Drivers are feeling the pinch. We are hit by the ever increasing rises in the cost of petrol & diesel,it seems to go up by a penny per litre on a daily basis, actually 4.5 pence per gallon.At £1.27 per litre we are paying roughly £5.72 per gallon for diesel.At an average of 30 mpg it takes a bigger chunk everyday out our takings.
To ask for a fare increase at this moment in time to ease this burden is not an easy decision to make as the public is being hit too,by rising costs all linked to the costs of fuel.
People are walking smaller distances or taking other,cheaper forms of transport.Less people are going out on an evening due to rising costs and of course the smoking ban.
In recent times we have seen our income decline for a number of reasons:We have lost the Scandinavian Seaways Ferry Terminal,Rising Fuel Costs,Falloff of passengers and an increased number of Taxis & Private Hire.
Whenever I bring this up with those who make the rules.I am told market forces will dictate the numbers of Taxis. Market Forces will never cause a decrease in Taxi numbers, what they will do is create a larger and quicker turnover of new inexperienced drivers.This is not good for the Trade.Drivers with experience and local knowledge are disappearing and being replaced by too many new inexperienced,sometimes immigrant drivers causing a larger part of the Taxi Fleet than ever before to have no local knowledge and oftentimes no one to turn to for advice on a particular fair or to give a quote.
To Illustrate, recently a new immigrant driver,very nice fellow,was asked for a quote to Ashington on a Saturday night after 10pm.He had never been to Ashington before and quoted the first number that entered his head…£40 The passengers accepted and gave him the £40 (it should be around £25) good for him one might think but they ain’t gonna use a Taxi again Duuhh!!
Any similar stories from drivers would be welcome.Send in your Stories and or experiences by Commenting on this Article.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Comparision of the approximate Costs related to a LOCAL PRIVATE HIRE OFFICE.
Do you pay more or less?
Office Rent at £100 multiplied by 48 weeks £ 4,800 a year.
Office (HP) Vehicle £120 multiplied by 52 weeks £ 6,200 a year.
Vehicle Insurance £ 50 multiplied by 52 weeks £ 2,600 a year.
Vehicle Repairs etc £ 30 multiplied by 48 weeks £ 1,440 a year.
Fuel 900miles@£1.24p £156 mulitplied by 48 weeks £ 7,488 a year.
Council Fees £ 7 multiplied by 48 weeks £ 0,336 a year.
Nat Min Wage £331 multiplied by 48 weeks £15,898 a year.
(60 hours@£5.52p)
This reflects costs £794 multiplied by 48 weeks or £38,112 a year
Travelling 900miles(150 a day)for 48 weeks 43200miles is equal to
generate an operating cost of 88.3p a mile, which is equivalent to
if working 6 x 10 hour shifts meaning 15 miles an hour or £13.25p meaning £132.50p needs to be generated every shift.
This example is by no means a true reflection of what a PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER actually generates, as it will probably be a lot less with the low cost fares they are forced to charge with Whitley Bay to Newcastle City Centre at £11.50p & Whitley Bay to Newcastle Airport £14.50p.
The only thing Mr Alan Fidler (the Drivers Representative with his NTTO Drivers Union) & Mr Paul Irwin(Operator Licence Holder) complain about is how they cannot cope with the 5 Minute FREE TIME at the CARPARK DROP-OFF POINT at Newcastle International Airport on Look North, BBC NEWS, this week.
DO THEY LIVE IN OUR WORLD?
Where many PRIVATE HIRE or HACKNEY CARRIAGE TAXI drivers will not be actually generating £5.52p a hour, as wages over the 10 hour shift, are you?
£7.73p vehicle expences
£5.52p drivers wage@(National Minimum Wage)
£13.25p hourly rate multiplied by 10 hours £132.50p a shift.
IS YOUR OPERATING COST per MILE = 88.3p a Mile?
DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOUR OPERATING COST IS?
GOOD LUCK ALL.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
“ESSENTIAL USER FUEL SUBSIDY”
Now theres a thing to talk about.Apparently a taxi is not an essential user of fuel.A bus is though.And a train.
Not only do bus and train companies get subsidised fuel,they also receive further subsidies from the likes of Nexus to run non profitable routes.
Yet these major plcs’ are still saying they are struggling to make profits.How do they think we feel?
Who decides that the fuel used to run a bus is essential but the fuel used to run a taxi is not?
Heres another one for you to ponder.How is diesel dearer than petrol when it is cheaper to produce?
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade
I reply to the above comment about Bus Companies and the FUEL REBATES is an old chestnut, that is never going to change unfortunately, as it goes back to the 1950`s.
HACKNEY CARRIAGES are passenger vehicles of many sizes, let me explain;
up to 8 Passengers is a TAXI
9 upto 12 Passengers was a postal bus in rural areas
9 upto 16 Passengers was a Mini-Bus or Mini-Coach
17 upto 35 Passengers is a Midi-Bus or Midi-Coach
36 Passengers and above is a BUS or Coach
Now up until 1950 Petroleum Licences were issued by the Local Councils to Hackney Carriage Proprietors when the right to an automatic Petroleum Licence was removed.YES WE DID USED TO GET A PETROLEUM LICENCE to store and sell fuel, as many HACKNEY CARRIAGE PROPRIETORS WERE GARAGE OWNERS BACK THEN AND IN MANY CASES THE ONLY PEOPLE WITH THE MONEY TO OPERATE A TAXI BUSINESS.
A few years after this right to a Petroleum Licence was removed, the Government because all BUS COMPANIES were own by the Local Authories, as there was a CORPORATION BUS INDUSTRY that was NATIONALLY OWNED BY THE STATE REMEMBER until OCTOBER 1986 originally.
Now because the BUS COMPANIES were STATE OWNED they had an obligation to operate on every route in the LOCAL COUNCILS AREA, because back then BUSES & COACHES were LICENSED BY THE LOCAL COUNCIL like a TAXI, but the TAXI was PRIVATELY OWNED.
The FUEL DUTY REBATE was introduced for BUS COMPANIES ONLY, who ran on a registered route services with timetables to comply with only, and not on PRIVATE HIRING COACHES, but NATIONAL EXPRESS JOURNEY`S were registered routes meaning they got the FUEL DUTY REBATE.
The FUEL DUTY REBATE(FDR)was later changed to be called the BUS SERVICE OPERATORS GRANT(BSOG).
The current levels that only (BSOG) can claim is at a level set out to operators at the following levels:
Diesel and ULSD 39.21p. p/ltr
LRP 36.83p. p/ltr
Unleaded Petrol 36.83p. p/ltr
ULSP 36.83p. p/ltr
Gas(LPG) 10.81p. p/ltr
Gas (NaturalGas)10.81p. p/ltr
Biodiesel 28.35p. p/ltr
5%blend Biodies 39.21p. p/ltr
A HACKNEY CARRIAGE TAXI and HIRE CAR cannot claim this (BSOG) as they do not have registered route services with a timetable like registered bus services.
The HAULAGE INDUSTRY cannot claim it either!
Hope this answers your query Yorkshire Terrier.
GOOD LUCK ALL.
The views expressed in this site do not necessarily reflect the views of TooManyTaxis or the general U.K. Hackney Carriage Trade