Taxi fares in Warrington could be set to increase.
According to the Warrington Guardian, the taxi and other licensing committee will discuss a report on the hackney carriage table of fares at its meeting on Tuesday 21 March.
At its meeting in July, the licensing committee agreed to adopt the table of fares if no objections were received to the consultation.
A report to the committee says evidence has been sourced from the Automobile Association, which shows average fuel prices as at February 2023. It states that fuel prices continued to increase during 2022 and currently ‘remain stable’ at February prices.
It adds: “Fuel, insurance and vehicle repair costs have steadily increased; impacted by ongoing geo-political events including the continued Ukraine war.
“As of March 2023, the average fare in Warrington (tariff one for a two-mile journey) is £5.70 which, compared to all 350 authorities in the UK in 2022 was ranked at no: 277 but has since dropped back to 320 in the price comparison chart compiled by Private Hire and Taxi Monthly.
“This is mainly owing to the other authorities increasing their fares in 2022.”
The report highlights the details of a seven per cent fare increase across all tariffs – which the committee is being recommended to approve.
It also highlights five per cent and ten per cent increases for ‘comparisons sake’.
The report adds: “There are no additional financial implications for the council contained within this report.
“The proposed increases are required to better reflect the true cost of providing a service to the trade’s customers and in order to continue to maintain a reasonable standard of living.”
Source: https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/23395067.taxi-fares-set-increase/
After protests from taxi drivers across Cambridge about the installation of mandatory CCTV in their taxis, Cambridge City Council has said they are considering pushing back the deadline.
Drivers gathered outside South Cambridgeshire District Council's headquarters in Cambourne on Wednesday, March 15, to protest the new requirement.
The Cambridge News reports that in an announcement Cambridge City Council said taxi driver "concerns" have led them to consider pushing back the date that taxi drivers in Cambridge will have to install new CCTV devices in their vehicles, from April to September, 2023.
A spokesperson said: “Following concerns from the taxi trade about the timescales for implementation, a decision will be made at Monday’s Licensing Committee on recommendations to postpone the need to install CCTV until September.”
From April 2023, all taxi drivers applying to Cambridge City Council for a licence will be required to have CCTV installed in their vehicles. Some taxi drivers in the city have already said they will consider taking legal action against plans for CCTV in their cars.
Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire Council are responsible for licensing all hackney carriage, private hire and dual drivers, as well as taxi proprietors and operators in Cambridge.
A spokesperson for Cambridge City Council added: “Installing CCTV in taxis and private hire vehicles licensed in Cambridge will be a boost to safety for both customers and drivers.
“As taxi licensing authority, the council has a number of objectives, including the safety and protection of the public, vehicle safety, prevention of crime and protection of drivers – all of which will help to be met by the installation of CCTV in the vehicles it licenses.
Introducing CCTV for all licensed vehicles will also ensure there is supporting evidence for any criminal or enforcement investigations into customers’ or drivers’ actions or behaviour while the vehicles are operational."
Ahmed Karaahmed, Chairman of Cambridge City Licenced Taxis, said that with one CCTV supplier in Cambridge and more than a thousand taxis to kit out, the April deadline was "never realistic".
He said: “A week to go there would will be hundreds of vehicles that will need CCTV to be implemented.
"There is only one provider in Cambridge who is able to do that, and they have written to Panther taxis to say they don’t have enough cameras to fit into the taxis.
Most cameras are Chinese make and model, there are government guidelines saying that no UK company should be using Chinese make and model of CCTV in sensitive public areas.”
According to a survey conducted by the Office of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner on February 15 2023, police forces in the UK are "shot through" with Chinese camera technology.
Concerns that drivers licensed by Wolverhampton Council and other local authorities operating in Bolton were raised by town hall chiefs.
Bolton Council bosses say they have no way of tracing the number of private hire drivers working in the town who got their licences from other local authorities.
According to The Bolton News, Deputy Council leader Hilary Fairclough urged drivers to request a driver who is registered in the borough to ensure their safety.
Different local authorities set varying minimum licensing standards for a driver to be registerd to operate.
And Cllr Fairclough has also said she has raised the issue of the deregulation with Levelling Up Secretary of State Michael Gove.
The issue was discussed at a full meeting of the council.
Concerns have been raised in particular about the number of drivers coming from the Wolverhampton area.
Cllr Mohammed Ayub said the differing minimum licensing standards would be undermined by the number of out of town drivers.
He said: “Out of town licences may not be regulated to the same standard that Bolton expects.
“On the one hand we are raising the standards of our licence holders, on the flip side many drivers are going elsewhere to get the licence and ply their trade in Bolton.”
He requested from the council administration information as to how many out of town drivers were operating in Bolton.
Cllr Fairclough said: “I abhor the fact we have to allow people registered in Wolverhampton and other places to come and work here it is something that was taken up with Michael Gove last week.
“It was made very clear to him we are not happy with that sort of deregulation and the reasons why we felt it was important our taxi drivers were registered in Bolton, adhered to Bolton rules and worked in Bolton.
“I really believe that we should have a standard that is high for everybody’s safety, for the taxi drivers and for the passengers.
“They can come in, we don’t like it, my advice to be honest would be to anybody booking a taxi is to say to the operator I want one that is registered in Bolton.
“Deregulation started in 2015 that allows private hire drivers to move around, it wasn’t the case prior to that, I don’t agree with that, I will continue to campaign for that to change.
“Regarding the drivers from Wolverhampton and others outside of area we have no way of knowing as they don’t have to register with us.”
Cllr Steve Evans, City of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for city environment and climate change, said: “City of Wolverhampton Council has invested heavily in digital technology which enables us to thoroughly check driver and vehicle details.
"We have a high level of licensing standards and are believed to be the first in the country to have introduced daily enhanced DBS checks on all of our drivers.
"We have also introduced technology that checks applicants right to work, similar to the systems found at airports with facial recognition, and we check every new applicant against the National Register for Revocations, Refusals and Suspensions.
"Our investments in digital systems have made savings and allow us to undertake compliance operations across the country every week, including on weekend evenings.
"We have always been at the forefront of implementing stringent taxi licensing standards and we will continue to use the latest technology to ensure both public and passenger safety.”
Source: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/23392978.bolton-taxis-not-always-licensed-bolton-council/
Since 2019, 86 private hire and hackney carriage drivers have had their right to trade revoked, according to Leeds City Council’s annual licensing report.
The number represents a tiny fraction of the city’s trade, with around 6,000 drivers currently operating locally.
Plying for hire – where private hire drivers illegally pick up a passenger in the street without taking a prior booking – was responsible for 29 of the revocations, although most of those date back to before the Covid pandemic.
Inappropriate behaviour was the second-most common reason, with 22 revocations, while motoring offences accounted for 20 drivers losing their right to trade.
The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that Ahmad Hussain, chair of the Leeds Private Hire Drivers Organisation (LPHDO) said the figures demonstrated that the trade was predominantly full of good people.
“86 drivers across four years is, in the context of the whole trade, a minimal number,” he said.
“It proves what we’ve said all along, which is that the vast majority of drivers are decent, honest people who work hard and protect the travelling public they carry around with them. We don’t need the bad eggs.”
Mr Hussain said he hoped the numbers would encourage the council to change how it makes decisions on whether or not to revoke a taxi driver’s licence.
Traditionally those calls have always been made by licensing officers, though some local authorities refer the decision to a panel of councillors.
Although Leeds is now shifting to a panel system for drivers who’ve clocked up too many penalty points on their licence, there’s no indication yet that that approach will apply to all cases.
Figures from the report also showed that 76 local drivers had their licences suspended last year, though in nearly half of all cases that was due to medical reasons.
Relations between the taxi trade and the city council have soured in recent years, primarily due to contentious changes to the way in which they’re regulated. Under new rules brought in last year, drivers who reach nine penalty points for minor offences risk losing their licence, down from the previous threshold of 12.
The LPHDO claimed the change was disproportionate, given that taxi drivers cover many more miles than the average motorist.
The council insisted, however, that it was acting on government guidance which has been handed down to all local authorities and that the new rules are still less strict than in other areas.
Taxi and private hire drivers in Bradford will be able to apply for grants of up to £10,000 to buy or hire electric vehicles.
The Telegraph and Argus reports that a £4 million pot of cash has been set up using money from Bradford’s Clean Air Zone, and drivers will be able to apply for grants from May.
The grant will be increased for non-wheelchair accessible vehicles from £6,000 over two years to £10,000 over two years, bringing it into line with the Hackney Carriage and Wheelchair Accessible Private Hire Vehicle EV grants.
Proprietors who have already upgraded to other compliant vehicle types (such as petrol/electric hybrid) can apply for a top-up grant if they choose to go fully electric.
A Bradford Council spokesman said: “The Bradford taxi trade has been extremely proactive in upgrading vehicles to Clean Air Zone standards.
“Thanks to grants already issued it is one of the cleanest fleets in the country with 98 per cent of the 4,000 strong licensed taxi and private hire trade meeting the CAZ standard.
“The applications process will be live from May 2023 for Bradford licensed vehicle proprietors.
“There are currently 200,000 electric vehicle movements per month in Bradford and these grants will support the Bradford taxi trade to also make the change to electric.
“Owners of electric vehicles can see savings in fuel costs as well as lower servicing and maintenance costs.
“These are on top of the driver health benefits of in-vehicle pollution reduction, respiratory health improvements and also a reduction in noise.
Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council's executive member for healthy people and places, added: “The taxi trade in Bradford is booming with applications to become a driver at an all-time high.
“We are pleased to further extend our support to the Bradford taxi trade for the upgrade of their vehicles to fully electric by offering up to £10,000 per vehicle in grant funding to assist proprietors with the running costs of a fully electric hackney carriage or private hire vehicle. The funding will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.
“We would encourage anyone who is unsure if they need to pay or are entitled to grants or exemptions to call the Clean Air Zone team on 01274 435533 which is open Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 5pm and Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm.”
Source: https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/23395324.taxi-drivers-can-apply-10k-caz-funded-grants/
A former paratrooper turned pet taxi driver is in the running for an Animal Star Award for his work in Wakefield and Pontefract.
Tariq Rehman, 75, from Stechford, had his licence removed by Solihull Council in November last year following a complaint from a passenger.
A taxi firm boss has branded the criminal justice system "broken" after new figures revealed almost a third of offenders in the town reoffended within a year.
Dramatic CCTV footage has captured the moment a hooded figure set a taxi alight on a residential driveway.
A Drongan taxi driver has been convicted of sexually assaulting a female passenger after offering to waive her fare in exchange for sex.
Artur Nowostawski has been jailed for six years and nine months after he attacked a taxi driver earlier this year.
Taxi drivers in the city are facing significant financial losses after a series of electric vehicle charging point failures left them unable to operate.
Police are appealing for help to trace a man who disappeared after getting into a taxi bound for the Otley area of Leeds.
The company’s operator licence includes a condition ordering all drivers to undergo the same training as those from other companies.
Police have stopped a private hire driver who was driving the wrong way on the M1 close to Junction 8 at Hemel Hempstead.
Newcastle City Council is set to introduce strict new measures to tackle illegal and inconsiderate parking near Newcastle International Airport.
West Mercia Police is appealing for information following a rape that took place in Malvern's Priory Park early on Sunday, August 4th.
Glasgow taxi users could be facing a near-10% fare increase and extended night-time charges.
At least 14 cars have been damaged since June, with drivers suffering financial loss and emotional distress.
The attack happened at around 12.45pm on Etruria Vale Road, Stoke, when the victim, driving a Toyota Avensis, was punched in the face by one of the men.
Cumberland Council has taken decisive action to protect public safety by revoking the licence of a taxi driver charged last week with a serious racially aggravated offence.
A historic bridge has been closed indefinitely after an Uber car became wedged on Saturday morning.
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.