Cabbies and students agree: fares are fair

Due to the relatively remote positioning of Warwick University, taxis are a vital link with local towns, particularly after a night out. Usually the fares are reasonable and universal between cabs; however there has recently been an increase in the overcharging of students.

Though it is known that the prices do go up after midnight, the time when taxis are in highest demand, drivers will sometimes charge off the meter. In principle this is normal, but it is usually advisable to negotiate a price before you set off, as there have been cases when drivers have not taken the most direct route.

The overcharging of students is not common but if it occurs the union are “keen to find out which companies are doing so and we would do everything in our power to stop this from happening to make sure that our students are treated fairly and honestly.”

According to students and taxi drivers, a standard fare to Leamington from campus is usually around £20, and a fare to central Coventry should be about £10.

Overcharging does not seems to be a concern for most students. Mostly, they find the standard fares relatively reasonable.

“If you put five people in a cab [here], it’s about £1.50 each, but if you go to London, it’d be about £5 just to get in the car. Nobody should complain,” says first-year Kasia Delgado.

“Personally, I don’t think taxi fares are that bad – £10 to go four miles? It’s actually pretty decent. It’s £10 for two miles in Manchester,” says Mallika Natarajan, another first-year.

Taxi drivers agree that they do their best to give students a fair deal.

“Fares have gone up, but I don’t think the regular cab drivers that come to Warwick overcharge the students. I think we’re pretty decent, really,” says driver Janet Dolphin.

Students may find themselves paying less if they are courteous to their drivers.

Driver Patrick Flood says he charges “£20 to the bottom of the Parade [in Leamington]. If they’re nice and polite, I’ll take them a bit further for that. You can charge what you want really, because it’s out of town.”

When taxis leave the city in which they are registered, the fare is a flat rate, and always charged off the meter. This provides an opportunity for bargaining a fair price.

“It’s a buyer’s market for students, really, because there’s so many taxis,” says Flood.

However, if students feel they have received poor service, they should make a note of the taxi’s licence number, which is on the cab door and next to the number plate on the back of the vehicle. They can contact the Students’ Union, or phone to register a complaint with Hackney Carriage in Coventry.

Taxi fares, even if they seem high, are necessary to keep drivers in business.

“When all the factories close down in Coventry, a lot of people think, I’ll become a taxi driver. But there are so many taxis now, it’s really hard, you have to work long hours to make it worth you doing it,” says Flood.

Bob McCance, who has been a taxi driver for 17 years, agrees. “You’d make more money stacking shelves at Toys’R’Us, to be honest. You do this job because you like it.”

Drivers interviewed on campus also indicated that the new taxi rank on Health Centre Road has decreased their business by as much as fifty per cent.

“You maybe did Leamington four or five times on a normal night” when the rank was outside the Rootes Building. “Now you’re lucky to get one,” says McCance.

“We’re finding now that a lot of the Leamington and Kenilworth cabs that shouldn’t come into [Coventry] and apply for hire, they go up to Costcutter’s. Because we’re down here, nobody can see us. I think it’s unfair, really,” agrees Dolphin.