Fare increase?

Can anybody explain why the Council dont re-calibrate your meters, I know they would charge but I am sure they would only charge what we are getting charged now, why should we pay meter agents, how do you get to be a meter agent anyway. Nice job if you can get it bit of ectra money once per year, 850 meters £10 per meter, sweet, for how longs work.

There is a whole industry out there depending on this market. The council would in every case try and monopolise the market and fleece the taxi drivers. Competition in any market is healthy and we have seen meters recalibrated for a fiver and some at various other prices, so do you think council could do that. No! They would charge you a wacking £30 or something silly like that and blame a recomended price on somebody else like they do with MOTs. I can get MOT done for £35 at an independent testing station, and bet that would never happen in a council testing station in a zillion years.
Rant over.

First casualty of the forwarned trouble over the new surcharge. Argument over the fifty pence extra lead to a group of youths attacking the driver and breaking his jaw. It could have been handled so much better than this fiasco of having to press a separate extra, I mean it's not as though that money will be put in a sepparate tin is it? Every weekend there will be problems simply because that is when demand is highest but we have almost half of the passengers refusing to pay the extra because it comes as a surprise to them when suddenly the extras are added to make the total fare, and seems irrelevent that the extra 50p was displayed infront of them all the journey through. There seems to be an attitude from above here that they don't have to charge it if they don't want to, but why not? And what on earth was the legal imperative for not adding it to the normal starting fare instead of as an extra, wouldn't that still have been a 50 pence increase or was it too simple to grasp? The guy with the broken jaw may have a different oppinion to that of the committee methinks.

I believe the resolultion brought by the trade to the table was that they did not want the fare to be added to the start up fee, and asked for 20p per mile, the Board considered this and decided that the only way to put the increase on if to aviod the start up fee as requested was as an extra at the end. PS hope the driver assaulted gets better quickly and the thugs get donefor it. Must be some assault to get through the partician and break his jaw though???

Although it seems like closing the stable door after the proverbial horse has bolted but does no one at the board realise that the drivers request to put the increase on mileage was to avoid arguments over the increase? The drivers had discussed this point and it was suggested that a sudden increase would invite complaints and if it's with the mileage then it might make life easier. Maybe our betters didn't have this foresight. Instead the council in it's wisdom gave them the second worst possible option of the extras on the meter, when the worst would have been to ask for extras pointing to the notice.

Driver attack
The argument was in the city centre and the passengers left the cab after argueing they will not pay the fifty pence extra and as they left one of them kicked the taxi. The lad injured is said to have come out of his vehicle to inspect any damage to his cab and whilst he was looking at the cab, a second youth punched him on the side of his face braking his jaw. The culprits then ran away only to flag another cab and asked to go to their original destination. The cab driver was made aware of his passengers actions, and as he was passing the police station at West Bar he pulled in, and the passengers jumped out and ran off. They were however apprehended at the tram stop at Shalesmoor by the police. The original taxi driver was in pain but hadn't at that stage realised how serious his injury was. It wasn't till the next morning when he couldn't move his mouth and swelling and pain got worse that he went to Hospital and x-rays showed the extent of damage to his jaw. Hope he makes a full recovery but seems it will be some time yet though. If only the people making decissions about our trade had some experience in working in the trade rather than making political noises for sake of accumulating votes.

Sorry to hear that Aftab bro' that certainly is bad news but incidents of attcks against taxi drivers have been happening for a long time. I believe if lads are looking for trouble then any excuse will do and in this case it was the fifty pence fare increase. I hope he gets well soon.

Good post Ahmed, the fare increase was proly only an excuse to start. Who were the driver can anyone say?

If it is a case of ongoing investigation with pending prosecution, then I think further comment on identifying the driver or details of the case should not be discussed any more than they have been.

Sorry about that, but I simply relayed what was told to me at the rank so may not even be factually correct. oops I guess there may be more to it than we have been told but I hope justice is done and the best people to see to that are already involved, so I bow out of this one with an appology to Admin.

nowt will happen just as usual twats

Fare increase issue seems to have settled down a little? As was predicted people do understand we live in uncertain times and fuel prices going up and up are affecting everybody.

Oil prices have fallen a little and if they fall significantly enough then perhaps this cautious approach of SCC would prove to be the right one. The temporary increase can then be taken away.