Source: Witney Gazette
TAXI drivers in south Oxfordshire warned they could go bust after being hit by a double whammy of soaring petrol prices and massive licence fee rises.
Cab companies’ licence fees have rocketed by up to 251 per cent.
South Oxfordshire District Council this month raised the charge for a one-year Hackney carriage vehicle licence from £75.60 to £265.
Vale of White Horse District Council increased its annual charge for taxi driver licences from £90 to £235 — a rise of 161 per cent.
The councils, which share a management team, said the increases were to cover the cost of administering the licences, which would fall on taxpayers otherwise.
Jason Atherton, managing director of Auto Taxis, on the Radley Road industrial estate, Abingdon, which has a fleet of eight Hackney carriages and four private hire vehicles, said: “The increases will put me out of business in no time at all.
“It’s killing me from every single angle.
“I’ve already had two drivers resign because they cannot afford the fees.
“There’s no point in me putting a vehicle on the road because it’s too expensive.”
He added: “It wouldn’t be so bad if the council let us increase our fees, like South Oxfordshire District Council does, but we have a maximum tariff and we can’t go above that.”
The Vale council claimed the cost could be offset by companies if they bought a three-year licence for £295.
But Mr Atherton said: “In this climate and with these new fees, I don’t know if the business will be around in three years. If we’re not, then we won’t get a refund on the licence. What kind of business charges you for three years up front?”
David Pryor, the owner of Pryors Taxis, in Mereland Road, Didcot, which has 29 Hackney carriages and 16 private hire vehicles, said: “We’re very disappointed the council has forced through a 251 per cent increase.
“Other licences issued by the district council are dictated by central Government and taxis seem to bear the brunt.
“This will cost us more than £7,000 each year and we may have to consider raising prices in the future.”
Alan Woodward, secretary of the City of Oxford Licensed Taxi Cab Association, said: “These are tough times, particularly with petrol being so high, and it seems a strange time to raise the fees by so much.”
Margaret Reed, head of legal and democratic services at South Oxfordshire and Vale councils, said: “We do not think the fees are unreasonable compared with what other councils charge.
“We received four letters of objection from the taxi trade and we carefully considered these before deciding to adopt the new fees.
“Some companies do not charge the maximum tariff and therefore have some scope to increase fares, but we are proposing to do a review of tariffs this year.”
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