Fares in Respect of Hackney Carriages
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PAPER C Purpose: For Decision Committee LICENSING AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE Date 6 DECEMBER 2010 Title DETERMINATION OF THE TABLE OF FARES IN RESPECT OF HACKNEY CARRIAGES Report Author IAN ANDERSON DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES PURPOSE OF REPORT 1. To provide the annual review of taxi fares as request by the Licensing and General Purposes Committee on 10th November 2008. 2. For elected members to approve the recommendation of amending the existing table of fares by increasing the maximum charge for payment by credit or debit cards from 3% to 10% of the total for the journey. BACKGROUND 3. Individuals who wish to use a vehicle for hire and reward require licensing by the local authority under the Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (the Act). Licensed vehicles are also regulated under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. 4. A vehicle referred to as a Hackney carriage under this legislation is required to have a taximeter which dictates the maximum fare a proprietor may charge for each journey. 5. Under section 65 of the Act, a local authority may fix the rates or fares and all other charges in connection with the hire of a vehicle or with the arrangements for the hire of a vehicle in respect of Hackney carriages. This is referred to as a “table of fares” and this tariff is to be displayed in each Hackney carriage. 6. The Isle of Wight Council’s current table of fares detailing the maximum fare a hackney carriage proprietor may charge can be found in appendix 1. The table of fares was last modified on 31 March 2010. 7. A decision was taken by the Licensing and General Purposes Committee on 10 November 2008 to review the table of fares annually in November. C - 1 8. A review has recently been carried out in order to ascertain whether an increase in the fares is necessary. 9. The fares calculator for the 2010 fare review is attached as appendix 2. This calculation method is used to ensure that fares are calculated in a fair and proportionate manner. In the absence of a universal method the AA calculations are the most appropriate data available. 10. It will be the decision of the committee to determine whether or not the table of fares should be modified as a result of the calculations made. Any modifications will need to be determined by this committee. STRATEGIC CONTEXT 11. Transportation falls within the Thriving Island corporate theme of the Isle of Wight Sustainable Community Strategy - Eco Island. 12. The Council also has a responsibility to regulate licensed vehicles in order to keep the public safe and minimise crime and disorder. Therefore, licensing vehicles also falls within the Safe and Well Kept Island corporate theme of the Isle of Wight Sustainable Community Strategy - Eco Island 13. It is important to note that licensed vehicles play a key role in the Island’s transportation system as they assist in maintaining a sufficient public transport system for the local community and visiting tourists. CONSULTATION 14. Although it is not required at this stage, contact has been made with all Hackney carriage and private hire proprietors (approx 180) by way of a news letter attached as appendix 3. This sought their opinion on the current table of fares. 15. There has been no public consultation prior to this report. Although should the committee determine that the table of fares has to be amended; the revised table of fares will need to be advertised as required by the Act as detailed in the legal section, paragraph 22 of this report. Any submission will need to be considered by the committee before the final table of fares is set. 16. There has been a request to increase the percentage which can be charged for payments by credit cards or debit cards. The current fee is up to three percent. The request is for this to be increased to ten percent. This increase has not been requested by a proprietor but from a company who fit payment machines into taxis. This is the fee they charge. See appendix 4 for full details. 17. A letter was received on1 November 2010 from Mr Gange of Gange Taxis suggesting that the table of fares should be increased for the following reasons: (a) VAT is due to increase in January 2011 from 17.5% to 20%. (b) Insurance tax is due to increase by 1%. C - 2 (c) Increase in fuel costs. (d) Additional wear and tear on a vehicle taking more than two passengers. 18. Mr Gange has suggested the following amendments to the Table of Fares: (a) £3.60 for the first ½ mile. (b) Reinstate the additional fee for 3 and 4 passengers. The fee to be 60p per person. (c) Increasing the fee per item of luggage from 10p to 30p per item. (d) Including a surcharge for Sundays. 19. There have been no other comments received from the Taxi Trade. FINANCIAL / BUDGET IMPLICATIONS 20. Broadly, council expenditure on licensing matters and specifically those matters administered and enforced through Community Safety Services, balances income generated from fees. This arrangement is not expected to change by virtue of the committee determining the table of fares for hackney carriages. 21. Should the committee decide to modify the table of fares, there will be a cost for the notice to appear in the local newspaper. This will be met from the existing budget. 22. Following any change to the tariffs in the table of fares, all the taximeters currently in use in licensed vehicles will need to be adjusted and re-sealed to reflect the amended maximum fares. There are currently 180 Hackney carriages on the Island, all of which will need to go through the process mentioned above. It is estimated that it will take 10 minutes per vehicle, which totals 30 hours of officer time. 23. There will be no need to alter the taximeters if only the debit credit card charge is amended. 24. There will be a need to hire a suitable location for this to be undertaken. Newport Football Club’s car park was hired for the last meter change. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 25. The legislation relevant to licensing vehicles for hire and reward is Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (“The Act”) and The Town Police Clauses Act 1847. 26. Section 65 of the Act allows the council to fix the rates or fares within the district for time, distance and all other charges in connection with the arrangements for the hire of a Hackney carriage. 27. If a council proposes to amend its table of fares, a notice to that effect must be published in the local newspaper setting out the table of fares or the variation thereof and specify the period in which people can object. This period shall be a minimum of 14 calendar days. A copy of the notice is to be C - 3 available at the council offices for public inspection for no less than 14 calendar days. 28. If no objections are received or the objections submitted are withdrawn the proposed variations come into effect on the date stated in the notice or the day the objections are withdrawn, which ever is later. 29. The local authority must consider any comments received during the consultation period. It must also publish a revised implementation date whilst these comments are being considered. The revised date must be within two months of the original implementation date. It is advised that the matter is brought back for committee decision if objections remain outstanding at the end of the first published date. 30. There is no right of appeal against the level at which the council determines the table of fares. However, any decision taken by the Licensing and General Purposes Committee may be liable to legal challenge by way of judicial review. Implications under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 31. Members are advised that without prejudice to any other obligation imposed on it, it shall be the duty of each authority to which this section applies to exercise its functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent, crime and disorder in its area. Implications under the Human Rights Act 1998 32. Members are advised that this matter must be considered taking into consideration any interference with rights afforded under the Human Rights Act 1998. It is considered that there may be an interference with Article 8 (Right to respect for private and family life) as by increasing the Table of Fares as the increase in fares may have an impact on both the users of taxis as well as those who earn their living from this trade. To allow the fares to remain the same when evidence from the calculations demonstrates that an increase may lead to taxi proprietors/driver running at a loss and resulting in potential financial problems which could ultimately reduce the number of taxis available to the public. There is also a counter argument that by increasing the fares the council could be placing financial hardship on those who rely on the taxi service. On balance it essential that there are taxis available for use by the general public. If the council decides to modify the table of fares the new amounts should ensure they are at a level which ensures taxis are not operating at a loss but also ensure that the users are receiving value for money.