Taxi Driver Online

The livery stuff slightly more interesting than the fees thing. The fee increase doesn't seem such a big deal, so they're probably just getting het up about the livery, EVs and CCTV and channeling that through the fees objection. And who could blame them?


Cambridge agrees taxi fees hike despite cabbies 'struggling' plea

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/c ... e-26110512

Cambridge City Council agreed to the licence fee increases, but said it would still be making a loss this year even with the increase.

Licensing fees for taxi drivers in Cambridge will be going up this year, despite calls from drivers to freeze them. Taxi drivers highlighted the costs they are facing to comply with Cambridge City Council’s other policy requirements and asked for the licensing fees to be kept the same.

The authority said it had reduced the amount it proposed to increase the fees after a consultation with drivers, and said it would be operating at a loss. A report presented to a meeting of the city council’s licensing committee earlier today (Monday, January 30), said the authority had to “seek to recover” the administration costs associated with licences.

Under the changes the cost of a new driver’s licence will increase from £250 to £270, and a one year renewal will increase from £84 to £100. A petition was presented to the committee signed by 104 hackney carriage drivers opposing the planned increase in licensing fees.

Taxi drivers asked councillors to consider freezing the fees at the current level highlighting other costs they are facing. One driver said the committee could see from the petition that the drivers were “struggling”. He asked what the “justification” for the increase was, saying it would cause hackney carriage drivers to leave and become private hire instead, and said it could lead to a shortage of wheelchair accessible vehicles.

He said: “We have to buy electric vehicles, they have to be silver, now we have to get CCTV with no funding for it. I request you all to freeze the prices you had before. You say you are on our side, but here again is another rise, please do not push away the trade.” Council officers explained that the amount the fees were proposed to increase by had been reduced following consultation with the drivers.

Yvonne O’Donnell, environmental health manager, said they had changed the proposals to try and “support” the trade, whilst also not having a “major impact” on the council’s finances. Councillor Richard Robertson asked whether the proposed fees would see the city council make a profit, break even, or make a loss.

Ms O’Donnell said the initial proposals would have enabled a break even position, but that the changes meant the authority would make a loss. She said there was currently a deficit of £100,000 after not raising the fees for the last few years. When the recommendation was put to a vote, the majority of the committee voted in favour of the increase. The new fees will come into effect from April 1.

Calls to scrap taxi colour policy

At the meeting the committee also heard a request from taxi drivers to change its policy requiring hackney carriage taxis to be silver with a green stripe. Drivers said it was difficult for them to buy electric vehicles in silver and without tinted windows as was required by the authority.

A petition was presented to the committee signed by 101 hackney carriage drivers supporting the policy to be scrapped. Ahmed Karaahmed, chairman of Cambridge City Licensed Taxis, said the silver livery policy was increasing costs for drivers, explaining that most producers of electric vehicles did not offer silver models with untinted windows.

He said that all of the costs would lead to hackney carriage drivers “giving up the trade” and becoming a private hire drivers, or lead to them getting a licence from South Cambridgeshire District Council and then still driving diesel cars in the city. Council officers explained that the livery policy was implemented in 2019, after a review was requested in 2017 by taxi drivers to enable hackney carriage taxis to be distinguished from other private hire taxis.

They said the authority had worked with drivers at the time to decide on the requirements, settling on silver vehicles with a green stripe. Many on the committee said they supported keeping the policy. Councillor Jennifer Page-Croft, said she thought it was important to keep the requirement of a green stripe down the side.

She said: “It does show everyone that this is a public service vehicle, or a hackney cab, and it is safe to get into.” Councillor Iva Divkovic asked whether a different policy could be explored for electric vehicles if there was an issue for drivers being able to get a car in the right colour, as long as the green stripe was still added.

Ms O’Donnell said it was important that it was possible to distinguish hackney carriage taxis and suggested that against some colour backgrounds the green stripe “could get lost”. She added that creating a different livery policy for electric vehicles would “complicate” what was already “complicated at the best of times”.

Ms O’Donnell said the authority tried to be flexible with drivers, explaining that they were aware of delays for electric vehicles being delivered to the country, and had extended licences for drivers who could show they had ordered an electric car. When the recommendation was put to a vote, the majority of the committee voted in favour of keeping the city council’s current livery policy for hackney carriages.