Telford taxi fares must be paid up front
Monday 12th December 2011, 5:00PM GMT.
Taxi passengers in Telford are having to pay up front for using private hire cars at night – after drivers complained about a rise in the number of drunken disputes over fares and people running off.
Customers have to pay before they get into the vehicle when travelling anywhere in the borough between 7pm and 7am.
The initiative has been backed by the police, who say they hope it will reduce the number of calls over disputes.
Sergeant Chris Munro, of West Mercia Police, said the idea came about after private hire drivers revealed an increase in the number of passengers arguing over fares – especially at night.
He said: “It seemed obvious that the best solution was to cut the problem off at source.
“If taxi drivers take the fare up front, it reduces the opportunity for any argument or for the passengers to make off without paying.
“Both private hire drivers and passengers know what the fare will be as the journey is pre-booked.
“By asking for the fare on entry to the vehicle, this will reduce the number of incidents between passengers and drivers and also reduce the number of calls from taxis to the police – normally at a time when officers are already very busy.”
Telford & Wrekin Council has produced more than 1,000 stickers which will be on display in private hire vehicles warning of the change.
The authority and the police used cash from the borough’s community safety fund to produce the stickers to distribute among the private hire trade for display.
Councillor Hilda Rhodes, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for transport and community protection, said: “The aim of this is to make journeys smoother and safer for both the driver and their customers and also to relieve pressure on the police at their busiest times of day.
“The stickers will forewarn passengers that they will have to pay for their fare up front when they get in the vehicle at night and this should reduce disputes and prevent people from making off without paying.”
Black cabs, which use a fare meter, will be unaffected by the changes.
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Maybe this will stop the taxi drivers making up the fares and ripping off their single female customers that will not argue.
Ive had the same regular fare as much as £8 more than it should be!
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All fine unless a trip to a cash machine was part of the journey!
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And a second point, will this actually effect any taxis in Telford as i thought they were now all under Shropshire Council?
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“And a second point, will this actually effect any taxis in Telford as i thought they were now all under Shropshire Council?”
…they are still licensed by Telford & Wrekin
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I was under the impression they had switched to getting their licenses via Shropshire Council as it is a lot cheaper? Hence why most of the private hire cabs ( from central etc ) are classed as ‘Hackney carriages’ in telford now.
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D, Telford and Shropshire council are seperate authorities.
Another point is that people booking through an operator asked for a job and price from A to B, and once they are in the car they then ask to divert via C and D so the drivers adds this to their original booking. This also takes extra time, which sometimes is not practical for that driver who has maybe got other jobs to do, so when they are told the fare is greater then they should not be suprised. This point doesnt apply for trips thats are just A to B, then it’s just the driver being wrong unless he had to wait more than 15 mins or until the rate change at midnight
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Not a problem paying up front, main issue is being quoted 1 price based upon a pick up time (and via text), the taxi turns up late then being asked to pay a higher price because it has now passed a certain time. All this will do is encourage the taxi firms to over book and run late thereby forcing you to pay the higher charge or you stay put or you walk. This has happened 3 times, each time I have only paid the quoted price even after a lot of threats from the taxi firm. In the end a contract is a contract if they are late it is not my fault…… Yes, this issue has hit a nerve.
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What an excellent idea – should have done it years ago !!!
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Sounds reasonable to me.
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Very good but that will not stop arguing as some cocky drivers will want to drop fares where they feel like. All you will be getting now is “out out out or il ring the police”Some of these late night taxi drivers are a law on to them selves.
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Let the thieving taxi driver call the police. they will soon put him in his place, and hopefully if enough complaints are received his licence will be withdrawn.
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This still doesnt stop them overcharging. every time i book a taxi i ask the opperater the price. Say for example it is £ 6.30 when the journey is done i ask the taxi driver how much. They then say £ 7.00 Thats what courses the arguments and other stuff.. so to me this wont change a thing. silly idea. If this was to get implemented then all customers should receive a text with details and the price. so then they cant be OVERCHARGED.Therfore no reason for arguments and tention between driver and customers as EVERYONE will no the price before the journey.
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as a taxi driver in telford i show all my customers the price on job screen and have told them to check it at all times and to question any overcharging if the feel they cant speak to driver report his badge number to the taxi firm or the council,iwant to see overcharging end as it causes me to lose money in the end.please note that most drivers are honest and are just trying to make a living and give a good service to the customers.
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It is a complicated decision. Ive seen both sides of it. A driver may try to over charge and those drivers are out of order. But ive also seen customers book a taxi for 23.50 because they dont want to pay the after midnight fare but not turn up until midnight or past midnight and expect to pay the cheaper fare thats out of order too or expect another drop off and dont want to pay for it! My advice is if u have a problem with the price always query with taxi operative it has to be fair both ways. Taxi drivers.who try to overcharge will only be reprimanded if the taxi company are made aware of it. Bad taxi drivers have to go so that the good ones can work fairly.
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50p should be deducted from the fare everytime they fail to use an indicator, then some of them may actually learn how to drive.
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And by return drivers should not at the end of the journey charge more than was quoted by the call operative!
I’ve had that one tried on me before!
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I can’t understand the problem. After years of picking my children up when they were young, at all hours of the night. It is now their turn to pick us old ones up. We just ring up our daughter or son, and if they can’t make it, the grand children pick us up.No problems and it’s free. Same goes for airport travel.
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And of course, John, you can’t imagine people needing taxis who don’t have adult, driving family members nearby.
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