The cost of catching a taxi in Norwich looks set to increase for the first time in four years.
Proposals to increase hackney carriage fares - the taxis which can be flagged down or caught in a taxi rank - has been lodged with Norwich City Council.
The proposal, for the first increase since 2014, would not see the existing four tariff structures (day, evenings, Sundays and nights and Christmas and New Year) changed.
But prices would be pushed up because of a reduction in the distance travelled before charges are made.
For example, at the moment,
the day rate (between 6am and 6pm) is charged at £3 for the first 40 yards, then 20p for the next 205 yards.
While the initial £3 for 40 yards would not change, the proposal is for 20p for the next 194 yards - 11 yards less than at present.
Under that tariff, a journey of three miles which currently costs £8.20 would go up to £8.60 (not including any waiting time) - an increase of 4.88pc.
The Norwich Station Taxi Association, which lodged the request for increases on behalf of all the city’s hackney carriages, said in their submission they were seeking a “modest” increase.
They highlighted how there had been no request for an increase since 2013 and said: “We propose simple adjustments to the present approved yardages to achieve an increase in the region of 3.6pc for all tariffs,
“No increase is sought for waiting times, which reduces the overall value of the increase package.”
A spokeswoman for Norwich City Council said:
“We have received an application from the Norwich Station Taxi Association requesting an increase to the current hackney carriage fares.
“The proposed increase is subject to consideration of any objections received before Sunday,
December 17 and will not come into effect before Monday, January 1.”
All hackney carriages licensed by the city council are wheelchair accessible. The council said they provide an alternative to other forms of public transport which may not be readily available or accessible.
The increases would apply only to licensed hackney carriages. Private hire vehicles - which must be pre-booked - are not subject to council control.
Prices for them should be agreed when they are booked.
What are the proposals?
Tariff 1 (Day rate 6am to 6pm)
Present: £3 for first 40 yards, then 20p per 205 yards.
Proposed: £3 for first 40 yards, then 20p per 194 yards.
Tariff 2 (Evening 6pm to 11pm)
Present: £3.20 for first 40 yards, then 20p per 191 yards
Proposed: £3.20 for first 40 yards, then 20p per 181 yards
Tariff 3 (Sunday rate and night rate 11pm to 6am)
Present: £3.40 for first 90 yards, then 20p per 178 yards
Proposed: £3.40 for first 70 yards, then 30p per 169 yards
Tariff 4 (Christmas and New Year)
Present and proposed: £5.40 for first 90 yards, then 20 per 147 yards.
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Around 80 taxis brought Loughborough town centre to a near standstill today with a go-slow procession.
The cabbies honked their horns as they snaked their way through the town centre at around five miles per hour as part of a protest this morning.
They were demonstrating their concern at a process known as ‘cross border sub contraction’ where firms with drivers licensed outside Charnwood send them into the borough to pick up fares.
The Loughborough cabbies say they are losing trade to outside firms because of the practice, with drivers coming in from as far away as Blaby and Wolverhampton.
They also say they have safety concerns about cross border work because different councils have different licensing regimes and safety criteria.
They want the Government to change the law to put an end to the practice.
Taxi drivers’ spokesman Pasquale Corbinzolu said: “We suffer a lot from this because Loughborough is a honey pot because of the student trade.
“There are enough taxis locally to meet the demand but drivers from miles and miles away are still coming in.
“We are not protesting about the borough council.
“We carried out the protest to raise awareness of the issue.”
The demonstrating cabbies had notified the police and the council about the procession beforehand.
They started on the A6 near Hathern at 11am and then slowly processed through the town centre, passing the council offices in Southfield Road, before dispersing after around an hour and a half.
What did the council say?
Chairman of the Licensing Sub-Committee at Charnwood Borough Council Councillor Ken Pacey, said: “We’re aware of the taxi demonstration in response to the issue of cross-border hiring and we’re sympathetic to local hackney carriage drivers about this issue.
“Cross-border hiring has come about as a result of recent changes to national legislation as a result of the Deregulation Act, 2015.
“Before the 2015 Act came into force, if private hire Operators couldn’t fulfil a taxi booking, they could give that booking to another private hire operator licensed by the same authority. Since the Deregulation Act 2015, private hire operators can give the booking to another private hire operator licensed by a different authority.
“This may impact on the business for local drivers. It is also an issue for licensing authorities, such as ourselves, because we are seeing an increasing tendency for private hire vehicle to operate outside the area in which they are licensed.
“Charnwood Borough Council does not any power to inspect a vehicle that is not licensed by us, which means that if we receive a complaint about a private hire vehicle operating in Charnwood that is licensed by another authority, all we can do is send the complaint to the correct authority to deal with.
“Currently local authorities have no power to change this legislation. However, we are aware that the Local Government Association have also raised this as an issue and has called on central government to review this.
“We will have to await further developments to see what happens next.”
