One of the matters raised by the Compliance Officer at the Taxi Trade meeting with the Licensing Chairman and other Councillors & Officers on Monday 2nd December 2023, was the issue of Hackney Carriages being used for pre-booked set price journeys.
Firstly, that drivers were not engaging taxi meters, and secondly, that as a result, the customer might be charged more than the table of fares permits. That is, even though at the point of pre-booking, the price has been agreed with the customer for the whole journey (which basic business economics dictates is based on the actual whole mileage, most especially when the vehicle has to travel a reasonable distance to perform a journey that only constitutes a small portion of the total journey mileage), that the meter should be engaged at the commencement of the passenger’s journey, and cease at the passenger’s destination with only the meter fare being chargeable.