Higher Taxi Prices

[SMEE]

Story here http://www.highland-news.co.uk/news/fullst..._fair!.html

Why is it, any city i have been to....you can go twice the distance in a taxi and still pay half the price than we do here in Inverness. Its same with busses. Whatever happened to trying to get people onto public transport? No wonder people choose to drive everywhere. Who can blame them! ITS A CON!

Edited June 11, 2009 by SMEE

[Yngwie]

I'm sure one of our resident taxi drivers can answer that one for you.

But as I recall it, all forms of transport increased their prices when the cost of fuel went through the roof.

Since then diesel has fallen by over 20%, but all transport prices seem to have stayed up.

[SMEE]

It costs almost ?10 just for me to take my two wee ones from cradlehall to aquadome and back (on the bus). Thats scandalous! If i had a wee car....i could probably get about 70 miles travel for that!

Edited June 11, 2009 by SMEE

[MrsICTFC]

I went from the city of Glasgow to Bearsden after midnight for a ?1 less than travelling from outside the filling station to Culloden, refuse to take a taxi now!

[WYNESS101]

Beauly to Muir of ord is ?2.60 on the bus. Thank god my brother gave me his old bike :004: saved a few ???

[SMEE]

?2.60 for a 2.5mile trip :004:

[MrsICTFC]

It costs ?2.70 ish for a return culloden to Inverness. Ridiculous!

Tip - Always ask for a day return, not a return they cost more! Cheek they have!!

[Lady Madonna]

That's one thing I love about living in Edinburgh; the bus system is just so efficient and cheap! I can buy a day ticket for ?3 and jump on as many buses to anywhere as I like. Singles are just ?1.20 any distance, so you could go from the west end of Edinburgh right to Seton Sands for just over a quid. :D

[SMEE]

That's one thing I love about living in Edinburgh; the bus system is just so efficient and cheap! I can buy a day ticket for ?3 and jump on as many buses to anywhere as I like.

Well...you can get a rover ticket here...for ?7 for 7 days unlimited bus travel within inverness...so thats quite good i guess!

[WYNESS101]

Conon bridge to Maryburgh (or the other way round if you like) is 50p :D

[latviaman]

Conon bridge to Maryburgh (or the other way round if you like) is 50p :D

Talking about money/ re transport, I work from Riga airport so I travel home at weird hours of the night, I get stopped regularly by the police, probably because I drive a Mercedes. There is a corner called the money corner and the local police fight to be there,( they get 200 GBP oer month) so that is where I must pass to get home, I carry a 10 lat note in my licence, which is near enough a tenner, last month I paid 50 lats and all I want to do is go home!

When Mrs L and I were last in Invss, met at the airport by a very nice taxi driver, she asked in her broken english for the Lochardil Hotel, after a guided tour of the outskirts of Sneck eventually found the Hotel and said 40 pounds, I gave him 10 pounds and told him to buy a map

[kiltarlity]

If you looked into this further you would find taxi fares in Inverness are roughly at the national average for fares in Scotland, we have until recently lagged behind.

Also please bear in mind that in the big citys like Glasgow taxi fairs are subject to boundary charges which we don't have in Inverness.

I have just come in from a 8 hour night shift, I have taken just under ?100. (This is typical at the moment and remember this is supposed to be our busy time/ tourist season!!)

Deduct ?20 fuel, ?30 in radio fees to (Taxi Company) that leaves me with ?50

Then theirs, income tax, national insurance, depreciation/repair money. Licences and inspection fees

I have earned well under national minimum wage.

I do, obviously do better at the weekends, but I still predict I will be lucky to make ?14 000 this year for a 48 hour week nightshift/anti social hours job.

I'm in the process of looking for another job, their is no money in being a cab driver in Inverness anymore. We are waiting 45mins or more between jobs..

Their are simply TOO MANY CARS working, and the council issue more licences week in week out... (because they make so much money out of it.). it is not in their interest to cap the number of taxis.

Please note: 48 hour working week does not include the extra 5 hours a week I spend keeping the car clean and doing my books!!

Edited June 19, 2009 by kiltarlity

[RiG]

That's one thing I love about living in Edinburgh; the bus system is just so efficient and cheap! I can buy a day ticket for ?3 and jump on as many buses to anywhere as I like. Singles are just ?1.20 any distance, so you could go from the west end of Edinburgh right to Seton Sands for just over a quid. :D

Edinburgh has a brilliant bus service. I went from Fairmilehead to Ocean Terminal for ?1.10 not so long ago. Have they put the prices up again? I hate having to get the bus any time I am back in Inverness. I don't know if it has changed but last I was aware they don't do day tickets there? Also all the buses were wrong as well. I tried to get on a 3 which (at the time) said Balloch on the front of it but the driver said he wasn't going there. I asked why hisbus had "Balloch via Culloden via Smithon" etc. on the front and he said "They always say that, we just don't go there." :thumb02:

[Yngwie]

Then theirs, income tax, national insurance, depreciation/repair money. Licences and inspection fees

I've always been under the impression that being a cash business, taxi drivers only declare about half their income to the tax man. But that was based on a survey of London cabbies many years ago, and the record keeping requirements might have been tightened up since then. I'm sure you'll put me right.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

There was a survey carried out a while back and it found that the majority of Inverness taxi drivers had criminal convictions !

[kiltarlity]

There was a survey carried out a while back and it found that the majority of Inverness taxi drivers had criminal convictions !

That was newspaper sensationalism!!

They counted driving convictions as criminal convictions, if you drive 40k a year its quite easy to pick up the odd 3 points. The council will suspend your licence if you go over 6 points in 3 years. All taxi drivers working in Inverness have to be subject to disclosure Scotland and won't get a taxi licence if they have recent un-spent convictions or indeed serious spent ones.

Tax laws have tightened up, it's easy for taxman to check your mileage and look at your figures, check your office for the jobs you have done.

Now I'm not sure I declare every tip, then again often I say ?8 when fare is ?8.40 or give a regular or friend a discount, several times a month I don't get paid or get paid less because customer dosen't have enough money.

If someone says ?20 for Nairn at 12pm when it's quiet, I will probably do it and give them the ?10 discount as it's better than doing nothing. It all averages out!.

Edited June 19, 2009 by kiltarlity

[HumbersideDude]

Taxi's here in Dewsbury are wierd. Good points are you can phone up a private hire cab and they arrive fairly quickly and are available all day and night unlike some places I have lived. lincoln for example, if you wanted a taxi for 8pm Saturday night you had to book it on the Tuesday or Wedenesday to be sure of getting one. That or have to wait over an hour. Other good point in Dewsbury is cheap taxi's. again the private hire cabs, ?3.50 to go into Batley, similar distance in Inverness in May I was charged ?6.50. Some drivers in Dewsbury even ask you "how much you pay".

On the down side many drivers have not even a basic knowledge of English. In the local paper recently they interviewed a driver who had been assaulted and stated he had to speak through an interpreter. Some, I have to direct to where I am going and some of the taxis are L and M reg cars.

Although more expensive than I am used to, I was very impressed with all the Taxi's and drivers I came across in Inverness(bar one who happened to be english). They were friendly, informative and generally helpfull.

[kiltarlity]

Although more expensive than I am used to, I was very impressed with all the Taxi's and drivers I came across in Inverness(bar one who happened to be english). They were friendly, informative and generally helpfull.

Edited June 19, 2009 by kiltarlity

[SMEE]

In my opinion.....public transport here is simply way too expensive. Lets take me getting home in a taxi from Tesco with my shopping.

It equates to a 15 min walk. (or maybe 3-4 mins in a vehicle)If i was to get the Bus....its about ?1.10. Taxi costs 5 TIMES AS MUCH!

I disagree with you Kiltarlity about prices here being "average"......or mayybe it is just by sheer fluke that ANY other place i have ever got a taxi.......I have got a LOT further for LESS money than i do here!

As far as the number of taxis in sneck...from a customer point of view...it can only be a good thing, but, i know all the longer established taxi drivers are hacked off, but thats because.....they had it soo good for so long in the past.

[kiltarlity]

From a public point of view I would argue oversupply of cabs is a bad thing.

Many drivers are now working 60-80 hours a week to make up their pay. Their is nothing illegal in this, taxi drivers are not covered by any legal restriction on working hours. This is a danger to the pubic. Also congestion in the town during the day is made much worse by taxis circle-ing the town trying to get a rank space, because you have a situation where their are several times more cars working than rank spaces avaliable.

Another point is now we live in a mitgation society, I have to have, expensive public liability insurance and taxi insurance. If I insured my car as a private car it would cost me ?200 a year, as a taxi it costs me just shy of a grand a year.

I'm not sure if you drive MEE, but I can tell you if you did you would probably be aware the running costs of a family car are quite high. Now imagine your running a taxi thats 4-5 services a year, the equivalent of 3 mot's (taking in taxi tests) instead of one, prob 3 sets tyres a year and many many more repairs than a normal car.

Not long ago I new a old lady who gave up driving and sold her car because it was cheaper for her to use a dozen taxis a week than keep her own car on the road.

Edited June 19, 2009 by kiltarlity

[SMEE]

From a public point of view I would argue oversupply of cabs is a bad thing.

Many drivers are now working 60-80 hours a week to make up their pay. Their is nothing illegal in this, taxi drivers are not covered by any legal restriction on working hours. This is a danger to the pubic. Also congestion in the town during the day is made much worse by taxis circle-ing the town trying to get a rank space, because you have a situation where their are several times more cars working than rank spaces avaliable.

Another point is now we live in a mitgation society, I have to have, expensive public liability insurance and taxi insurance. If I insured my car as a private car it would cost me ?200 a year, as a taxi it costs me just shy of a grand a year.

Without wishing to appear a complete ****, there is the old...freedom of choice argument. NOBODY is forcing the taxi drivers to do the job!

[kiltarlity]

From a public point of view I would argue oversupply of cabs is a bad thing.

Many drivers are now working 60-80 hours a week to make up their pay. Their is nothing illegal in this, taxi drivers are not covered by any legal restriction on working hours. This is a danger to the pubic. Also congestion in the town during the day is made much worse by taxis circle-ing the town trying to get a rank space, because you have a situation where their are several times more cars working than rank spaces avaliable.

Another point is now we live in a mitgation society, I have to have, expensive public liability insurance and taxi insurance. If I insured my car as a private car it would cost me ?200 a year, as a taxi it costs me just shy of a grand a year.

Without wishing to appear a complete ****, there is the old...freedom of choice argument. NOBODY is forcing the taxi drivers to do the job!

Likewise nobody is forcing you to take a taxi, you could always walk..

I'm only pointing out the costs involved in running a taxi, because until I became a cabby, I had no idea how much it cost to put and keep a cab on the road and that in a nutshell explains why fares are the cost they are.

I suspect in other citys you have been using private hire cars not plated taxis. They are often cheaper because they are often old bangers, less stringently regulated, pay less council/ company fees and their drivers/operators get away with poorly maintained cars, inadequate insurance ect.

Edited June 19, 2009 by kiltarlity

[SMEE]

From a public point of view I would argue oversupply of cabs is a bad thing.

Many drivers are now working 60-80 hours a week to make up their pay. Their is nothing illegal in this, taxi drivers are not covered by any legal restriction on working hours. This is a danger to the pubic. Also congestion in the town during the day is made much worse by taxis circle-ing the town trying to get a rank space, because you have a situation where their are several times more cars working than rank spaces avaliable.

Another point is now we live in a mitgation society, I have to have, expensive public liability insurance and taxi insurance. If I insured my car as a private car it would cost me ?200 a year, as a taxi it costs me just shy of a grand a year.

Without wishing to appear a complete ****, there is the old...freedom of choice argument. NOBODY is forcing the taxi drivers to do the job!

Likewise nobody is forcing you to take a taxi, you could always walk..

I'm only pointing out the costs involved in running a taxi, because until I became a cabby, I had no idea how much it cost to put and keep a cab on the road and that in a nutshell explains why fares are the cost they are.

Well.....unfortunatley Kiltarlity..... there are no other practical options available to me to get shopping home, so am kinda stuck with having to get a taxi!

And as far as the prices go....am pretty much nigh on 100% positive that all the running costs/conditions apply to other taxi drivers accross the country, yet, in my experience (and a few others on this thread) you get a lot further for your money in these places. Maybe, taxi drivers in Inverness are now getting the real picture of how life driving a taxi is in a city. As i say.....up until a few years ago....they made quite a good living from it, when they had things stacked in their favour.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

SMEE when your taking the bairns swimming I'd advise buying a ?3 day ticket from stagecoach which entitles you to unlimited bus use in the city .

[kiltarlity]

Smee and others who are interested. (please note this is a pdf so you need acrobat or similar installed to view)

http://www.phtm.co.uk/_includes/docs/leagu...le/l7wk9qCi.pdf

This is a league table of taxi fares in Scotland. There are 45 councils setting tariffs.

As you can see Inverness is the 23rd most expensive place in Scotland to take a taxi out of the 45 licenced council areas.

You will also see evidence that as I said, Inverness fares are about average for Scotland as a whole.

Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Perth are just some of the places that are more expensive.

Edited June 19, 2009 by kiltarlity