Hackney cab drivers in Knowsley are planning to turn up en masse to a Knowsley Council meeting which could agree “insulting” fee rises.
A meeting of the borough’s licensing committee is set to approve 10% fee increase for licences for hackney and private hire drivers – and it has left many “furious” with the plans. In documents produced ahead of the meeting, the council said it had frozen the fees last year due to the impact of the pandemic on the trade but needed to recoup costs this year.
Recommending a fee increase of 10%, the report stated that with inflation and cost increases, the figure should be 19% but the council didn’t want to place an “unfair burden” on drivers and companies, with the industry still recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
