Issue - meetings

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Service Delivery regarding the request for a new fare structure as proposed by the Hackney Carriage proprietors.

There was a verbal addition to the report: that the 30^th of October had been identified as the optimum date to introduce an increase in the Hackney Fares, should that proposal be finally approved.

Following agreement of the revised fare structure by the Licensing Committee on 11^th March 2019, the revised tariff was then passed to the Leader of the Council for final approval prior to publishing a public consultation. A copy of the revised tariff was included at Appendix 1b of the report.

The decision of the Leader, on behalf of the Cabinet, was that if there were any objections then the Licensing Committee should be delegated to consider the same and modify or not the proposed fares.

Members were advised that 1 objection had been raised during the public consultation period regarding the Hackney Carriage Fare increase proposed by the trade. The letter was included at Appendix 4 of the report.

In his representation, the Objector raised concerns regarding the proposed tariff increase and in particular to:

·       Transportation of domestic pets being raised 100% from £1 to £2

·       Small removals cost rising 33% from £6 to £8

Members raised concerns regarding the increased cost of a ‘small removal’ from £6 to £8 and the lack of clarity of what a small removal is.

Members were advised that the cost of a small removal is discretionary and to be considered in addition to the metered fee. The Officer agreed to consider clarifying ‘small removal’ in the proposal which comes to Committee in September.

Concern was also raised by Members at the increased cost for transporting domestic pets, which had risen from £1 to £2. It was felt this could disadvantage passengers taking pets to and from the vets, for example.

Members were advised that the Fare Card sets out what the maximum levels are to ensure drivers do not go over the maximum limit set.

Councillor Belsey proposed a motion to agree the increase in fares; apart from the increase in charges for transporting domestic pets. This was seconded by Councillor Taylor.  The motion was lost by 3 votes to 6 against.

The Committee further discussed the options and it was considered that given 84% of the trade had agreed to the proposed increases and that the work to achieve an acceptable fare increase had been ongoing since October 2018, the increase in fares was seen as reasonable after a 10 year period since the fare structure was reviewed.

Councillor Burton proposed a motion to accept the proposal that the Hackney Carriage Fares remain as proposed by the Licensing Committee on 11 March 2019 and shall come into force on 30^th October 2019. This was

seconded by Councillor Murray.

Resolved: (By 7 votes and 1 abstention)