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Fuel bill taxi fare rise ruled out

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Published Date: 11 June 2008
A BID to increase taxi fares in Edinburgh to help struggling cabbies pay their massive fuel bills has been put on hold.
Drivers had urged the council to introduce an "interim" increase of 20p on all starting fares while a full review is carried out on the incremental charges.

However, councillors have ruled they need to consult further within the trade before giving the increase the green light.

It is not known how long this process will take, but a full fares review is likely to take months to complete.

The last review took place last November, when prices were frozen at May 2006 levels.

Fares currently start at £1.50 before 6pm on weekdays, and £2.50 at night and at weekends, rising in increments of 25p based on time and distance.

The council has no legal obligation to carry out another review until May next year, but the convener of this Friday's regulatory committee, SNP councillor Colin Keir, last week said he was "sympathetic" to taxi drivers' plight.

Taxi drivers have told the News their wages have plummeted by up to £3000 a year, as they pay for more expensive fuel.





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1

alex paterson,

embra 11/06/2008 12:27:20
Good,these guys make more than enough to cover their fuel.
2

ST170,

11/06/2008 12:31:30
Alex, I agree just means they will have to tighten their belts a wee bit more like the rest of us.
3

Hashimoto,

edinburgh 11/06/2008 13:02:00
Drive a taxi myself; quite agree that the increase in diesel should NOT be passed on to the customers! Would be better if the government looked at the tax they take off ALL drivers. Have heard we in the UK are at about double what other European countries pay in fuel tax. No doubt someone will be able ton confirm or refute this.
4

Daft Old Git,

11/06/2008 13:02:04
They got a pay rise in May 2006. How many more do they expect? Just a lie that costs have gone up. Only tanker drivers can afford to use taxis
5

Embra boy,

Edinburgh 11/06/2008 13:16:43
How is it that taxi fares in Edinburgh are about twice as much as taxi fares in Stirling?
6

Shave,

Edinburgh 11/06/2008 14:03:44
"SNP councillor Colin Keir, last week said he was "sympathetic" to taxi drivers' plight."

Well, he's the only one then! Most people don't give a damn for those profiteers.

#5 Embra boy
The taxi trade has some convenient friends.
7

Mist001,

Marseille 11/06/2008 14:10:26
Oh, that's a shame. Just how will they be able to afford their golf club fees now?

Michael.
8

Duncan in Edinburgh,

11/06/2008 14:49:21
#3 Do a web search on AA Roadwatch - they carry up-to-date surveys of European fuel prices. You'll find that we are paying less than many European countries for our fuel - including the great oil-rich nation and Salmond favourite Norway, where fuel duties are higher than here, alongside Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and others.
9

Bored,

11/06/2008 15:23:22
#8 Duncan

I have seen the AA Roadwatch site and I think you will find the fuel prices a bit missleading due to our current poor exchange rate against the Euro. If you convert our pound prices into the euro at about 1.45 (where it should be) you will find that our fuel prices are much higher than on the continent.
10

Duncan in Edinburgh,

11/06/2008 15:50:25
#9 Erm, okay. And if you convert pounds to dollars at 5.50 we've got cheaper fuel than the Yanks.

We could do this all day, but it wouldn't actually change reality.
11

Complainer,

11/06/2008 16:07:52
#10 To correct you,
American fuel is currently at $3.60 a gallon, which is about 90 cents a litre. Thats just 45p in sterling.
12

Woznot,

Leith 11/06/2008 16:48:36
Taxi's will always be a rip-off. Anyone ever met a poor taxi driver, (Thought not)
13

lunar jim,

edinburgh 11/06/2008 22:26:57
Anybody notice it said the council put up taxi fares, not the drivers. 95% of black cab drivers I now struggle like the rest of us to make a living....

But if we are talking about the unlicensed private hire drivers that have been leeching of the black cab trade and robbing customers then thats different!
14

JLF,

Edinburgh 11/06/2008 22:58:33
Everyone conveniently forgets that the council determine the taxi fares.

Am a Civil Servant who will be getting a below inflation pay rise again this year.

But I suppose am just a scrounger, lazy, good for nothing pen pusher.

Honest, what a bunch of idiots comment on here. I bet if you all got the chance you would skip paying your tax etc, because you think you work harder than the rest of us.

What exactly do all the posters on here do for a living I wonder???

Why shouldn't taxi drivers ever get a fare increase?

15

Richard Head,

11/06/2008 23:05:23
Re-:
"Why shouldn't taxi drivers ever get a fare increase?"

Because they don't deserve it .
They are mostly rude.
Some of them never bathe.... and... they are all millionaires.
16

S'me,

Edinburgh 12/06/2008 01:02:20
They provide a good service in Edinburgh... but are the most expensive I've used.
17

Storky,

edinburgh 12/06/2008 04:30:47
#3 fair comment and agreed

#14 'but I suppose am just a scrounger, lazy good for nothing pen pusher' agreed also

Final salary scheme, no responsibility (job for life), unproductive giving no added benefit to society and you have the audacity to question what real workers do for a living!?
18

Heavy Metal Jambo,

12/06/2008 06:51:32
I would be interesterd to hear what the judgemental commentors on here actually think the average taxi driver in Edinburgh earns in a year.

Bearing in mind there are no benefits such as pension, sick pay, medical and bonus scheme (benefits I get at work, my father as a taxi driver gets none of these).

So go on, hazard a wee guess at the hours he works and the salary he is paid. You may be surprised.
19

Smasher,

12/06/2008 08:26:04
No 18

Far more than they tell the tax man that's for sure. When you say working, does that include time sitting in their cabs reading the Newspaper?

If he's so unhappy and under paid, why does'nt he go and get another job? Perhaps you could get him a job beside you where he'll get all the benefits you mentioned.
20

Heavy Metal Jambo,

12/06/2008 08:57:35
#19

Sorry, I must have missed the part where I said he was unhappy. That is not the case, not at all. But that doesn't mean it is well paid.

As for the snide newspaper remark, sure there will be breaks in the day when business is low. But do you think taxi drivers would rather sit at a rank unpaid waiting for a fare/contract, or do you think they would rather have constant work throughout the day?

Incidentally, he is paid more than I am, but then he works longer hours. Bus drivers are even paid more - for what is IMO a less skilled job.
21

Ron Thomson,

calonge Spain 14/06/2008 07:32:29
#18,
If your Father is paying his Self Employed Stamp, he can go to any Doctor and get treatment, he can get a Pension when he retires.

I started driving a Black Cab in 1969 with Black and Yellow ( Jimmy Young ) Craigmiller it was a 2/6 drop of the flag and a Tanner a turn of the meter, fuel then was 1 shilling and 11 pence a gallon, the fares has went up so much now that a lot of people cant afford to take taxis, i packed up the cabs 1986 and bought a Guest House then moved to Spain 2000, you can still make a good living on the cabs if you are prepared to work at it.
22

Ron Thomson,

calonge Spain 14/06/2008 11:45:39
Sorry should read i packed up the Cabs 1996
23

spr,

Edinburgh 14/06/2008 13:02:21
The taxi trade are their own worst enemy the have for years let a local council dictate to them over vehicle types and turning circle regulations and now when you can buy a vehicle that costs a good bit less than a TX4
you think that the savings could be passed on to the customers in Edinburgh, and the person who said the council put up the fares is wrong they are put up because the taxi trade reps ask for a fare review.
When a fare increase is given all vehicles that have meters are then updated with the new fare structure that includes private hire cars if you the public don't agree with the new structure get in touch with your local councillor if you can find him (compulsory half day merchants) and make your objections to him in writing as for all the money drivers make well having been involved in the trade for a long time i really don't know any mega rich cabby's but i do know a lot of people that have got big payments to go early and leave their jobs with banks insurance companies and the likes so OK there are some nippy drivers but there are nippy people in all walks of life we are all allowed bad days .
24

BIGDOUGS,

DUNBAR 19/07/2008 14:07:41
Is it just me or do I detect another display of the public showing another side???
Most of the previous rubbish above is either jealousy or hypocracy!!
Yes, taxi drivers get no benefits other than work and get paid or don't work and not get paid.
To get up and running as a Black Cab is not cheap - cabs cost £30K, insurance at £2k per year, servicing and repairs approx £4k per year, fuel around £4k and many other bits + bobs. I'm not complaining - its a business and I can make a profit - wouldn't do otherwise would I? But whilst the cost of fuel escalates and our meter rates are capped - its a Statutory Insrument Act (part of the Civic Government Act Scotland) makes it very difficult to balance the books. Everyone else :Power Companies - Local Bus Company - Hauliers etc etc can pass on these increased costs almost immediately. Taxi fares are regulated - more for the better than not!!! You know what you are getting AND you can always ask the driver for an estimate of the cost before you engage the hire!!
Anyway, back to my first point - I seem to be everyones New Best Friend, when its either wet, windy, snowy, Christmas or NewYear and they climb into my nice clean warm, comfortable, safe, regulated, tested and insured taxi, which they are now saying has no justification for a fares increase. The facts and costs speak for themselves. Be Fair on Fares.
Incidentally, most cab users are regulars, and in general have no qualms about paying for the service - they use it they need it and they support our claim - they dont want the level of service to fall into a amateur setup with part-timers and fly-by nights with unreliable/dodgy commitments due to the day job getting in the way!!!!!!
25

BIGDOUGS,

DUNBAR 19/07/2008 14:24:56
OOPS........should have said FUEL COST INCREASE IS £4K PER YEAR.

 

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