Taxi Driver Online

Taxi licence fees to go up but drivers question why some increases are above inflation

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/c ... p-28531559

Questions have been raised as to why some fees paid by taxi drivers in Cambridge are increasing above inflation. Cambridge City Council has agreed its licensing fees for the coming financial year, which will see some increases for taxi drivers. The authority has said it needs to set its fees to cover the cost of running the licensing department.

Some fee increases are set at around two to three-per cent, but others are proposed to increase by up to 66 per cent. Eddie Holland, vice chair of Cambridge Licensed Taxis, told councillors at a licensing committee meeting this week (January 29) that the organisation had “no problem” with the proposed increases of below or around 11 per cent.

However, he questioned the taxi related fees that were proposed to be increased above inflation. He said: “Why when the government is trying to reduce inflation are some of the proposed charges far and away higher multiple times higher than 11 per cent?”

Mr Holland also highlighted particular concerns about the proposed increase to the annual renewal fee, which had been set at a 150 per cent increase, from £100 to £250. Officers said this particular increase had been reduced following consultation with drivers. They said it was now proposed to increase the annual renewal fee by 50 per cent, from £100 to £150.

Officers explained that the proposed fee increases were set to cover the actual cost of running the taxi licensing service, adding that the authority was not allowed to make a surplus or run the department at a deficit. They said: “We have consulted with the chair of licensing and the annual driver’s licence [increase] has actually been reduced.

“We have brought that down because we felt that we needed to try and bridge the gap between the actual cost and what we are charging to make sure that our books are matched, but we do not want to do too much of a big increase straight away, so we are doing it little bit by little bit over the next couple of years.”

Officers said they recognised that some of the fees were proposed to go up “significantly”, but said this was because the fees had been set at lower than the licensing service cost to run in 2023/24. They said they had also seen increased costs in processing applications due to some being submitted inadequately and needing to be sent back for them to be updated.

However, they also said that some of the larger percentage increases proposed were not a large amount in monetary terms. Councillor Sam Carling said he hoped the step down from the proposed 150 per cent increase for the annual renewal fee to 50 per cent offered some “reassurance” to the drivers. He added that he believed the proposed fee increases were “broadly reasonable”.

The chair of the committee, Councillor Russ McPherson, said some of the percentage increases did look “horrendous”, but said the actual amount was not. He highlighted the proposed 66.7 per cent increase in the cost for the magnetic taxis crests, which he said in monetary terms was a £8 increase to from £12 to £20.

He said: “What I would say is we are not here to beat the taxi trade, we are all on your side. You are an integral part of the transport system in the city, lots of people could not operate without it. It is not an easy job, it is a long day, and we thank the taxi drivers for that.”

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IDFIMH

And inflation is currently CPI 4.2% and RPI 5.2%.

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IDFIMH

I agree with the first bit, but not the second bit.

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IDFIMH

it's funny how councils seem to always have cost increases that are way above inflation

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Indeed.

Can you just imagine how much poll tax would have risen had it not been for the 5% maximum allowed by law?

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IDFIMH

Or do we just get to hear about the ones that go up by more than the average?

One thing that I've certainly never had any complaints about in Fife is our fees.

On the other hand, my badge expired two months ago. I applied for a renewal about ten days before the expiry date - as long as we apply before it expires, in Scotland the licence remains in force until the council has processed it.

Funny thing was, the new tax checks had come into force in Scotland a few weeks before my badge expired. But there was no mention of this in the renewal application process.

Then about ten days ago we all got a circular from the council about the new tax checks and I got a personal email saying I wouldn't get my new badge until I'd sent them a tax code - that was two months after I submitted the renewal

So maybe the council could up our fees and hire more staff. No, I didn't really say that - I'm quite happy with the delays if they keep the fees down

But, as I almost said in that recent thread about punters 'discreetly' checking and photographing badges, I'm a bit paranoid about having my 'expired' badge on display on the dashboard. Maybe I should start wearing it like most councils require - then there would be actually zero chance of anyone noticing it

(No-one's mentioned my expired badge yet. But maybe they've contacted the council to complain. In which case I wouldn't get to know, for obvious reasons. Oh, and my plate is out of date by a few weeks now, for the same reasons. But, of course, no one ever looks at the plates anyway. Or at least I assume they don't )

Well the new badge finally arrived in the post today - it expired 1 December, so that's bang on 3 months I've been displaying an out-of-date badge on the dash

But - and I'm sure regulars on here are fed up of me saying this - in Scotland we can apply up to the expiry date, and then the old licence is valid until the new one is processed.

And, as per what I said above, I don't think the council were properly geared up for the new tax checks, which came into effect in Scotland in October, as I recall it.

So with the checks and the festive period intervening I think it's taken a bit longer than normal. I applied about 10 days before it expired, so that's more than three months and one week since I submitted the renewal online...

My plate expires a month after my badge, so also waiting on that as well

And although it's on the dash (our conditions say it has to be 'displayed' rather than actually worn), no one's ever questioned the date, or at least questioned *me* about it

Of course, that's not to say no-one's actually noticed thats it's expired

Makes no sense to me.

You either have a valid license, or you don't.

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IDFIMH

Sussex, in some ways it does seem a bit daft. On the other hand, if there are, er, administrative delays or failings in the processing stuff, it means no-one will end up unlicensed because of that

(Which we often read about from down south, particularly during lockdown etc, but I'm never sure if the claims are literally correct and that drivers and cars are ending up unlicensed because of delays, or whether it's a tad exaggerated...)

Could think of better ways to do it to avoid the scenario you mention, obviously, but one reason I avoid getting involved in anything like consultations or whatever is that if things do change then they might end up a whole lot worse, therefore...

And, for example, when I started in Fife our plates were undated, thus could last the life of the car. Then they changed the system and we got the bog-standard Mogo plates with the expiry date, so now have cars driving around for months with out-of-date plates

So although I never thought it was a good idea to put the dates on the plates for the reasons above, on the other hand I'd prefer the status quo as regards the licensing process timings...

...anyway, for anyone who hasn't gone through the tax check process yet, it was incredibly easy, or at least it was for me who's been submitting taxi returns since the late-90s. I think that if you've been doing it for eight years or more then it's quite straightforward, as the questions and my answers below indicate. Don't know what would happen if your affairs are maybe less straightforward...

But the most difficult bit about it was actually ID verification. Of course, there are different ways of doing it, but I think mine was something about some detail or other from my DVLA driving licence, and the date and precise amount of last self assessment payment to HMRC, or something like that. So if you've got your driving licence to hand, and quick access to your bank account then it just takes a few minutes. I'm sure there were one or two other ID questions, but can't remember them now

Well another potential book-length article, but will keep this short for, both for my own sanity, and the sensitivities of people on here. And you never know who might be reading

Anyway, had to get a new motor because of the age rule, and got another one from the Taxi Centre, and it's one of these Octavias with the 999cc engine

(And, despite it being an 'entry level' model, on which everything is so complex and such a mystery that it makes the likes of the moderator/administrator panel on a phpbb forum seem straightforward. And you're at least not having to grapple with the likes of a phpbb administrator board while driving in busy traffic with noisy drunks in the back )

Anyway, all that kind of stuff stresses me out a tad, and the last chapter in a very long story was when I was due at the council for the car's inspection earlier this week (yes, even brand new cars are tested here )

Thought I'd be there in plenty of time, but what in my opinion was poor council signage meant I ended up on a fifteen minute detour that resulted in me being ten minutes late for the test

Luckily, the guys at the council depot are generally quite accomodating about that kind of thing , so no damage done, and the car got through the test, and I drove away with the shiny new car, and shiny new plate.

So that was all a bit of a relief, and thought that apart from selling the old jalopy, things were kind of back to normal again. Until I stopped the car at Aldi, and had a closer look at the plate:



No, it's not a mistake. It's the same as the badge thing - I applied for the renewal before the expiry date (on 19 December, to be precise), and thus under the Scottish legislation my old licence continues until they've processed my renewal application. But obviously that's still in the system, almost three months later

I thought that maybe with my application to substitute my vehicle that might all hurry it along a bit, but it would seem not...

Anyway, no big deal in the grand scheme, but that'll potentially mean another 30-mile round trip to the council's depot in a week or two to get the new plate ripped off again (they're attached using very sticky adhesive strips) and the new one attached (at least the window plate is just in a little sleeve...)

But I suppose all that is still better than not having a plated car at all because of administrative delays

Will be surprised if you notice that much difference with the 999 engine.

But it must be nice driving a new motor and not having to worry about the engine falling out, at least for a year or two.

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IDFIMH

Well a new paper licence came through the post the other day, and I thought that meant my plate renewal was all over (apart from a round trip of at least one hour/30 miles to get the two-week old plate ripped off the car and an even shinier new one put back on...)

But it was just my old licence for my new car, basically, so still showing an expiry date of 30 December 2023

And the 'issue' date of 12 March 2024 was the date of my substitution test - think the envelope it was sent in was postmarked 27 March

And, despite telling them several times about the process, Paton's keep sending me reminders for a copy of the new licence once it's issued.

Never mind - I think the council has six months to process the renewal after the expiry date, after which date it's deemed to be granted as a renewal, I think. So potentially only another three months to go

https://i.imgur.com/rAAJqUY.jpeg

So as far as the process of licensing is concerned, it's in a kind of no-man's land.

It's expired, but it's still extant, I think the terminology is

Farsical.

Your licensing officers not related to Grandad's by any chance?

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IDFIMH