Next steps agreed for potential increase in Sunderland Hackney Carriage fares

Proposals to increase Hackney Carriage fares on Wearside have taken a step forward following a decision by city councillors.

Sunderland City Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee, at a meeting this week, agreed to launch a formal notice period for revised taxi fares.

Under a Hackney Carriage licence, drivers can be flagged down on the street or accessed at taxi ranks, as well as taking on pre-booked work.

Sunderland City Council can prescribe the maximum fares charged across the city, with individual drivers also free to charge less.

Bids to increase Hackney Carriage fares have been approved in recent years, including at a meeting in 2022 and a further increase being agreed in 2023.

A new request from the Sunderland Hackney Carriage Operators’ Association (SHCOA) aims to increase charges across the city’s three main tariffs and to increase both waiting time and “soiling” charges.

A letter from the Sunderland Hackney Carriage Operators’ Association, published on the city council’s website, set out the reasons behind the proposed increases.

This included “increased operating costs during the present cost-of-living crisis”, the cost of repairs due to “large increases in the cost of parts, labour and energy” and increased insurance premiums.

Other reasons included the “almost prohibitive cost of a replacement wheelchair-accessible vehicle”, which was described as a “cause for serious concern within the taxi trade”, and the wider impact of inflation.

Trevor Hines, of the Sunderland Hackney Carriage Operators’ Association, told councillors the tariff increase proposals had followed consultation with the taxi trade across Sunderland and Washington.

While acknowledging that some drivers were “scared stiff” of increased fares leading to loss of trade, Mr Hines noted other drivers were concerned about rideshare companies like Uber operating in the city.

It was claimed that some customers had faced fares of more than £100 during peak periods, including New Year’s Day and following a concert at the Stadium of Light.

Other taxi trade issues raised at Monday’s meeting included the “astronomical” cost of new vehicles and difficulties around “getting younger [drivers] into the trade”.

Mr Hines told the meeting: “Tariff increases I can assure you are always a very emotive subject […] but there’s a lot happening in the taxi trade at the moment.

“In fact there’s been a sea change since the pandemic and during the pandemic, and a lot of taxi operators are under a great deal of stress.

“However, with any tariff increase there’s always a worry that you might lose business but on the other side of the coin, there are lots of costs that have to be covered”.

What is being proposed?

New proposals set out charges based on three fare tariffs.

A report prepared for the council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee sets out six example journey distances for each tariff, ranging from one mile to five miles.

Tariff one applies to journeys undertaken between Monday and Saturday, 7am to 11pm, except public and bank holidays and the Christmas / New Year period.

The proposed changes would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, an extra 40p for a 2.5-mile journey and an extra £1 for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.45 per cent.

Tariff two applies to journeys undertaken between 11pm and 7am each day and all day Sunday, except public and bank holidays and the Christmas / New Year period.

The changes for this tariff would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, a 60p increase for a 2.5-mile journey and a £1.40 increase for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.8%.

Tariff three applies to journeys undertaken from 6pm on December 24 to 7am on December 27, and 6pm on December 31 to 7am on January 2 and all day on other public and bank holidays.

The proposed changes to this tariff would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, an extra 60p for a 2.5-mile journey and a £1.40 increase for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.2 per cent.

Elsewhere, the SHCOA has requested the “waiting time” rate for vehicles to increase from 20p per minute to 30p per minute.

The current maximum charge for “fouling of vehicle” is also being proposed to rise by £10, from £60 to £70.

What happens next?

Sunderland City Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee met on Monday, February 26, at City Hall and agreed to approve the advertisement of the revised taxi fares.

There will be a statutory notice period allowing for objections to be made.

If no objections to the variations are made, or if all objections made are withdrawn or resolved, the variations could come into operation as early as April 1, 2024.

The Licensing and Regulatory Committee is also expected to debate the taxi fares and charges later this year.