A Bristol passenger has been left fuming after having to pick up a hefty £107 tab for a taxi to and from Bristol Airport from their Blagdon home six miles away.
BristolLive reports that Arrow Cars, the official taxi partner at the airport said the customer was overcharged due to an IT glitch during maintenance and has been refunded.
The passenger, who did not want to be named, said he and his wife left for the airport earlier this month on Thursday, September 7, around 3.30pm and returned on Sunday, September 10.
He said: “That was six miles each way. We were charged £107 return.
“That was more than my round trip to Venice. The clerks in the office did nothing to tell me I’d been charged the wrong price.
“It was only when I overheard another customer being charged much less for a trip to Bristol that I challenged the clerk.
"She double-checked for me and said there was a problem with some postcodes that were not being charged the right amount,” he said.
He added that he was advised that there “was a problem with the website booking system” and that he could apply for a refund.
On contacting the Bristol Arrow office, he said: “They admitted they knew the online system was overcharging customers by as much as £25 per ride.”
He added the clerk told him that the problem was "being fixed".
He said when he asked for contact details for the head office, this was refused.
He added that the drop-off and parking costs at Bristol Airport has led to many cars trying to wait in the roads and laybys near to the airport, while there are strict parking restrictions all around the airport.
A spokesperson for Arrow Cars said the had experienced “an issue” on website bookings while maintenance was being carried out on the company’s IT systems.
He said: “Our accounts department has also been made aware of this error and the few customers affected, will be contacted so that we can refund the overcharge to their payment card.”
He confirmed that the customer who had complained had been overcharged by £25.32 for each journey and had been refunded £50.
Source: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/mans-bristol-airport-taxi-fare-8750609#
Glasgow City Council’s Licensing chiefs will make a final decision this coming week on the age limit for the city’s private hire cars.
On Wednesday 20 September, the Licensing and Regulatory Committee is set to make a decision whether to reimpose a seven year age limit on the cars or to increase the age limit.
Since 2006, private hire cars in Glasgow have been limited to a maximum age of seven years.
The policy was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic to help private hire drivers and operators cope with the financial effects of lockdown. The suspension has remained in effect until now.
The Scottish Private Hire Association (SPHA) has been leading a campaign to have the age limit increased to ten years. The move is being backed by other organisations such as Saltire Private Hire, Raz Private Hire and the App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU).
In November last year, licensing bosses instructed the council’s executive to prepare a report on the age limit policy “with a view to the upper age limit being increased”. As part of that process a public consultation took place this summer.
The council’s report has since been released and it shows support for the SPHA’s proposal to increase the age limits of private hire cars to ten years.
67% of respondents agreed that there should be a change to the seven year age limit while only 24% do not think the age limit should be increased. Of those responding in favour of a change to the policy, the majority view was that 46% favoured an age limit of ten years.
Eddie Grice, the SPHA’s General Secretary, said “Ahead of Wednesday’s licensing hearing on private hire car age limits, we at the SPHA, again call on the council to increase the upper limit to ten years.
“With high cost of living, high cost of fuel and used car prices being at an all time high the trade needs mitigatory measures such as this.
"According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the average asking price of a three-year-old car in the UK increased by 38% last year. The asking price of a three year old petrol car increased by 35% while the average price of a used diesel car went up a staggering 43%.
"The long term outlook for the trade is one of high operating costs from here on out.
“The sole trading owner-operators in the fleet, who make up a massive bloc within the fleet, are the ones that will suffer most from the reintroduction of the seven year rule. Only a small number of operators can afford to put cars on the road from age zero.
“The primary reason for bringing in an age limit was to ensure vehicle safety, and in turn, public safety. But, since the policy was introduced in 2006, many car safety features have been developed or improved.
"The pop up bonnet which is designed to lower the risk of pedestrian injury, blind spot monitoring, fatigue detection systems, autonomous braking systems, pedestrian detection, barrier detection, night time impact detection and active cruise control.
"Also, since 2006 Euro NCAP has updated their vehicle safety ratings. They have brought in rear impact whiplash testing, which was first carried out in 2008 and then further updates to Euro NCAP in 2009 when they created a stricter scoring system.
“It appears widely accepted, statistically, that the average expected lifespan of a car from the early 2000’s was around seven to eight years. At the time, the age limit policy matched this, fair enough. However, the average expected lifespan, today, is now 11 to 12 years. The policy no longer matches up to this.
“The cars of 2006 are not like the cars of 2023. They are built to last longer and cover more miles. They are built with far higher safety standards. The reasons in 2006 that led to a seven year limit are no longer in play.
“For those cars that reach the age of seven and are still cosmetically good, still mechanically good, still passing MoTs, still passing council inspections, still not being weeded out by enforcement checks - then there really is no reason to be taking it out of service other than to satisfy what, in those cases, would be an arbitrary number.
“It is the SPHA’s view, overwhelmingly amongst our members, that the upper age limit on private hire cars be increased from seven to ten years.
Mr Grice finally noted, “We are also supportive of the proposed measure to introduce a third annual inspection on cars beyond the age of seven years old”.
Private hire drivers are making progress in their push to get access to a bus lane which would speed up their journeys leaving Reading.
According to The Reading Chronicle, taxis and private hire vehicles have been able to use the inbound bus lane for King’s Road for over a decade which has helped drivers get into the town centre.
But while black cab drivers are allowed to use the outbound bus lane in King’s Road alongside buses to get towards Cemetery Junction and the A329M, private hire drivers have not been afforded the same privilege.
That has led a group of private hire drivers in the Reading Private Hire Association (RPHA) to lobby the council to have access to the outbound Kings Raoad bus lane.
The group’s proposal was recntly discussed at a meeting of the council’s traffic management sub-committee.
Kamran Saddiq said: “To be honest, we feel hard done by when we go to other boroughs and we are not able to use their bus lanes due to their jurisdictions which we are not allowed to use because we are not from their boroughs.
“So I don’t see why it’s fair that we are actually employed, we work for Reading Borough Council, we pay our licence and badge application fees here, that we are being deprived from the services we have been working tirelessly day and night to provide.”
Buses and taxis have been able to use the inbound bus lane for over a decade. In 2019, private hire drivers who are licensed with Reading Borough Council could also use the bus lane.
Mr Saddiq said: “It’s been three years and the volume of traffic has decreased by a major amount. There’s not been one single accident recorded from the private hire drivers in that bus lane.”
Asif Rashid, chairman of the Reading Taxi Association also spoke at the meeting, suggesting that the council needs to look into enforcement measures to ensure that rule-breaking taxi drivers from outside the area are punished.
John Ennis, lead councillor for transport, thanked Mr Saddiq and the RPHA for their “good work” and said they have been “extremely responsible” in working with the council since the group was founded in December 2022.
Cllr Ennis then introduced a proposal for an informal consultation to be launched into allowing Reading private hire drivers to use the outbound bus lane, rather than a statutory consultation which was recommended by the council’s highways officers.
He said he would have liked the results of the consultation to come back in November, but was advised that the consultation would have to be reported in January instead to ensure it is properly undertaken.
Cllr Ennis’ amended motion to launch a statutory consultation was agreed unanimously by the traffic management sub-committee on Wednesday, September 13.
Mr Saddiq was pleased with the action and thanked councillors for their understanding.
Source: https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/23790273.reading-push-private-taxis-use-bus-lane-progress/
Wealden taxi drivers are calling for more lenient licensing rules in the face of ‘cost of living’ pressures.
The Sussex Express reports that in a report due for discussion on Friday 22 September, Wealden District Council’s licensing committee has been asked to review the rules on what vehicles can be used as hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.
The report, from the Wealden Drivers Association, asks the council to consider both extending the age limit on what vehicles can be used as taxis and removing a condition on the tinting of windows.
The drivers association says both conditions are becoming impractical and too expensive to maintain in their current form, particularly given current economic pressures.
In the report, a spokesman for the Wealden Drivers Association said: “Since 2020, drivers’ income has been severely curtailed due to covid restrictions, income is starting to recover slowly to pre-covid levels but many had to use savings to continue to live their daily lives during the pandemic.
“More recently we have seen increases in the cost of living, such as gas, electric and food prices to name a few, as well as council tax. Drivers are self-employed and do not enjoy the luxury of annual pay increases.”
Under the council’s current rules, vehicles must be less than nine-years-old to secure a licence for use as a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle. The drivers association says the council should consider extending this restriction, pointing out how neighbouring councils have more generous age limits.
The other disputed condition currently requires the tint of a vehicle’s rear windows to be “no darker than the front tinted side windows”.
The drivers association says this condition has become impractical as modern vehicles typically have darker rear window as a factory standard.
This requires drivers to fit lighter windows after purchase, a measure the association says can prove costly as untinted windows for modern vehicles can be difficult to find.
In light of these requests, Wealden council officers are recommending changes go out to public consultation. The recommended changes do not exactly line up with what the drivers association has requested, however.
For vehicle age limits, officers suggest that the council should consult on allowing a vehicle licensed for the first time from April 1st 2024 to be used until it is ten-years-old, as long as it meets fuel emissions standards.
Electric, hybrid-electric and wheelchair-accessible vehicles would be given a more generous 15-year lifespan, if this new condition were put in place after consultation.
Their advice on window tinting is less flexible, however.
Officers say the tinted vehicle condition exists to protect passengers, allowing them to see that a taxi’s back seats are empty before entering and to allow outside observers to check the car is not overloaded.
As a result, officers suggest the council keep the condition, but consult on introducing an exemption for vehicles which have a CCTV system installed.
Officers suggest this exemption be limited, however, with drivers not being allowed to use films to darken windows, even if they do have CCTV systems installed.
While not called for by the drivers association, council officers are recommending a further condition should also be considered if the requested changes are put out to public consultation.
This would be a new requirement for all hackney carriages to be painted white. Officers say this new livery would make it easier for passengers to identify licensed taxis.
A private hire driver has been charged with murder after allegedly mowing down a man while driving his vehicle.
The Scottish Sun reports that Christopher Hanton, a “loving” dad from Chryston, North Lanarkshire, died in hospital after he was allegedly struck by the vehicle on Glasgow’s George Street on August 5.
Kunathilingam Mohanathas has since been suspended by Glasgow City Council after a Police Scotland request.
Police told the council’s licensing committee that it is alleged while driving a private hire car he “assaulted a named person by intentionally driving a car directly towards the named person and striking him with the car”.
The officer told councillors that Mr Mohanathas was “acting in his capacity as a private hire car driver at the time of the alleged offence”.
The force requested the suspension on August 8, three days after Mr Hanton died.
He was suspended on August 9 with “immediate effect for a period of six weeks”.
The driver is currently on remand.
The council voted to suspend his licences for the unexpired portion of the time he faces the allegation.
Following his death, Mr Hanton’s heartbroken family paid tribute to the “devoted and dedicated” husband and dad and have been left “truly devastated” by the tragedy.
A local councillor has sparked a debate on passenger safety after claiming that using locally licensed taxis is safer than hailing an Uber.
A taxi driver was attacked and subjected to racist abuse after two brothers refused to pay him up front.
Christopher Hilling, 64, admitted to engaging a child in sexual activity at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 8 August.
Abdigani Ebrahim, 38, of Grangetown, admitted charges of affray and criminal damage following the incident in Northcote Street, Roath, last July.
The crackdown targeted drivers operating across council boundaries to ensure public safety and compliance with regulations.
Lucio Valentino relies on his six-year-old Border Collie, Pixel, to help manage his mental health conditions, including depression and personality disorders.
Taxi drivers across the Fylde Coast are set to receive a briefing note aimed at clearing up confusion over out-of-area private hire vehicles.
Police are appealing to find a taxi driver who may have "vital clues" about the murder of Ryan Passey seven years ago since he was fatally stabbed in a Stourbridge nightclub.
A joint operation by Hull City Council, Wolverhampton Council, and Humberside Police has uncovered a number of safety issues with taxis operating in the city.
French taxi drivers are calling for government compensation after suffering significant revenue losses during the Paris Olympics.
Coventry city centre has introduced a new taxi marshal service aimed at improving safety and efficiency for late-night revellers.
A court heard harrowing details of the moment a drink-driving uninsured motorist killed three people in a 90mph crash.
The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans was amongst the thousands who enjoyed the Battle Proms at Highclere Castle on 3 August.
Swindon residents could be facing a hike in taxi fares from October after councillors gave the green light to a £1 increase in the standard fare minimum charge.
Ricky Harold, a 20-year veteran of the town’s taxi trade, was parked in a lay-by when his vehicle was struck from behind by a black Audi A2.
Chinese automotive giant Geely has deepened its commitment to the UK electric vehicle market with a £120m cash injection into London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC).
North Tyneside Council is facing a backlash over plans to increase taxi fares by 6.3%.
Nazim Asmal preyed on his victims after nights out in Preston and Darwen, driving them to secluded spots before carrying out horrific sexual assaults.
Newcastle is set to see a surge in pink taxis driven by women as part of a new initiative aimed at improving passenger safety.
An unlicensed taxi driver who picked up two vulnerable women in Aberdare has been ordered to pay nearly £1,500 in fines and costs.