Issue - meetings

Recommendations

1)    That no change be made to the current Hackney Carriage Table of Maximum Fares.

2)    That, if the Executive approves to increase or decrease the maximum Hackney Carriage fares, the required statutory notices are published followed by further consideration of any responses.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director Environment in relation to three requests to vary the Council’s Hackney Carriage Table of Maximum Fares.  The current table of fares came into effect on 1 July 2024 following consultation and consideration by the Executive.  Three requests had been received from the hackney carriage trade to review the table of current of fares which were set out at section 3.1 of the report.  A public consultation had taken place, and a summary of the responses was provided in section 3 of the report, along with the full responses at Appendix C.  Information in relation to maximum fares of neighbouring authorities, fuel prices, cost of living and costs of running vehicles was also provided.

The Executive Member for Managing our Environment, Councillor Richard Foster, presented the report, stating that fares were high across North Yorkshire in comparison to neighbouring areas and online apps.  These higher fares were putting pressure on the public to use taxis from outside the area, and in some cases vehicles were not licensed to the same standards as for North Yorkshire.  The Executive Member therefore recommended that no change be made to the current Hackney Carriage Table of Maximum Fares.

Resolved (unanimously)

That no change be made to the current Hackney Carriage Table of Maximum Fares.

Alternative options considered

The Council is not legally obligated to set the maximum rates of charges. However, the vast majority of licensing authorities do set maximum fares to provide certainty, consistency and, particularly in relation to occasional passengers, protection from unfair or unreasonable charges.

Reasons for Recommendations

The Council is expected to set and regularly review the maximum fares to be charged by hackney carriage drivers with a view to protecting the public and ensuring that licensees are fairly rewarded for their work.

The research carried out confirms that:

·       Over 70% of the trade and over 92% of residents, visitors or businesses who responded to the consultation felt that current fares were just right or too high for all three tariffs.

·       On average, fuel prices have decreased by 8.5% since the last review.

·       The latest annual cost of living rate shows an increase 4.1% over the last 12 months.

·       The cost of running a petrol or diesel vehicle has decreased by 3% in the last 12 months (includes the change in fuel price).