Taxi Driver Online

This kind of understates the cost of LEZ compliance (the highlighted bit near the bottom)


Taxi fares could rise by 20% in Glasgow under new recommendations

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/232 ... endations/

TAXI fares in Glasgow could rise by 20% if an independent recommendation on tariffs is approved.

Councillors are being asked to decide whether to agree on an increase of 19.36%.

The recommendations from Dr James Cooper, of Taxi Research Partners, would see changes that, in total, would be a rise of almost 20%.

The increase is needed, according to the report. This is to address the current expenses affecting the taxi trade including vehicle, fuel and general costs.

The rise would see the initial ‘flag’ fare increase from £3.40 to £4.

The incremental charges for distance and time would also change with the fare going up by more for a shorter distance travelled.

The increment, how much the meter jumps by, would go up from 20p to 30p at a time and the distance travelled before the fare increases would reduce from 898 yards to 886 yards.

The time before the meter changes would reduce from two minutes 51 seconds to two minutes 46 seconds.

The additional charge for hires after 11pm and before 6am would increase from £1.20 to £1.40. It means that after 11pm it would cost more than £5 to flag a taxi before any distance is travelled.

Representatives of the taxi trade are split on the increase.

Glasgow Taxis, which represents drivers in the city has told the council the rise of almost 20% is “excessive” while Unite the Union Glasgow cab section is supportive.

A report stated: “Unite the Union Glasgow cab section overall agreed with the 19.36% increase, however was of the view that the night-time flag fall was too high at £5.40 and would be better incorporated into yardage.”

A survey of 265 taxi owners and drivers in the city found just more than half thought the previous model was not suitable.

Dr Cooper said in his report: “A total of 52% of responses suggested that the previously applied model was no longer appropriate to use, or posed significant problems that may harm the Glasgow industry.”

He added: “The most frequently occurring comments relate to the significant increases in the cost of operating, and the view that changes in meter rates had not kept up with actual changes felt by the operator.

“Other views related to the model included the view that it was now outdated, the view that fuel prices had risen disproportionately and were not captured; and the view that a cost-of-living crisis, being experienced at the time of writing, had not been fully recognised.”

The report noted a rise in fuel costs of 51%, the Low Emission Zone has added costs to taxis and repairs have increased by 21% and insurance by 17%.

Parts, other fees and radio dues have also increased, but by less than 10%.

Not clear where the 20% headline figure comes from, but this seems to be saying the running mile would increase by 50%?

Flagfall increase is pushing around 20% on its own, so presumably some longer trips would go up by a lot more than 20%.

So the firm says no, but the driver's rep says yes.

Not much change there then.

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IDFIMH

In some respects this increase puts pressure on councillors.

Basically it's their fault fares are needing to be increased that much, due to their new vehicle rules.

So punters need to be told exactly why their cab fares have increased by so much, and who's responsible for that.

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IDFIMH

since our last rise was the princely sum of 0.84%,this was only 6 months ago so its not surprising that a large increase is required,cooper usually comes up with ridiculously low rises which he usually applies 50/50 between flag fall and yardage

the new vehicle rules will not affect the caculations right now but will filter in gradually over the next couple of years as they take time to work into the formula
interestingly,the formula is based on costs of buying and maintaing your taxi,nothing else
but the costs are usually manipulated to give a low rise
eg 2 tyres included anually,fuel usually taken from whenever it was at a low price as evidenced by our last 0.84% when fuel was up by 50%

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

Aye, so the article above gives the impression that the running mile will increase by 50% due to the increment increasing from 20p to 30p.

However, what the article doesn't say is that the increment distance is increasing from 157 yards to 198 yards

So the running mile will increase from about £2.24 to £2.67, which is approximately 19 per cent

Ditto the time increment, which is also going up from 20p to 30p, but the elapsed time for each increment will increase

Can't be bothered wading through the whole report, but Dr Cooper explains why he didn't just decrease the yardage and keep the increments of 30p

Or at least I think that's what he's explaining

Don't care what he says, but pretty sure I'd prefer the 20p increments and lower yardage.

But I think he's employing similar reckoning in increasing the soiling charge from £35 to £42


Anyway, looks like it's all going ahead. Not much new in article below, but a couple of nuggets, but can't be bothered putting it all up.

This was the most interesting wee comment, but unfortunately his reasoning isn't explained:



Article here:

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... 9-26012935

This is hopefully a link to the committee papers and the consultant's report:

https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsa ... ngid=18565
(Click on paper marked Public Agenda)

We have just changed from 20p to 30p drops and no one has commented about it.

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IDFIMH

https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsa ... ngid=18565
(Click on paper marked Public Agenda)

Just in case anyone was trying to access it and couldn't find it, I've amended the earlier link to the council's website. A direct link to the agenda paper doesn't work, and I linked to the earlier meeting rather than the one about the fares (the earlier one was the meeting with the breath test refusal case, but unfortunately the papers and minutes shed zero light on the issue, at least as far as I can see).

Anyway, a couple of nuggets on the Glasgow tariff card.

I mean, check out this:


And, in fact, it looks like it's been further rounded to £42 for the card. Which is a daft number in itself (although the draft tariff card in the report states it as £41.70 )

Also interesting is when the soiling charge would apply, which would entail interesting legal arguments, but of course in reality it's unlikely ever to come to that:


The booking charge is very interesting, though:


So, to translate, that's basically saying that if you're called to a booking, then you can activate the meter before getting there, as long as the meter hasn't budged from the flagfall when you arrive for the booking

So if it's less than 898 metres away, you can activate the meter

I mean, how do you work that out? And if it does click up before you get there, then presumably you'll have to reset the meter, so you'll get nothing in terms of a booking fee?

And, wait, it's being reduced to 886 yards by the review. So you've got your head round how far away 898 metres is, then you've got to adjust your thinking to 886 metres

And, of course, even in the unlikely event you could precisely calculate all that in terms of distance, what happens if you're inevitably stuck in traffic, or the fare takes a few minutes to come out?

The bottom line is, of course, as usual the people who dream up these things have no conception of how they'll work in reality.

And there's a wee clanger from Taxi Research Partners on the proposed tariff card as well. The booking thing is obviously aligned to the flagfall, but they've forgotten to update the booking figure in line with the increased flagfall

I mean, if the proposed flagfall is £4, then it's obviously got to exceed the allowable £3.40 shown on the proposed tariff card for arriving at a booking

(The existing and proposed tariff cards are right at the end of the agenda papers.)

Not one person objected.

https://news.stv.tv/west-central/glasgo ... objections

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IDFIMH

Glasgow tariff card wrote:
When a taxi has been requested to attend at any place to uplift a hirer, the taxi meter may be set to the “hired” position prior to reaching that place provided that the fare showing on the meter does not exceed £3.40 at the time the taxi arrives at the place.

this has always been the case as far as I can remember,but ive never done it and I cont know anyone else who ever has ever done it either

The soiling charge being worded as only for an anti social act was brought in by daft councillors who were concerrned that unscrupulous taxi drivers might charge a mother who,s baby had been sick,so they added the anti social part for the numpty brigade full of drink at nightime,like every other council they dont live in the same world as the rest of us

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

Thanks for the clarification on the run-in charge, Jozef (or whatever it's called).

Sounds like the kind of thing dreamt up by people working behind desks and in committee rooms, but which doesn't really work in the real world

got it in one

justifying their fat pensions

useless t***s

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left