Taxi companies have launched a legal battle against a 12,000% increase in their licence fee.
The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) wants to overturn a licensing fee hike that would see some cab operators pay a whopping £700,000.
Transport for London (TfL) approved the price increases for five-year licences last month – but the move was met with anger.
Defending the hike, TfL told the Evening Standard it reflects licensing costs and enforcement and that the fees are proportionate.
The fees, which last rose in 2013, would mean operators running 101 to 500 cars, who currently pay £2,826, will see a 5,200% increase over five years – meaning they will have to fork out £150,000.
Companies with 501 to 1,000 cars will see an increase from £2,826 to £350,000 over the next five years.
And those operators who run 1,001 to 10,000 cars will be hit with a huge 12,000% increase, from £2,826 to £700,000.
And now the LPHCA has applied for a judicial review to prevent the increase. A fund has also been launched to finance the legal action.
The LPHCA says TfL has appointed too many enforcement officers.
Chairman Steve Wright told the paper: ‘We are in the middle of a war.’
The GMB Union said the hike – which would be passed on to customers – would put 30,000 drivers out of business.
TfL, the GMB Union and the LPHCA have been contacted for comment.
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Taxi fares in Liverpool are set to rise for the first time in two years.
The planned rise could see weekend customers hit the hardest - with nearly £1 added on to cab journeys in the early hours of Sunday mornings.
Under the proposals, people getting a hackney carriage home anytime between 2am and 6am on a Sunday morning will now pay £3.90 for the first 330 yards of a journey - a rise of 90 pence.
This will be followed by 30 pence for every 232 to 19360 yards and another 30 pence for every 300 yards after that.
Thirty pence will also be added for every 60 seconds the cab is waiting.
This pricing will also now be used for journeys between 6pm on Christmas Eve and 6am on December 27 and between 6pm on New Year’s Eve and 6am on January 2.
This means that - if the plans are signed off - journeys home from town in the early hours of a Sunday morning will be priced the same as on notable days such as Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
This tariff can also be charged for journeys over four miles beyond the nearest city boundary if agreed before the start of the journey with the passenger.
There is an increase proposed in the standard day-rate being charged by black cabs as well.
For journeys starting after 6am and ending before 11pm, the first 330 yards will be charged at £2.60 - which is a rise of 20 pence.
Then a charge of 20 pence for every 232-19360 yards and a further 20 pence for every 300 yards after that.
There will also be a 20 pence charge for every 60 seconds that a cab is waiting.
The council says this day rate will still be lower than the national average of £2.76 and locally, below the fares charged in Wirral.
Night rate
The night rate - which covers journeys starting after 11pm and ending before 6am - will go up from £3 to £3.25 for the first 330 yards, with an extra 25 pence added on for the next 232 to 19360 yards and another 25 pence for every 300 yards after that.
A waiting charge of 25 pence will be added on for each sixty seconds as well.
Why is this happening?
The planned fare increase comes after a request made on behalf of Liverpool Hackney Branch made by UNITE the union.
They believe a rise will encourage more cabs on to the road in the early hours, discourage the urge for cabbies to cherry pick fares and also enable drivers to invest in the new electric London EV taxi.
Councillor Frank Hont, Cabinet member for regulatory services, said: “Nobody likes price increases but Liverpool’s fares will still be cheaper than the national average and it would be only the second rise in six years.
“Our licensing team are doing a lot of positive work with the trade to drive up standards and address issues such as cherry picking, plying for hire and encouraging drivers to consider more environmentally friendly vehicles. This rise will help make the hackney trade in the city more financially viable.”
Will it definitely happen?
The increase is currently being consulted on, but If no objections are received by the closing date of November 19, then the rise will be implemented straight away.
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YORK
Another series of checks on taxis and private hire vehicles in York has been carried out in a multi-agency operation involving council and police officers, to ensure the vehicles are providing a safe service to passengers.
Officers from partners including City of York Council, North Yorkshire Police and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) supported the operations. Bradford and Calderdale councils were also involved as they represent some of the neighbouring authorities which licence taxis and which can legally operate in the region.
The operations ran throughout the evenings and into the mornings of Friday 13 October and Friday 3 November. Over the two operations, a total of 44 private hire vehicles and hackney carriages which were operating in the city that evening were stopped and checked.
All vehicles underwent full mechanical examinations for defects by the DVSA at the council’s MOT test centre at Hazel Court or at the roadside. Checks were also made to ensure that the drivers were properly licensed, insured and that the vehicles they were driving were safe to carry customers on the roads.
As a result, seven vehicles were ordered off the road by the DVSA due to the faults found including:
• a defective tyre (sidewall bulging/casing separated)
• a tyre with less than the minimum tread requirement
• defective or inoperative headlights or brake lights
• a serious fuel leak.
• defective airbag
• engine oil leak
• split drive shaft cover
• defective seat belt
• anti roll bars inoperative
A further eight drivers were advised to repair minor vehicle defects and several others were also warned by taxi enforcement officers about breaches of taxi licensing rules.
In addition, eight private hire vehicles were suspended from working due to mechanical defects and other breaches of taxi and private hire licensing rules.
A pizza delivery vehicle was also seized by police for having no insurance.
http://bit.ly/2iYYKwq
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