Plans to hike up taxi fares in Sunderland have moved a step closer after the city council's Licensing and Regulatory Committee agreed to start a formal notice period for revised taxi prices.
Fares rises have been approved in 2022 and again in 2023, now, the Sunderland Hackney Carriage Operators' Association (SHCOA) wants increases across the city's three main tariffs and to also increase waiting time and "soiling" charges.
According to ChronicleLive, a letter from SHCOA on the council's website explained that the proposed increases are due to "increased operating costs during the present cost-of-living crisis", the cost of repairs due to "large increases in the cost of parts, labour and energy" and increased insurance premiums.
Other reasons included the "almost prohibitive cost of a replacement wheelchair-accessible vehicle", which was described as a "cause for serious concern within the taxi trade", and the wider impact of inflation.
Trevor Hines, from the SHCOA, told councillors that the taxi drivers had talked about the new fare prices. He said some were very worried that higher fares might mean they get fewer customers. But he also said other drivers were worried about companies, such as Uber, coming to the city.
At the meeting on Monday 26 February, at City Hall, taxi drivers also talked about how much it costs to buy new cars and how hard it is to find new young drivers.
Mr Hines said: "Tariff increases I can assure you are always a very emotive subject [...] but there's a lot happening in the taxi trade at the moment.
"In fact there's been a sea change since the pandemic and during the pandemic, and a lot of taxi operators are under a great deal of stress.
"However, with any tariff increase there's always a worry that you might lose business but on the other side of the coin, there are lots of costs that have to be covered".
New proposals set out charges based on three fare tariffs.
A report prepared for the council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee sets out six example journey distances for each tariff, ranging from one mile to five miles.
Tariff one applies to journeys undertaken between Monday and Saturday, 7am to 11pm, except public and bank holidays and the Christmas / New Year period.
The proposed changes would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, an extra 40p for a 2.5-mile journey and an extra £1 for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.45 per cent.
Tariff two applies to journeys undertaken between 11pm and 7am each day and all day Sunday, except public and bank holidays and the Christmas / New Year period.
The changes for this tariff would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, a 60p increase for a 2.5-mile journey and a £1.40 increase for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.8 per cent.
Tariff three applies to journeys undertaken from 6pm on December 24 to 7am on December 27, and 6pm on December 31 to 7am on January 2 and all day on other public and bank holidays.
The proposed changes to this tariff would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, an extra 60p for a 2.5-mile journey and a £1.40 increase for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.2 per cent.
Elsewhere, the SHCOA has requested the “waiting time” rate for vehicles to increase from 20p per minute to 30p per minute.
The current maximum charge for “fouling of vehicle” is also being proposed to rise by £10, from £60 to £70.
There will now be a statutory notice period allowing for objections to be made.
If no objections are made, the variations could come into operation as early as April 1, 2024.
Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/uk-news/sunderland-taxi-fares-set-rise-28706696
Veezu, Wales’ leading private hire technology platform, has donated £10,989 to NSPCC Cymru following a month’s fundraising activity.
In Your Area reports that Veezu donated a portion of its margin from more than 100,000 rides in South Wales, booked via its app in December, to cover the expenses of 2,700 calls to Childline during the festive season as part of its Funded by Veezu programme.
Funded by Veezu offers residents, charities and sports teams the opportunity to apply for funding and grants to help support them with their local community initiatives.
NSPCC Cymru provides support to children, families and professionals in caring for their children and providing therapeutic assistance to help children move on from abuse.
Childline is a free service for children and young people in need of support or advice who delivered an average of 16,300 counselling sessions a month last year.
This is not the first time that Veezu is supporting NSPCC Cymru, as they annually donate to the charity through their Childline Club Cymru membership.
Hywel Peterson, Chairman at NSPCC Cymru, said: “We’re incredibly thankful for Veezu’s generous donation.
"It will make a big difference and help us ensure that our trained volunteer counsellors can be there for every child across Wales, whenever they need us most.
Nathan Bowles, CEO at Veezu, added: “We are delighted to have raised so much for NSPCC Cymru.
"Their work is of incredible importance and is one that we admire so highly here at Veezu. I feel privileged to be able to contribute to their life-changing work.”
Source: https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/taxi-firm-donates-11k-to-childline/
Pothole protestors blocked George Square in Glasgow in a noisy demonstration which saw taxis surround the city chambers in a show of solidarity.
Potholes Make Glasgow took to the city centre on Saturday 24 February, to protest the state of the city's roads with many expressing their anger at the number of potholes.
Dozens of members of the online group, which has gathered more than 13,000 members, took to the city centre armed with banners and placards to demand more is done to fix Glasgow's roads.
Marion Begg told Glasgow Live that she joined the demonstration because she had been left in agony when she was transported to hospital as the ambulance went over the road defects.
Alison, who helps run Potholes make Glasgow, said: "We are here today to protest about the disgraceful state of Glasgow's roads. The infrastructure of the city is falling to pieces and is so dangerous.
"Is it going to take a loss of life for these potholes to be fixed? I'm scared to drive at night because the roads are atrocious.
"We are here to ask that Glasgow City Council listens to us and fixes the potholes. Our group has gathered over 13,500 members and we have gained thousands of members since the start of the year.
"People from all over the city are very concerned and want action taken before someone is hurt."
Protestors gathered on the road as they were joined by around 40 private hire and taxi drivers, from the Scottish Private Hire Association and Saltire Taxis, as they blasted their horns while surrounding the square and city chambers.
John Wallace, the vice-chair of the Scottish Private Hire Association, said: "The cost of damage to drivers is huge and it's not being compensated back. It's not just the damage to the cars because when one of our drivers is off the road they aren't earning.
"Nearly every driver who is currently working in Glasgow has mentioned that their cars have been damaged in some way after hitting a pothole.
"We have seen everything from the tyre being burst at a busy time to whole suspension systems breaking. It's costing drivers thousands and also deterring taxis from going to certain areas or taking routes to pick up passengers.
"Our association has complained constantly to the council but nothing seems to get done. It feels to us that the council are not willing to do what they are paid to, which is fix the roads."
Eddie Grice, 39, spoke to the BBC from his PHV, showing parts of his car that have fallen off as recently as last week because of potholes.
Mr Grice, who is also the general secretary of the Scottish Private Hire Association, said the city's roads are a "nightmare".
He said: "It's been going on that long now, the damage being caused to our cars is happening on previously reported potholes. So they [the council] are failing to live up to their statutory duties now.
"It cost a fortune, I've been through five tyres since the start of December. I've lost a drop link. I've got bits of my car sitting in here."
Another driver said: "We're all driving about trying to do our jobs, our cars are getting damaged and Glasgow City Council don't think they have to respond to the people of Glasgow."
Councils across Scotland are in the process of setting their budgets for the next financial year against the backdrop of a surprise council tax freeze promised by the SNP.
Argyll and Bute Council voted against the freeze, setting a 10% increase on council tax, but Glasgow is among the local authorities which will deliver it.
Glasgow's budget will see £6m spent on improvements to roads, footpaths, cycleways when last year the road budget was £12m.
Unions have protested against planned budget cuts to other services in the city, saying they are already "on their knees".
Jamie Canavan, who is the founder of Potholes Make Glasgow, said he wants to see the council spend more on road maintenance.
"Everybody is making noise," he said. "We've had accidents - accidents with kids in cars.
"Prices are going up nowadays. It's costing more to repair a car than even own a car."
A spokesman for the city council said there had been an "exceptional rise" in pothole reports last January, but not the same level this year.
He said: "To address the particularly severe winter last year, the carriageway maintenance budget was increased to £12m for this financial year to improve roads condition throughout the city and we expect to have completed around 175 roads resurfacing projects by March this year.
"Our responsibility is to ensure we have in place an appropriate system of road safety inspections and repairs that tackles the most dangerous faults as a matter of priority.
"We always seek to undertake first-time permanent repairs wherever possible and we currently have four crews dedicated to repairing potholes on a daily basis.
He urged members of the public to report any road faults to the council via the MyGlasgow app or social media channels.
Source: https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-pothole-protestors-block-george-28698181
A couple who launched a Teesside assisted transport service feel happy that they are helping people to go out who are less able to.
TeessideLive reports that Gary Munroe and Jill Suckley started Ring A Ride Teesside, based in Redcar, around seven months ago and it has been getting "busier and busier", especially since they created their website in December last year.
Ring A Ride is a wheelchair accessible and dementia friendly taxi service that focuses on going the extra mile to make its customers feel comfortable and relaxed.
The couple have undergone dementia awareness training so they know how to communicate with those who suffer from dementia. They started with just one car and now they have three wheelchair accessible cars and a saloon car.
Gary, 55, from Eston, said: "It's hard work but it’s rewarding because it’s getting people out who don’t normally come out. When you pick nice genuine people up who appreciate the job you’re doing it makes you go home happy. You go to work happy.
"I was a taxi driver before. I’ve always done school runs for Redcar Council and I’ve been a taxi driver for 30 years. There’s a lot of people who can’t get out and there’s a lot of lonely people."
Ring A Ride Teesside has taken customers to day care centres, hospital appointments, airports and more. Gary takes one elderly man in Redcar to a day centre twice a week after he lost a loved one so he is "over the moon".
Also, in November last year the taxi service took an elderly veteran to lay a wreath at Guisborough cenotaph, free of charge, which "made his day".
Gary is "going back to the old days of taxi-ing" as he picks customers up right from their door, rather than sending a text to the customer to let them know he is outside like most taxi companies, because he wants to make sure that elderly people have locked their doors and got everything they need before they go out "to give them a bit of peace of mind".
Ring A Ride has taken customers in wheelchairs to airports in Newcastle and Manchester and drivers make sure to take them into the airports, pushing them in their wheelchairs. Gary added: "We go that little bit extra really."
This is the first business Gary has owned and before launching the taxi service, Jill, 53, worked in nurseries but she loves her new job as Gary's partner in Ring A Ride.
Business has been "steady" for the couple and the former taxi driver believes their regular customers have increased by 15 per cent since December.
Customers can pre-book a taxi for any time of day, so there is a car available 24/7, and the company specialises in hospital appointments as Gary has found that "a lot of people worry about their taxi being late" so Ring A Ride drivers try to always be on time.
Also, the company is "getting a lot of calls now from Hartlepool and Stockton" but these areas are "a bit too far out" at the moment.
However, Gary hopes to expand to five cars and be able to serve more areas in the region, such as Stockton and Hartlepool.
Source: https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/teesside-wheelchair-dementia-friendly-taxi-28685150
A driver who let his car be used as a taxi during the Henley Regatta despite it being unlicensed has been fined more than £2,000.
According to the Oxford Mail, Raja Ilyas Hussain, 43, from High Wycombe, was found guilty of permitting his vehicle to be used as a hackney carriage without a licence and the appropriate insurance at Oxford Magistrates’ Court at a hearing on January 15.
The court heard that on August 15, 2021, a vehicle belonging to Mr Hussain was observed to be displaying a “taxi” roof sign on Thameside in Henley-on-Thames during the rowing festival.
However, the vehicle was not displaying the required licence plate on the rear, which would identify it as a licensed vehicle.
Licensing enforcement officers, who were working during the annual event, approached the vehicle to see whether the vehicle was licensed to be working in the town.
The vehicle drove off immediately after the officers identified themselves.
The court also heard that Mr Hussain had previously held a driver’s licence with South Oxfordshire District Council, so would have been fully aware of the requirements for drivers and vehicles to be licensed, insured and safety checked to carry members of the public.
After being found guilty, Mr Hussain was fined £440 for the unlawful plying for hire and £660 for not having the required insurance.
Mr Hussain was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £440 and £800 towards prosecution costs.
He was also given eight penalty points on his driving licence.
The case was originally heard at the Magistrates’ Court in March 2022, but Mr Hussain applied for the case to be reopened, with the matter then heard in January 2024.
Source: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24140816.driver-fined-using-car-taxi-henley-regatta/
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A proposal to increase driver, vehicle and private hire operator licences was discussed on Friday 19 July 19 at Sheffield City Council’s waste and street scene committee.
Through this collaboration, FREENOW willl provide additional benefits giving drivers up to 25% off pay-as-you-go rates across the entire bp pulse electric charging network and discounted fuel at all UK bp branded sites.
Wakefield Licensing, working alongside West Yorks Police Roads Policing unit, NPT, Off-Road Bike Team, Police Intercept Team, DVLA & DVSA, held a Partnership Day of Action at Thornes Park.