Fare increase
As exclusively
revealed in the Chairman’s column last
month - several weeks before the rest of
the trade press got their hands on it –
there will be an increase in fares from
5 April.
But is it just me or am I wrong in claiming that the increase in
costs we’ve suffered over the past year
are far higher than the increase we are
going to get? The average taxi fare will
increase by 2.7% according to TfL who
then go on to say that this increase
will help us to maintain our earnings by
covering increased operating costs -
specifically rises in diesel.
For many years, the new fares have been calculated using the cost
index devised in 1981 by late T&G rep,
Peter Hagger and based on national
average earnings and taxi operating
costs.
But those costs have gone up by 5.7% this year, not to mention a
huge increase in diesel prices. So 2.7%?
But no, say TfL! The increase going by
the cost index is 4.7% with the extra 2%
being the result of removing the 20p
environmental surcharge on every
journey, which was introduced in 2005,
and then giving it back to us!
According to TfL, 3 years of the 20p will have given all those who
spent between £2000 – £3000 on
emission-busting equipment, that in many
cases needed other bits and pieces to
make it work, their money back. So
calling it £2500 over those 3 years
means you would need to have taken
around 17 trips per day on a 5-day,
50-week year and then saved it all up!
According to Ed Thompson, Taxi and PH director at the PCO,
the new fares take into account the
increased costs over the year of running
a taxi. He said:
"They protect taxi drivers' income while still providing value for
money for passengers who enjoy a top
quality service in London."
Sorry, but I disagree. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating a
huge increase. To frighten passengers
away in such a sensitive economic
climate would be madness. I just don’t
like being told that I’m getting
something that I patently am not.
Neither am I too delighted at having
outside organisations such as London
TravelWatch telling me what my
increase should be.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that
fuel prices are rising at their fastest
rate for a decade and that the price of
diesel has risen by 19% in the past year
alone! Taking into account the increased
cost in insurance and the increase in
parts / repairs etc, the ONS report
shows an increase in the cost of
motoring over the past year of 11.7%.
Anyone buy a TXII after 23 March? Then your road tax went up from
£195 to £300. If you bought a TX4, then
the tax increased from £215 to £300.
And, er… anyone heard of the 6-month
safety check, which as from 2 April will
also include a ramp check as well? This
increase won’t go near recovering any of
the above.
But there is some good news; inflation is just 2.2% (excuse me
while I choke because even Bank of
England Governor Mervyn King is
expecting it to increase with fuel being
a large contributory factor)!
But there is some good news - |
an increase of 50p to fixed fares for
taxi sharing from Buck House following
garden parties. I also hear that HM has
been given £3million to fix up the old
home. Rumours that she was told she
could have the loot in 20p admission
charges were dismissed!
Any by the way, yes I did read the Evening Standard article
about how disgusting it was for taxis to
get another yearly increase. And no, I
took no notice of it seeing as how their
staff aren’t allowed to use taxis and
unless absolutely necessary, must stick
to buses or trains. Rumour is they are
having financial problems and besides,
once a year merchants like the ES always
moan!
And
speaking of the PCO…!
It may not sound like it, but I have
always believed in the concept of the
PCO and indeed I only have to ask for
assistance with a taxi-related query and
Penton Street will give it if humanly
possible. For that I am always grateful.
But – what
do you mean you knew there was a ‘but’ –
I am becoming concerned about a ‘them
and us’ scenario. When I passed out on
21 May 1971, I had to show my bank
accounts and any other savings I had, to
ensure that I would never run away after
renting a cab. Before buying my first
taxi and getting a proprietor’s licence,
I had to once again prove I had some
dosh. But now for the second time in a
year, companies recommended by the PCO
via having their equipment passed and a
press release put out, have crashed
leaving drivers out of pocket by
thousands of pounds.
Cabtivate were first to hit the floor with their in-cab TV
system and now van Aaken have
gone into administration. Yet there
hasn’t been a single word from Penton
Street saying we’re sorry for those
drivers that took notice and went to
either! If it was Cabtivate, you are
probably several thousand pounds out of
pocket and if it was van Aaken then you
face the uncertain future of having a
system where you may not be able to get
spare parts.
The quality of both may well have been good, but financially they
obviously were not up to
the mark. My only thought is whether,
like we cabbies, the PCO asked them for
a guarantee bond to cover drivers should
the unthinkable happen – and of course,
it did. As I said earlier, it smells of
‘them and us’…
Not knowing when to
be quiet!
I’m not going to go into the expulsion
of former DaC driver Grant Davis in
detail. Suffice to say that he was given
his marching orders for putting a
private phone call onto the Internet via
a chat list. There were no regrets from
Mr Davis, only a complaint in The
Badge that the driver who reported him to DaC had
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breached the Data Protection Act! That
is akin to the Latino woman in the
wonderful musical
Chicago who disputes the murder
charge that she stabbed her cheating
husband by claiming that he ran onto her
kitchen knife – that he ran onto her
kitchen knife 18 times!
Grant spouts
his usual rubbish of how the DaC
complaints system is loaded against the
driver and how he was really expelled
for being outspoken! Again I make no
comment on his claims other than the
complaints committee consists of 3
ordinary drivers picked from a list of
volunteers. Anyone can apply, although
few bother. Even so, the drivers who sit
when picked out of the hat are just
ordinary drivers with no axe to grind.
Rumours circulating earlier last month suggested in-fighting at the
LCDC followed by the shock resignation
of Chairman Alan Fleming, leaving Grant
Davis as the unelected Chairman of the
organisation. Whilst I didn’t always
agree with Alan, I have never made any
secret of my admiration for his
knowledge of cab law and the way he
defended his members in court with an
amazingly high success ratio. One of the
reasons the LCDC is financially solvent
is probably because Mr Fleming did most
of it for nothing! If the Club had to
pay for defence lawyers, I can’t but
help wonder where all that money would
have come from? A large number of
drivers rely on the LCDC to be there for
them if they hit trouble. It appears
that Mr Fleming has agreed to return as
Chairman, however, he no longer has the
editorship of The Badge. Other than
Grant Davis’ constant snipes at DaC, The
Badge is usually informative. I can’t
wait to see which way it goes now. It
certainly doesn’t take much imagination
to expect to see Grant’s personal views
on DaC given more space!
Putting all that aside, I’m not sure that I could trust someone who
thinks it’s ok to put a private phone
call on the Internet? Perhaps the
"outspoken" Mr Davis – erstwhile star of
failed DVD Lunatic: Blame it on the
moon - should learn to keep quiet at
times? The world had forgotten about his
expulsion and in all probability, those
who hadn’t forgotten could not have
cared less anyway! And let’s hope it’s
true that the LCDC committee saw sense
and got Alan Fleming to reconsider…
Another AGM…
Another AGM
has come and gone. This one was more
interesting than most in that no one
shouted and every question was given an
answer. Those who came along because of
rumours that one Board Member was about
to lead a revolt were somewhat
disappointed, because they forgot to
tell the BM concerned and he knew
nothing about it!
On a more serious note, I like to think that such a well-behaved
meeting was a sign of respect to former
BM Arnold Ritter, who sadly passed away
a few days later. Arnold was very much
someone who believed in creating a
presentable image for the Society and a
piece on his DaC career is in this
issue…
Alan Fisher
callsignmag@aol.com
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