L.03/22
The
Officer gave an update to the report explaining that Objection 4
(as set out in the published agenda papers) was
incorrect. The previous meeting tariff
had not been disclosed by any councillor, and specifically not Cllr
Rowe. The decision had been reached in
a public meeting therefore the information was available to all
through attendance or viewing online both in real time and
following the meeting. Cllr Rowe
confirmed that she had not spoken to the BBC in any shape or
form.
Following
the approved proposed amendment to the South Hams Hackney Carriage
Fare Tariff at the previous Committee meeting on 31st
March 2022, the proposed amendment had been sent out for public
consultation. Following this
consultation exercise, objections had been received to the
proposal, requiring the amendment to return to Committee for
further review.
The
four options, as outlined in the attendant report, were presented
to Committee. Following questions from
the Committee, it was clarified that:
·
Many
drivers had requested fares to be rounded up to avoid having to
carry lots of small change in their vehicles;
·
Although
many cabs had card readers, the rural nature of the District meant
that these could not always be relied upon as a payment
method;
·
The
additional 10p charge, which could be added when fuel reached a
particular level outlined in the AA (Automobile Association)
monthly report on fuel costs, was only 10p per journey, not per
mile.
The
Committee was attended by a representative of Totnes Taxis Ltd, who
was invited to speak by the Chairman.
Mr Routledge, one of the directors of Totnes Taxis, explained that
he had spoken to around 50 of the 130 drivers operating in South
Hams, and the majority were asking for an increase of 20% as
opposed to 12%.
Following
discussions with the representative, the meeting was adjourned for
5 minutes to enable the officers to work out a fifth option for
consideration.
Upon
reconvening the meeting, the Committee was presented with option 5,
as outlined below:
A
proposal by Totnes Taxis Ltd, with the flag rate set at £3.20
(a 14.2% raise on the current flag rate), and the subsequent
distance reduced from 170yds to 150yds (20p per 150yds as opposed
to 20p per 170yds as existing), leading to a 31.5% rise on the 2
mile fare.
It
was then:
RESOLVED:
That
the Licensing Committee RESOLVES that
1.
the table of maximum fares approved for consultation
on 31 March 2022 be modified, as a result of the consultation
responses received;
2.
the option chosen was option 5 as outlined
above;
3.
the modifications to the maximum fares take effect
on 21 June 2022.