North Tyneside H/C Proposed Fare Increase

Hello Admin,

I understand you are just trying to be informative on the site, but can I just say that the “Devil is in the Detail” and in relation to the Hackney Carriage Rate Increase, can I set the backdrop for the Rise Proposal.

Firstly, yes the economy in England is going through a very trying time created by the Sub-Prime Market in Property in America, not England that caused the Toxic Debt of the Banks, created through the “Greed is Good Belief of the Banking Management”.
The sad thing is though before Sub-Prime Marketing the Base Rate at the Bank was around 3% yet the Mortgage Rate was around 8% meaning with no deposit needed you could get a Mortgage and purchase your property. Now though to purchase property you need a 25% Deposit of the property value and with the base rate at 0.5% the Banks still want around 5.5% for a mortgage meaning the 5% profit figure has not changed to make the Banks Profitable within a secure market place.
Now having understood this you will understand that as Fuel, Insurance, and other Costs have risen within the last year our Hackney Carriage Industry Costs have also risen and if we do not apply for the rate increase at the annual aniversary time each year then what will happen is in future years to catchup with the required rate needed a larger rise will need to be applied for in the future, just like in 2006 when I was Chairman of the Hackney Carriage Association and the rise required was indeed a large one that year, but it was achieved at the time through good business planning and speading of the cost in a number of different ways, that some Hackney Carriage Proprietors did not agree with at the time, but never the less the rise was accepted by them once the Council had approved the rise and infact some of the first to have the rate put on to their meters were the very people who said that what I was asking for was to high.
So here we are 3 years later and the North Shields Rank Drivers who at the time formed their own low cost operation in Early November 2005, decided as it was Christmas 2005, their low cost fairs would not apply over the Christmas Period of 2005, because their profit would be effected and so the whole situation became a joke, because the rise they did not want got approved in 2006, and as soon as it did, they wanted to use it.

Let me now explain in clear terms how this rise will have an impact on the passenger, firstly we are talking about a 17 yards reduction meaning at 1760 yards or 1 mile no increase on the meter, but at 3520 yards or thereabouts the meter will show a 20p increase meaning every odd mile no increase and every even mile 20p resulting in a 10p a mile reflective rise. You know North Shields Rank does not offen get a Passenger going much above 1 mile therefore no rise to your passengers.
Unfortunately the meters being reset at a Local Company charges £10 to alter your meter and there is nothing we can do about that and perhaps for that reason leaving the Flag fall as it is and the distance as it is would have been a better option with the extras being increased to 60p a person over and above 2 passengers as that would have spread the cost between the volume of passengers travelling the standard journey of around 4miles as it would have reflected a 10p a mile average job increase that would have helped the larger fleet vehicles because of their passenger capicity above 2 passengers and their would have been no need to pay the Local Meter Company £10 to change the distance Rate as their is no increase in the Flag-fall on T1 or T2.

I am a Businessman who understands the Economy and Business Law and Practices related to each Industry that have different rules applicable, and unfortunately the Private Hire Drivers currently do not have the right to increase their rate independently, because they do not have their own Operator Licence to set thier own rate of charge, they have to rely on the Operator Licence Holders kind decision to increase the rate of charge, that normally means a £5 increase in the Operators Rent, this is not on every occassion, but it is on most, if you get a rise they want a rise.

I hope all reading this post understand and accept that the rise must be applied for to ensure, just like the Bankers, so we achieve our same level of income in this reccession, that does not reflect a fantastic return on our investment in Time and Vehicle Operations in the Trade for a 24 Hour Passenger Transport System in England and Wales.

I have a Business Plan for our Hackney Carriage Industry that does relect, as the Halcrow report states “Cheaper Charges would be of Assistance”, but I cannot reveil the Plans, until it is the appropriate time in the future when everything is in place to reveil, that will see North Tyneside the Flagship for Intergrated Public Transport through Innervation and Technology.

Hope this clears the situation somewhat.

Dave Walls

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