Taxi Driver Online

Certainly a tad more interesting than the Stirling article

And please note that although this is a P&J article, it's specifically about Aberdeenshire Council as opposed to the usual Aberdeen City Council stuff...

Anyway, for a kick off I don't think the 'taxi boss' here effectively saying that it would be 'absolutely ludicrous' for councillors not to do what he wants is the best way to go about things

(And the usual slightly unusual P&J [and Courier] style of lots of sub-headings and photos, but have only included one of the images here.)


Aberdeenshire taxi fares to rise by 5% after plea from Central Taxis boss

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/ne ... es-rise-5/

Paul Anderson said that making no change to the fare rate would be "absolutely ludicrous" as the trade was struggling with increasing costs.

https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/wp-con ... 9x1152.jpg

Taxi fares across Aberdeenshire are to increase by 5% from November in a bid to allow cabs to continue operating.

The council launched a public consultation earlier this year seeking views from residents and members of the taxi trade on the current fare scale.

Participants were asked if they thought the charges should be changed, and what they believed the fares should be.

However, only 23 people gave their views, and 17 of those were from the trade.

Some claimed current fares were “expensive enough”, and that there should be no increase because of the cost-of-living crisis.

Members of the licensing sub-committee met this morning to consider a fare rise, and also heard the concerns of the boss of one of Aberdeenshire’s largest taxi companies.

‘Absolutely ludicrous’ not to raise Aberdeenshire fares, says taxi boss

Central Taxis owner Paul Anderson dialled in to the meeting to press for a fare increase of 10% which he said was needed to ensure drivers could cover their costs.

He said the firm used to have 100 taxis across Aberdeenshire operating from bases in Peterhead, Ellon and Inverurie.

But over the last couple of years, the fleet has fallen to 75 due to rising insurance fees, fuel prices, minimum wage hikes and vehicle costs.

He said: “The idea of having no increase to our fare scale for a further two years is absolutely ludicrous, given that every industry is facing significant costs to continue operating.”

Mr Anderson also explained taxi drivers had been hit with other soaring costs this year.

A one-year car license increased from £237 to £265, while a driver badge to obtain an Aberdeenshire Council taxi license jumped from £135 to £200.

He added: “The cost for us operating taxis is colossal, and Aberdeenshire would struggle without taxis. We desperately need a fare increase.”

The taxi boss asked for at least a 10% rise to allow the trade to operate sustainably and meet costs which are “increasing significantly year-on-year”.

Taxi firms not able to meet customer demand

East Garioch councillor Jim Gifford asked Mr Anderson if his drivers had noticed a drop in demand as inflation bit.

The taxi boss replied no, but said that they are finding it harder to meet demand, especially during weekday evenings.

“We can’t sustain having vehicles out on the road and paying drivers by the hour to sit,” he said.

Giving an example, he told: “You might only get 10 phone calls in Inverurie on a Monday night, and we always used to have at least four drivers on so we’re always available to cover.

“Whereas because the costs are increasing so much and the return isn’t the same, we are decreasing numbers out on the streets.

“And so for us, demand is still there, but the availability for us to service that demand has reduced just because the costs are too high.”

Would a fare rise negatively impact taxi trade?

Meanwhile, Inverurie councillor Marion Ewenson wondered if an increased fare could potentially put customers off using taxis.

“The danger is that it becomes so expensive that people just don’t use them,” she stated.

But Mr Anderson argued that could be said about any trade.

He argued: “In the past two years, we’ve decreased our taxi fleet by 25 vehicles.

“If we don’t get an increase to stay in line with our rising costs, the number of vehicles that we are operating is just going to be fewer and fewer.

“And then there’s not that option for people to maybe take a taxi.”

Call for 10% taxi fare rise also considered

Following debate, Mr Gifford suggested the Aberdeenshire fare be increased by 5% across the board.

He said: “We’re, as a council, reducing subsidised bus services because we cannot afford to keep them running.

“So we’re asking other people then to take up the slack of transporting people around the country and taxis are the obvious answer.

“We’re asking communities to do more and more for themselves because the council cannot do the thing that we used to do years ago on many fronts, and this is really one of those examples.”

He added: “It’s difficult that you don’t want to put price increases through too much and put business out of existence, but at the same time, you’re giving the business enough income to survive.”

However, Banff councillor John Cox called for the fares to rise by 10%, and called for fares to double during the festive season.

He claimed 5% wouldn’t be enough to cover increasing costs, and thought that the higher charge would allow taxi companies to be competitive with their prices.

After going to a vote, the 5% rise was passed by five to three.

What would the new 5% taxi fare scale be?

The first 880 yards or part thereof:

Standard rate is currently set at £3.15, but this would increase to £3.31.

Late night fees begin at £4.50 now, but would go up to £4.73.

The festive season rate began at £4.85, but will jump up to £5.09.

Each additional 1/11th part of a mile or part thereof:

During standard and late night fares this would rise by 23p, while it would increase by 35p during the festive season.

Waiting time per 10 seconds:

This charge would rise to 13p from the existing 12p.

Standard booking fee:

This fee would increase from 50p to 53p.

Unacceptable mess:

This would be set at £105, up from the current £100.

So they only get a couple of jobs each?

Think something's been lost in the translation there...


Wouldn't normally nitpick this kind of stuff but now I'll always recall the female P&J journo who said woman didn't need to be told the difference between the different licences

But this is another female journalist saying (as paraphrased):

A one-year plate increased from £237 to £265, while a driver badge to obtain an Aberdeenshire Council taxi plate jumped from £135 to £200

What a time to be alive


That's not 5%, though

If that had been Dr Cooper and the Glasgow fares, he would have increased it to £110.25

Although I doubt he'd come up with a 5% rise in the first place - probably something like 4.96%, or whatever

You don't lose 25% of your fleet solely due to costs; the main reason is a lack of work.

And don't try preaching to councillors; that doesn't often end well.

A 5% increase isn't unreasonable, play it nice.

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