public/private hire transport

Im really fired up with this s**t "oh a bit of snow lets stop the world or charge more.Taxis are chargin time and half here and the bus,s are only running on the main roads and not in any estates im like ffs i have the last of xmas shopping to do and i cant get newhere great laugh this is.Taxis are robbing *bleeps* lol.

and the saterday just gone they were charging triple its a bloody big joke.

Whats it like in your area?

AFAIK, taxis are only charging usual bank holiday rates round here on bank holidays. TBH though we have had some more snow this weekend, driving into work this morning was no problem and the roads road here are fine. I guess it helps not have the usual school runs happening.

IIRC taxi rates are set by your local council, not the firm or the driver.

A metered cab would cost more than normal as the journey is going to take longer. If you think they are taking the p***; get a receipt, make a note of the cab number and put an official complaint into the council.

Well i didnt bother going in the end but when i rang the council apprently yhey said its nothing to do with them

Taxi drivers seem to charge what they want a trip to a location can be a different cost to the trip back strange i know but happens here.

Xmas will make a killing on taxi's as they know they have monopoly as public transport stops at a certain time and it's the only way home can be double fare on entry to cab plus extra per mile.

I thought meter's were sealed by the licensing dept to prevent this.

private hire can charge what they like in normal weather its around £3.50 for couple miles. best check price before booking one in this weather

2old4this said:

private hire can charge what they like in normal weather its around £3.50 for couple miles. best check price before booking one in this weather

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^^^ AFAIK private hire don't use a meter unlike public hire thus you can negotiate the price in advance.

private hire rates and conditions r set by there local authority not the drivers or the firms...as sed b4 take down the plate number of the car and if u can get there badge number. by law there should be to badger's per driver on dislpay in the car.also some private hire car's do have meter's in them. but u should be able to see what tarrif the meter is running on

speedy1234 said:

private hire rates and conditions r set by there local authority not the drivers or the firms...as sed b4 take down the plate number of the car and if u can get there badge number. by law there should be to badger's per driver on dislpay in the car.also some private hire car's do have meter's in them. but u should be able to see what tarrif the meter is running on

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Speedy, I wonder if this is a Merseyside thing? As the same is true of Wirral, yet OP had no luck on ringing their council...

None of our cabs have meters (the ones you ring) and half of the time most of our cab drivers just dont no how much to charge half of the time they ask.Most of ours are illegal anyways as we found out they dont have a proper license to serve our area but yet they still do.

little_pob said:

Speedy, I wonder if this is a Merseyside thing? As the same is true of Wirral, yet OP had no luck on ringing their council...

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perhaps so.am just going by what was set out for us when i was on the cabs..
maybe cherry picking has somthink to do with the problem

Just asked the wife about some of these points as it's her line of work. She's not a driver and she has as much trouble with drivers as the customers so when you ring to complain go easy on the staff

Private hire companies are able to set their own rates. Basically the driver's are self employed so negotiate with the booking office when ordering a car.

Companies with meters in their vehicles must abide by the rate set by the council, however they can offer you a fixed rate as long as it's less than the metered rate. They can only charge extra during periods which are set by the council. ie Christmas, New Year and Bank Hols.

If you have a complaint go to your local council Taxi Licensing Authority. It's always handy to find out the Authority Officer's name just to mention to a pi** taking driver :Clap:

I don't think it's too unfair for them to charge more since when people can't drive their cars they phone for a taxi. They don't for one minute seem to think that if they can't get their car out then a taxi can't get to them. If a driver crashes his car he can't earn money.

private hire = bookings only
they can charge what the want as the prices are in the hands of the company

Hackney / Public Hire = flag down / Ranks

these always have meters in them with Tarifs and a tarif card
prices are controled by local council licensing Dept.

so if u getting a private hire then yes they gona rip u off because they can charge what they like

if u getting a Hackney and he is ripping u off by using a higher Tarrif when he' not supposed to then Get a recipt, take a pic of meter with mobile, pic of driver and plate / Reg no

councils Dont set a Higher Price for Bad weather!

only for bank holidays / christmas and night time

so for example

Tarrif 1 = Day Time 8am - 10pm
Tarrif 2 = Night Time 10pm to 8am
Tarrif 3 = Bank holiday and Christmas

Tarrif 1 Starts at £2.50 For the first 821 yards or less

For each subsequent 117 yards or uncompleted part thereof 10p

Tarrif 2 Starts at £3.00 For the first 821 yards or less

For each subsequent 93 yards or uncompleted part thereof 10p

Tarrif 3 Starts at £3.50 For the first 821 yards or less

For each subsequent 93 yards or uncompleted part thereof 10p


so basically when u jump into a hackney and he switches on the meter it will start of with a Figure so in this example on Tarrif 1 it would Be £2.50
after 821 yards it will start adding 10p

all hackneys have a Fair Card in the cab
make sure u read it

and the reason i say take a pic of driver and meter is so u got 100% proof

driver will normally get suspended for a few months
on appeal he will get 1 last chance
if he does it again then badge is revoked and he cant drive as a taxi

seems different councils have diff rules.
i no wen i was on private hire we had a set price per mile. and if we charged any diff you got dragged in by the hackney licensing officer.maybe this is just in merseyside ???

Reason there price rise is because of the snow. if i dont like the prices i would either walk or call family member to pick me up. i know few drivers who drive mercedes have been off work due to snow on there road.my boss had to pay double fare so i can get to work. still i had walk mile down the road before jumping into cab and same thing coming back. my road well messed up

I use private hire quite regular , saturday when we got hit with 6" of snow in a short space of time , the firm i use was only adding an extra £2 on the fare . I have no complaints in paying any extra when it is clear these guys are putting their cars at risk in this shitty weather.