1 September 2008
On Wednesday 20th August 2008, the Full Licensing Committee met to consider a request by the Hackney Carriage trade to increase the rates of fares charged by taxi drivers. The Committee met to consider 3 proposals submitted by the taxi trade and considered a range of options submitted by the trade in respect of the fare structure and the level of fares to be charged.
The Committee heard representations from various members of the trade, including the Eastbourne Hackney Carriage Association, independent taxi drivers and members of Eastbourne and Country Taxis. They also heard from a meter installer regarding the technical capacity of hackney carriage meters, and the constraints of such in coping with a complex tariff structure.
The Council have requested for a number of years that any future proposals lodged by the trade should seek to simplify the current tariff to aid understanding and thereby assist the travelling public. It was evident to the Full Committee that unanimous agreement amongst the taxi trade regarding any change in the fare tariff was unable to be reached, despite repeated attempts by the Council and the trade in previous years to achieve this.
The Committee duly considered all submissions made to them, deliberating for some two and a half hours on the matter. The Committee agreed that a simplified fare tariff minus the "extras" system would be easier for the travelling public to understand and majority of Members supported this approach
Councillor Susan Morris, Chair of the Councils Licensing Committee said “The Committee felt that they have a duty to the travelling public to make the fare tariff structure easy to understand, since in most cases the public are only interested in the final fare to be paid. This is often difficult to establish under the current fare tariff structure. “
The Committee spent some time discussing the implications of implementing a simplified fare tariff and recognised that this was a significant change from the current tariff fare card. It also considered that a supplementary charge for 5 to 8 passengers should be maintained together with charges for fouling a vehicle and small removals.
In order to ensure that the new simplified tariff structure is set at the right level, the Council are consulting further with the taxi trade to determine the level of fares they feel is appropriate for each rate, based on the removal of the "extras" system.
Councillor Morris said “The Committee is keen to work with the taxi trade to ensure that the levels agreed adequately cover the cost of providing the service, whilst also ensuring that the service remains accessible to travelling public, especially those whose who may rely on taxis as their only form of transport. The Council, working with the taxi trade will ensure that the new structure is implemented at the correct level, but is also mindful of the publics need to understand the fares levied in respect of a journey.”
