Taxi fares in Newcastle-under-Lyme could increase by around 25 per cent following a request from drivers.
StokeonTrentLive reports that Newcastle is currently one of the cheapest places in the UK to travel by hackney carriage, with passengers being charged no more than £5.55 for a two-mile journey within the borough during the day.
But drivers have now asked Newcastle Borough Council to increase the tariffs for the first time in five years.
The proposed increase would see the cost of a two-mile journey during the day increase by 24.3 per cent to £6.90. And the cost of the same journey at night under the higher 'tariff two' would be increased from £7.40 to £8.75 - an 18.2 per cent rise.
Newcastle Hackney Carriage Drivers Association is also requesting that tariff two comes into effect at 10pm, rather than midnight.
The borough council's licensing and public protection committee decided whether to approve the changes when they met on Monday, April 29.
In a letter to the borough council, drivers association chairman Muhammed Murtaza Alam argued that since the last review, cabbies had been hit with rapidly increasing costs for things like fuel and insurance.
He says: "It has been almost five years since we had the last fair increase in 2019. Since then the cost of living has increased rapidly - fuel prices have increased, insurance premiums, maintenance cost, everything gone up.
"Also when it comes to replacing vehicles because of licensing requirements the new vehicles are very costly.
"The businesses in Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre close earlier at night time, during the week most of the businesses close before 12am and on weekends everything closes before 2am.
"Most of the neighbouring councils' taxi fares changes from tariff one to tariff two at 10pm. Therefore it's been a long going demand of the Newcastle-under-Lyme Hackney drivers to amend the tariff so they start at 10pm."
According to the PHTM taxi fare league table, Newcastle's current cheapest tariff is ranked 328th out of 344 local authorities in the country - the proposed increase would see it move up to 184th.
Taxis licensed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council currently charge £5.90 for a two-mile journey during the day, which is the 313th highest fare in the country. In comparison, in Manchester the fare would be £8.20, while in Nottingham it would be £8.
Newcastle's cabbies have asked for the tariff two period to start at 10pm on two previous occasions. But in 2015 and in 2019, the licensing committee voted against the proposal.
Other changes proposed by the drivers include increasing the soiling charge from £60 to £80, and for additional notes for customers to be added to the tariff sheet displayed inside vehicles. These notes would explain that out-of-borough journeys are normally negotiated with the driver in advance, rather than being metered, and that payment in advance may be asked for such journeys.
If the committee approve the changes, they will be subject to a consultation before going to cabinet for ratification.
Source: https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/end-cheap-taxis-huge-fare-9240235
Taxi drivers shared concerns at the cost of buying new cars as Huntingdonshire District Council sets new minimum emission standards
In the early hours of Sunday, May 21, 2023, Farid Cheheb was driving his taxi when he struck 44-year-old Shane Scannell on South Street, Epsom.
A private hire driver is more than £200 out of pocket after refusing to let an assistance dogs ride in his cab.
A General Motors autonomous car company has settled a lawsuit for millions with a woman who was hit by one of its self-driving taxis and dragged along a San Francisco street last year.
Ibraheem Khan, 27, pounced on Abdelella Yousif in Glasgow’s St George’s Cross on November 13, 2022.
Edinburgh taxi drivers will no longer be charged by the council to use The Royal Mile on their annual outing.
The mother of a boy chased by a cabbie after being in collision with his PHV on a bicycle has told how her son required surgery for a broken arm.
A taxi firm fed up with the number of roadworks in a town centre has sent a formal complaint to the Government - branding the county council 'totally and utterly incompetent'.
Warrington BC has launched two surveys – one for the public, and one for cabbies - both drivers licensed by Warrington BC, and drivers who are licensed by other local authorities.
A taxi driver who completed deliveries for the NHS during the height of the Covid pandemic has been jailed for his role in a major heroin and cocaine ring.