the Council who put this on the tariff sheet.

Yes, it was on the tariff sheet long before my time (35yrs!)
I think it was meant to cover when the cabs used to be used as wedding cars and allowed for the time taken to ‘dress’ the cabs etc.

A valid point, but some customers, or perhaps someone representing a group of the disabled or elderly, will raise a big enough stink.

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IDFIMH