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Licensing and Regulatory Committee
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10 August 2021 |
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Report of the Director – Environment, Transport and Planning |
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Hackney Carriage Fares
Summary
1. This report asks Members to consider objections to the advertised variation to the table of fares to be paid in respect of the hire of a City of York licensed hackney carriage vehicles.
2. This report also asks Members to determine whether to make any changes to the proposed table of fares they made on the 26 April taking into account the objection received, and specify a date when the table of fares will come into operation.
3. Members are asked to determine the variation to the table of maximum fares and the date when it will come into operation. The options available are detailed at paragraphs 15 and 16.
Reason: To determine the table of fares that will apply to charges in respect of the hire of City of York’s licensed hackney carriage vehicles.
Background
4. Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (1976 Act) allows the Council to fix the rates of maximum fares within its area, and all other charges in connection with the hire of a vehicle or with the arrangements for the hire of a vehicle, by means of a “table of fares”. The Council can only fix the rates of fares in relation to hackney carriage vehicles.
5. There is also provision within the 1976 Act that the Council may vary the table of fares.
6. Committee Members considered a report on 26 April 2021 with regards to a request from the Hackney Carriage Associations to vary the table of fares. Members determined Option 1 within the report, asking officers to publish, in a local newspaper, a notice of the variation to the table of fares proposed by the Hackney Carriage Associations, giving a specified period of 14 days within which objections could be made. Members also asked for details of the notice to be placed on the Councils website and to be shared via social media.
7. The notice was published in The Press on 24 June 2021, advising that anyone wishing to object to the variation may do so before the expiry of 14 days from the date of the publication of the notice, until 8 July 2021. The notice provided details of where objections could be sent. The specified date within the notice proposed that the varied table of fares would come into operation from 1 September 2021. A copy of the notice can be found at Annex 1.
8. The notice was also displayed on the public noticed board at West Offices and published on the Council’s website from 24 June until 8 July 2021.
9. It is a requirement of the 1976 Act that any objections have to be taken into consideration by the Council when determining the variation to the table of fares.
10. The Council must determine if the table of fares will come into operation with or without modification after taking the objection into consideration.
11. The Council must also determine a specified date, within two months of the specified date within the published notice (1 September 2021), when the variation to the table of fares will come into operation.
12. The proposed table of fares requested by the Hackney Carriage Associations can found at Annex 2.
Consultation
13. As detailed at paragraph 5, the statutory notice was published in The Press on 24 June 2021. The notice was also displayed on the public notice board at West Offices and on the Councils website.
14. Two objections have been received from one hackney carriage driver during the objection period. The objections relates to the proposed increase of +50% for carrying five or more passengers and the increase in tariff 3 for Race Days. The objections can be found at Annex 3.
Options
15. Option 1 – determine the variation to the table of fares as proposed by the Hackney Carriage Associations, and specify that the table of fares will come into operation from 1 September 2021.
16. Option 2 – determine to modify the variation to the table of fares proposed by the Hackney Carriage Associations, and specify that the table of fares will come into operation from 1 September 2021.
Analysis
17. The Hackney Carriage Associations proposed table of fares is detailed in the table below (distance is shown in yards and metres):
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Proposed Table of Fares |
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Standard Charges |
Additional |
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Tariff 1 £3.00 157.8 yards 144.29 metres 39.8 seconds |
20p 168.2 yards 153.8 metres 42.4 seconds
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Tariff 2 £3.90 77.6 yards 70.96 metres 19.3 seconds |
As above |
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Tariff 3 £6.00 1066 yards 974.75 metres 4 mins 27.6 seconds |
As above |
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Premium Rates |
Additional |
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Tariff 4 £4.50 157.8 yards 144.29 metres 39.8 seconds |
30p 168.2 yards 153.8 metres 42.4 seconds |
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Tariff 5 £5.85 77.6 yards 70.96 metres 19.3 seconds |
As above |
18. The Hackney Carriage Associations have proposed that the Premium Rates will apply when ‘more than 4 passengers’ are carried within the vehicle.
19. A comparison of fares can be found at Annex 4.
20. Once the table of fares is determined, officers will notify all taxi metre agents, and prepare and issues table of fares to all hackney carriage vehicle licence proprietors, which must be displayed in the licensed vehicle.
21. The taxi licensing functions undertaken by the Council are statutory, supporting the new and existing trade, as well as local residents and visitors. Through these functions, the policy supports the Council’s Plan of a good quality of life for everyone.
Implications
22. The direct implications arising from this report are:
(a) Financial – There are no financial implications.
(b) Human Resources (HR) - There are no HR implications.
(c) Equalities – There are no equalities implications.
(d) Legal – The legal implications are set out in the body of the report.
(e) Crime and Disorder – There are no crime and disorder implications.
(f) Information Technology (IT) - There are no IT implications.
(g) Property - There are no property implications.
(h) Other - There are no other implications.
Risk Management
23. There are no known risks associated with this report.
Contact Details
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Author: |
Chief Officer Responsible for the report: |
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Lesley Cooke Licensing Manager 01904 551515
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James Gilchrist Director Environment, Transport and Planning
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Report Approved |
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Date |
20/05/21 |
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Specialist Implications Officer(s)
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Wards Affected: |
All |
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For further information please contact the author of the report |
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Annexes
Annex 1 – Published Notice
Annex 2 – Proposed Table of Fares
Annex 3 – Objections
Annex 4 – Fare Comparisons