To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2022 were submitted for approval. It was noted that the minutes referred to a member of Unite the Union and this should have been Trade Representative.

Decision

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Licensing & Appeals Committee meeting held on 6 June 2022, subject to the amendment above.

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The report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is enclosed.

The Committee considered the content of the report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing which concerned a full review of Hackney Carriage Fares. The report provided information for the Committee to consider in order to make recommendations to the Executive in relation to setting the Hackney Carriage Fare tariff.

The Licensing Unit Manager informed the Committee that there had not been a full review of the fare tariff since 2017. The Licensing Unit Manager stated that there was no set formula for calculating Hackney Carriage Fare’s and that legislation does not limit the external factors that can be taken into account when setting fares nor the amount by which fares can be varied.

The Licensing Unit Manager noted that the formula is complicated, with different tariffs for day and night, as well as Christmas and New Year. Fares are set with an initial flag rate, proceeded by 20p increments for yardage and waiting time. Any amendments to the tariff will change the yardage and waiting time costs accordingly. This is done via recalibrating meters before resealing them. 

The current method used to determine tariffs is the Halcrow Manchester Formula, which has evolved since its implementation in 2002. It uses data from various sources to estimate the average annual cost of running a Hackney Carriage. The Licensing Unit Manager stated that the formula was not the sole determinant as in 2014 the Committee had agreed extra things to be taken into consideration. These included Consumer Price Index, comparable earnings-related data, comparisons with other core cities and comparisons with other Greater Manchester Authority’s.

The Licensing Unit Manager noted that the Hackney Carriage trade was an integral part of the city’s transport network and provided a high level of accessibility. The intention was to ensure that the trade remains a viable but affordable option.

The Licensing Unit Manager noted that the last full review was in 2017, at which time a 6.42% increase was applied only to distance, not waiting times. This increase was applied to all tariffs, but the flag rate was not adjusted at that time. The Licensing Unit Manager acknowledged that whilst there was no requirement to review fares at any set frequency, it was hoped one would have come before now. However, running costs for Hackney Carriage’s only significantly changed this year, which initially led to the temporary fuel surcharge pending this full review. The Licensing Unit Manager informed the Committee that this review had disregarded the temporary fuel surcharge, only considering prices set in 2017. It was estimated that there had been a change of 23.01% in the annual running cost of a Hackney Carriage vehicle between 2016/17 and 2022. At the time of writing the report, some August data was not available. Had that data been available, it would show there had been a 20.7% increase in running costs. The Licensing Unit Manager also noted that since the last full review, CPI had increased by 18.6% which was less than the estimated increase in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.