Taxi Driver Online

Is it just me, or are the numbers here utterly crazy?

Anyone do the math? (As they say in the states...)

I'll have a go later on. But the numbers here seem well over the top.

And they don't even follow an obvious logical progression - look at the increments and the way they go up...

And, I mean, it would be up to the driver to add the surcharge via extras, referencing the price of diesel from who-knows-where?

What could possibly go wrong?

(And the headline isn't very clear as regards what the article is all about, in my opinion at least it makes it sound like a fixed surcharge is going up from 20p to £2 )


Sheffield taxi fares could rise by 20p to £2 a journey to cope with fuel increases

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics ... es-8690087

Sheffield taxi passengers may have to pay a surcharge of between 20p and £2 a journey to help cab drivers cover rising fuel prices.

Drivers of city Hackney Carriages – cabs that can be hailed in the street or operate from taxi ranks – have approached Sheffield City Council to ask for approval for a surcharge. Their fares are legally controlled.

The request will be discussed next Friday (June 19) at a meeting of the environmental services and regulation policy committee.

A report to the committee says that the council approved similar measures in 2023 when prices rose.

The council licensing service proposes a sliding scale for a surcharge, linked to the cost of diesel fuel. This would range from 20p per journey when the cost per litre hits £1.65, up to £2 when the price rises to £2.10.

If approved, the full sliding scale would be:

• £1.70 – 40p;

• £1.75 – 60p;

• £1.80 – 80p;

• £1.85 – £1;

• £1.90 – £1.20;

• £1.95 – £1.40;

• £2- £1.60;

• £2.05 – £1.80;

• £2.10 – £2.

A report to the committee says: “Any agreed change in fares must be published for a statutory 14-day public consultation period. If no objections are received during this time, the revised fares will be implemented at the end of the consultation period.

“However, if objections are received, the committee must consider those objections and set a date for any change to take effect no later than two months from the date of the original public notice.

“If approved, Hackney Carriage drivers would be required to apply the relevant fuel surcharge as an additional charge via the vehicle’s taximeter at the conclusion of each journey.”

So is the applicable fuel price the one at the start or end of the run?

And where does the driver obtain this information from?

As I said, what could possibly go wrong?

Actually, I was incorrect in claiming the progression isn't logical

Everytime fuel goes up 5p per litre, the fare would increase by 20p per run.

So the progression per se is logical enough. It's just whether the numbers per se are logical in terms of substantive costs.

Which necessitates a bit of number crunching

But, I mean, you don't need to be a mathematician to work out that while the higher surcharges might be logical on longer runs, on shorter runs they're going to be well over the top.

And, most obviously, if it's a longer run they'll be off-meter anyway. Therefore...

As SW mentioned above, it's basically fuel goes up 5p a litre, fares go up 20p a mile.

A number of councils use a fares formula that suggests 60% of taxi mileage is paid and 40% dead.

If we say vehicles do 30 miles per imperial gallon, that's 6.6 miles per litre.

If we go back to the 60/40 split, that 3.96 paid miles per litre.

So, having gone down a rabbit hole that I wish I hadn't, if the running rate is £2 a mile, the 20p increase for every 5p increase makes sense.

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IDFIMH

Not sure I really understand your logic. But accepting your figures above, then for easy counting say the average run round town is 3.3 miles (including dead mileage) then that would be half a litre per run.

So if fuel went up 20p per litre, then the average run would cost the driver 10p more in fuel.

Yet he'd be able to charge 80p more for the run?

As I said, it might be reasonable to charge that on a run of 10 miles, say. But on the vast majority of runs it seems well over the top.

And the longer runs would be off-meter anyway.

I’ve just had a look at the report to councillors and it added nothing.

As Sheffield is a 100% WAV area the miles per litre would be nearer the 2.2 taking into consideration dead mileage.

It’s a shame no one thought to put the actual working in the report to councillors as the formula could be used elsewhere, or a variation of it.

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IDFIMH

That's one rabbit hole I decided to avoid

Another issue that needs to be considered is how much the cost of living plays a part in the fare rise formula.

Clearly, a rise in petrol/diesel price is easily calculated, but if the fare formula includes a cost of living element then you will have to factor in any rise in food and heating that always follows a rise in fuel.

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IDFIMH

Not sure what's been happening here, but the fuel surcharge figures are completely and utterly different

Maybe something's happened in the interim. And this seems to be part of a wider tariff review, as opposed to just a fuel surcharge thing.

Don't understand the point about the seating either - aren't all HCs in Sheffield bigger than four-seaters?


Extra charges for Sheffield Hackney carriages if price of diesel rises above £2.20, say council plans

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics ... 26-9321628

Prices could also rise steeply for taxis made to carry five or more passengers

The council is preparing to make Hackney carriage journeys in Sheffield more expensive if the price of diesel rises above £2.20.

The Environmental Services and Regulation Policy Committee will vote next week (November 6) on plans to raise fares for the city’s black cab fleet.

It includes imposing an extra 20p per journey if the price of diesel rises beyond £2.20, after the cost of a litre broke £2.00 for the first time in October.

And, if the price per litre went above £2.60, each fare would cost an extra £1.

Meanwhile, fares for taxis that can carry up to four people could rise by six per cent, and a steep 8.6 per cent for carriages built to take five or more passengers.

How much would each Hackney carriage journey cost in Sheffield if price of diesel goes up?

Average Diesel Price (per Litre) Extra charge per journey

Below £2.20.........................Nil
£2.20 to £2.29......................20p
£2.30 to £2.39.....................40p
£2.40 to £2.49.....................60p
£2.50 to £2.59.....................80p
£2.60 and above....................£1

Average diesel prices have increased from 151.9p in December 2023 to 191.3p by September 2026, and broke into 200p for the first time in October 2026.

A council statement reads: “The changes aim to make fares simpler and more transparent, while recognising rising costs for drivers. If approved, the proposals will go out for public consultation before a final decision is made.”

In response, the Sheffield Taxi Trade Association is asking the council to instead consider reducing how long it takes for the meter on a journey to ‘tick’ up by 20p, higher fares for trips at night, and extra costs if passengers bring dogs.

So in just five months the highest quoted threshold has gone up from £2.10 to £2.60 per litre of diesel. And the surcharge has reduced from £2 to £1

Not sure what's going on here, precisely. Maybe it's a total rethink, or maybe the earlier numbers have already been incorporated, and these are taking account of a wider tariff review, and the totally new and effectively permanent fuel prices

But even looking at the increments, they've halved since last time round - it was 20p for each 5p on diesel, but now diesel has to go up 10p for the same 20p increase.

But they did look a bit OTT at the time, particularly on very short trips, although not so generous on longer runs.

I would assume so; however, they don't always carry five or more people.

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IDFIMH

As portrayed in the article, it sounds like some vehicles are designed to be up to four seats only, and some five or more, Sussex



However, the current tariff card actually states, under 'extras':


Which sounds more like what you're saying. So I suspect the press article is simply incorrect, and something has been lost in the translation.

So we're both correct

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IDFIMH