Brakes put on new taxi fare method after poor feedback

Just six East Devon drivers responded

The brakes have been put on efforts to create a more accurate way of calculating maximum taxi fares in East Devon after poor response rates from drivers.

Just six out of 135 Hackney carriage drivers responded to a survey by the district council that aimed to secure data to help it better set fare increases.

Anecdotal evidence from councillors and officers suggested some drivers hadn’t responded because they felt last year’s 10 per cent rise in the maximum fare they can charge remains sufficient.

Last year’s 10 per cent rise was lower than the 15 per cent the East Devon Taxi Association had hoped for.

Others expressed concerns about what else the data could be used for – even though the authority stressed it would only be for fare setting – and some grumbled about the cost and time it took to have their meters recalibrated for new maximum fares.

This means that potential new maximum levels for 2025 will be set using the existing methodology, which uses inflation alongside comparisons with similar councils.

Efforts will be made to keep gathering data with a view to considering next year whether to move to a new system.

“It’s slightly ironic because over time we have been trying to make our methodology as accurate, useful and helpful for the trade as possible, but the trade hasn’t responded,” said Cllr Joe Whibley (Independent, Exmouth Town), chair of the council’s licensing and enforcement committee.

“So what we’re [essentially] doing is making it even simpler than before and less accurate and less meeting the needs of drivers but that’s where we are.”

East Devon already ranks as 30th for taxi fares out of 341 local authorities, putting it in the top 10 per cent for charges in the country, according to data from Private Hire & Taxi Monthly.

The current national average two-mile taxi fare, on tariff one, is £7.29, whereas East Devon’s two-mile fare, on tariff one, is £8.69.

East Devon’s licensing and enforcement committee had been hoping that more data would have enabled them to adopt the so-called ‘Guildford method’ of setting maximum fares.

This relates to a calculation method created by Guildford Borough Council that uses data specific to taxi drivers to ensure fare changes better reflect the reality of the trade.

In Guildford’s case, it had sought to reduce fares, and when the town’s taxi Hackney Carriage Association sought to block the move in court, the  the judge threw out the drivers’ case.

Cllr Olly Davey (Green Party, Exmouth Town) said: “With accurate data it should come out with a really good formula, but I don’t think we should do it with poor quality data.”

An amendment was added that there would be a continued “concerted effort” to collect data in the next 12 months from drivers so that it could consider implementing the Guildford method in future.

Even if new maximum fares are set, taxi drivers don’t have to charge them. They can charge less but not more.

Proposed maximum fares and charges will brought back to the committee later this year, with any accepted proposals subject to a 14-day consultation.