Taxi Driver Online

Get your head round this lot

Great photo of the rank, though. Presumably it's an official rank rather than an informal one. But it looks a bit, er, isolated


Bracknell taxi fares proposed to rise for larger groups

https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/25 ... er-groups/



Taxi fares are set to increase for larger groups of passengers in Bracknell.

Cabs, traditionally known as hackney carriages, can be hailed from the spot with no need to book.

Drivers typically park their cabs in ranks, which can be found outside the train station, next to Waitrose, and outside the Sainsbury’s in Ringmead.

The fares for how much a driver can charge for journeys are proposed by drivers and set by Bracknell Forest Council.

The tariffs are divided into three time periods: 7am to 11pm Monday to Sunday; 11pm to 7am overnight, on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve from 6pm until midnight; and a third tariff from Christmas Day to 7am on Boxing Day.

For typical journeys during the day, charges start at £5.20 for the first mile, with £2.60 for each future mile.

This goes up to a maximum of £3.60 for up to 415 yards travelled or 122.96 seconds of the journey, or a combination of time and distance, and 20p for each subsequent 135 yards or every 40 seconds of time elapsed.

Meanwhile, for typical journeys overnight, the maximum charge is £4.80 for the same distance travelled and 30p for additional yards and 40 seconds of travel.

The existing tariffs have been in place since June 2022.



Drivers want to change the wording, which states on the chart: “When this vehicle is carrying more than four passengers, a surcharge of 50 per cent will be applied to the fare shown on the meter at the end of the journey.”

Instead, drivers are proposing to introduce new tariffs for cabs that carry between five and eight passengers.

If this change is implemented, the maximum for a journey during the day would go up to £4.80 and 30p for extra yards and time spent.

During the night, the charge for five to eight passengers would go up to £6.40, with an additional 40p for extra distance and driving time per 135 yards travelled.

The proposed changes to tariffs for more than four passengers would create new tariffs '1a', '2b' and '3c'.

Furthermore, the passengers are expected to pay emission zone charges, such as the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) and airport drop-off charges.

This is significant as Heathrow Airport is approximately 23 miles away and is within the ULEZ.

However, these charges have been established for several years, and are not new proposals from the taxi trade.

The changes to the charging system for journeys for five to eight passengers will be discussed at a meeting of the council's licensing and safety committee on Wednesday, February 11.

This discussion will take place ahead of the council's Labour cabinet considering the proposed changes next month.

The licensing and safety committee are expected to agree on recommendations that will feature in a report to the cabinet.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that really four time periods?

On the other hand, I thought the mention of the third tariff at the end there was incorrect. But look closely at the punctuation, and where the semi-colons are. The second tariff actually covers two time periods - the normal T2 times, but also Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

So maybe it's better stated as three tariffs over four time periods?

Anyway, interesting that there seems to be a tariff for New Year's Eve (as per normal), but it's back to standard fares after midnight?

The first paragraph there makes sense, but the highlighted bit doesn't - the first paragraph seems to be referring to T1 fares for the first mile and then running mile, then the second paragraph is referring to the actual flagfall on T1 and the increments. So it's basically two different ways of presenting the T1 fares, but reads like it's referring to two different things

Anyway, as regards the substantive issue that the article is all about - the premium tariff for more than four passengers, I think this is all making a mountain out of a molehill. The new tariffs look like it's still a 50% premium, so what's the fuss all about? This is a high-res version of the proposed tariff card - and the new tariffs (the ones along the bottom row, basically, which are the new ones applying for 4+ pax), look like they're still 50% higher than the tariffs along the top for up to 4 pax.

And, as an aside, isn't this a very 'busy' fare card?

Ever since I started in the trade I've always wondered what the real point of the standard tariff card is - seems more like a box-ticking thing rather than anything that's likely to be of real help to passengers. Who actually looks at them, and who is going to be able to take in the information on this card?

https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/resourc ... s/20496225

In fact, I should have looked for the official papers first, because it's all a mountain out of a molehill

Kind of gradually came to the realisation while wading through all that pish that it's just a presentational thing, and this is confirmed in the official papers (which were at least easy to find):


So basically the 50% premium for 4+ pax is currently calculated manually by the driver, and isn't shown on the meter. So the proposal is simply to add the extra tariffs so the actual fare will be shown on the meter. Welcome to the, er, 20th century

Anyway, what a waste of time. The whole article makes it sound like fares for 4+ will be going up, while in fact it looks like there's no change at all

https://democratic.bracknell-forest.gov ... ariffs.pdf

In fact while the article above is from the Bracknell News website, I actually came across it via PHTM, which headlines it as below.

Maybe I've got it totally wrong, but it looks to me like PHTM has got it totally wrong, and that in fact the 50% premium for 4+ remains unchanged, and the only difference is that it will be shown on the meter rather than calculated by the driver.

But the way it's presented here makes it look like like something totally different

What was all that about AI 'hallucinations'?


BRACKNELL TAXI FARES SET TO RISE FOR LARGER GROUPS UNDER NEW PROPOSAL

https://www.phtm.co.uk/news/8558/phtm-n ... w-proposal

Taxi passengers travelling in groups of five or more in Bracknell could soon face higher costs as drivers push for a change in how fares are calculated.

However, drivers are now proposing to scrap this percentage-based surcharge in favour of entirely new, higher fixed tariffs for larger vehicles carrying up to eight people.

Under the new plan, daytime journeys for larger groups would see maximum charges start at £4.80 with higher rates for distance and time. Overnight journeys for five to eight passengers would be even more expensive, starting at £6.40 with an additional 40p for every extra 135 yards or 40 seconds of travel.

These changes would introduce three new tariffs to the current pricing structure, labelled '1a', '2b', and '3c', specifically for larger groups.

The current fare system has been in place since June 2022, but taxi operators believe the wording needs to be updated to better reflect the costs of running bigger cabs.

The proposal is scheduled for discussion by the council’s licensing and safety committee on Wednesday, February 11.

Following that meeting, the council’s Labour cabinet will consider the recommendations next month before a final decision is made on whether to implement the new pricing.

Currently, the rules state: “When this vehicle is carrying more than four passengers, a surcharge of 50 per cent will be applied to the fare shown on the meter at the end of the journey.”

Can't see where that's from - the official council paper states it's simply a presentational change, so changes nothing in terms of actual fares.


Wouldn't be surprised if it actually causes confusion for quite a few drivers as well

And councillors. And the local press. And PHTM

Wish I'd never even looked at that article in PHTM now

Even worse, when I'd done all those posts above in one huge splurge, thought I'd lost most of it because I'd forgotten to copy it to the clipboard before posting the very first section. While inbetween it all doing the posts in the other threads.

But eventually found it all umpteen posts down my clipboard stuff

Remember when once upon a time if you copied something to the clipboard, whatever was there before would totally disappear?

(If anyone doesn't know about it, use the key with the Windows symbol at the bottom of the keyboard, while pressing V at the same time, and that bring up your clipboard history

You then scroll down to find the relevant stuff, and click on it and it will then appear in the post or document you're composing )

Indeed, I suspect those leaves on the floor were just sprouting when those cabs first pulled up on the rank.

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The absolute grief that must cause drivers.

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