Questions have been raised as to why some fees paid by taxi drivers in Cambridge are increasing above inflation.
CambridgeshireLive reports that 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 on Monday 29 January, 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.
Cllr 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, Cllr 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.”
Source: https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/taxi-licence-fees-go-up-28531559#
A bulb, which was out of alignment, was enough to land a Carlisle taxi driver with 12 penalty points by Cumberland Council.
According to the News & Star, Andy Kidd appealed against the decision at a meeting of the council's regulatory sub-committee at the Civic Centre in Carlisle on Monday 29 January.
Mr Kidd, who is a licensed hackney carriage driver, private hire driver, private hire operator and vehicle owner, received the points for having a unlicensed vehicle or using a licensed vehicle without insurance or without a valid periodical vehicle test.
Amanda Bailey, a licensing officer at the council, told members that the vehicle in question had no valid MOT and it had been used by a driver for a school contract on November 2.
She said that, as the owner of the vehicle, it was Mr Kidd's responsibility to ensure the MOT was up to date and he admitted that it was "human error" and he now has a "robust system in place" to make sure such an error did not happen again.
Christopher Bray, who is the secretary of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Association, was acting on behalf of Mr Kidd and said they were "surprised" at the time that the test was not in place and added: "He and his business partner run a very good business."
Mr Kidd said: "I've run cars for a long and I just find it hard to believe I've got maximum points when I tried my best."
He said that the reason the car failed the test was because a bulb was out of alignment and in the past it would have been normal practice for the mechanic to just put it back into the correct alignment.
Ms Bailey told members that Mr Kidd was not the driver of the vehicle at the time of the offence and the other driver was not aware of the defect.
She added: "The responsibility was with the owner."
After a short period of deliberation members decided that the appeal was not upheld.
Speaking after the ruling Mr Kidd said that he was planning to appeal against the decision and the hearing would be at the city's magistrate’s court.
Source: https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/24085426.carlisle-taxi-driver-loses-licence-failing-mot/
Council officers have stepped up patrols in Wolverhampton city centre in a bid to crack down on illegal parking in taxi ranks.
The Express and Star reports that Wolverhampton Council's taxi compliance and parking services are carrying out joint patrols to stop other vehicles from parking in the ranks.
The spaces are signposted as "taxis only" and are located in sites close to the city centre, offering convenient access for customers who may choose to use black cabs due to a disability, as the vehicles are wheelchair accessible.
In order to prevent motorists from illegally parking in the ranks, Wolverhampton Council officers are carrying out regular patrols, including at night time and over the weekend.
The officers are warning drivers who are thinking of using a taxi rank to find alternative parking or face a penalty.
The crackdown comes as Wolverhampton Council issued more than 100 Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) of £70 last year for the misuse of taxi ranks.
Councillor Craig Collingswood, cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: "Our taxi ranks are for black cabs only. Other vehicles should not be using them.
"The ranks are conveniently located to support passengers with accessibility needs and this inconsiderate use is making it harder for people to enjoy a visit to Wolverhampton.
"We want to make sure our city is welcoming and accessible to everyone and the misuse of these ranks by other drivers is both thoughtless and illegal.
"We will not hesitate to issue Penalty Charge Notices to any drivers misusing our taxi ranks."
Those not in a black cab who are caught using the taxi ranks could face a PCN of £70 reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days of service.
Police investigating an attack on a taxi driver in Lancaster have released a CCTV image of a man they are looking for.
According to LancsLive, officers from British Transport Police (BTP) said the incident happened at the railway station shortly before midnight on Friday January 5.
They said a man assaulted a taxi driver on being told that the vehicle was pre-booked.
He then verbally threatened the driver before gaining access to the taxi and damaging the vehicle interior by kicking and punching it.
The man fled the scene when officers arrived and a thorough search of the area was conducted however he was not found.
In a statement, BTP said: "Officers would like to speak to the man in the image as they believe may have information that could help their investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016, or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference number 760 of 5 January.
"Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
Source: https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/taxi-driver-assaulted-outside-lancaster-28531676
Drivers of private hire vehicles in Swindon claim that police are failing to properly investigate a spree of recent break-ins.
The Swindon Advertiser reports that frustrated motorists are fed up with spending hundreds of pounds at a time on window repairs while having to take time off work until their vehicles are roadworthy again.
They allege that up to 80 cars have had their windows smashed during the last three months but the lack of arrested suspects has made some of the drivers give up on reporting future incidents to police.
Messages about a new break-in pop up in their WhatsApp group of around 120 drivers on a regular basis, with no indication of things improving, as offers to send video footage to the police in a bid to assist investigations seem to have led nowhere.
Footage in one CCTV clip appears to show a black-capped e-scooter rider sidle up to a Veezu taxi, smash the window, and lean into the vehicle to search for something only to then hurry away empty-handed.
Another clip taken from a Ring doorbell on January 10 appears to show footage of a man in a hoodie and hat fiddling with the front window of a parked car.
A mobile phone video appears to catch a grey-tracksuited suspect in the act as the car alarm sounds and the offender runs away into the night.
One taxi driver said: “At the end of the day, he’s taking money from my family. At this point, even if I caught him, I wouldn't call the police."
Another driver said: “The police are not helping taxi drivers. We have reported these issues to them and we have all the evidence, but no action is being taken.
“These thieves are so daring now because they know they can get away with it, they walk right up to the cars and do it, even in broad daylight."
Some drivers have put a notice on their to notify would-be window smashers that no valuables are left inside it in a bid to stop them causing further damage, while others leave their windows down at all times.
Muhammad Yasin is leading a campaign group called Swindon Drivers Alliance to raise awareness of the problem.
He said: "We have lost trust in the police because of the way they are dealing with this issue. It's serious, we have to work hand in hand and need action on this ASAP."
The drivers claim that the yellow taxi plates required by law are making their cars targets for thieves, but calls for the council to change the policy have not been successful so far.
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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.
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