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[mantahatch]

I need to book a taxi. it needs to pick me up from Bournemouth airport and deliver 2 people and one suitcase to Southampton area (so50). I have done a number of online quotes and I am getting wildy varying quotes. I know there are a couple of people on here that drive/driven taxis, and wondered if they could tell me if there is a way to work out what I should be paying ?

Three quotes so far, £52, £80 £150.     I am booking in advance with plenty of notice if that makes any difference. And collection is about 4.30pm on a Friday.

Thanks.

[zirk]

Not a Taxi Driver, but thats about 30 miles, I can get a Cab from home to Stansted Airport for a fixed £30, about 25 miles, so all those quotes seem expensive to me.

Have you tried ringing the Airport Cars? or a local Taxi in the SO50 area.

[05omegav6]

It's 32 miles, at our day rate, £2 per mile, that would be reasonably £60- £65 Horsham District rates are about average in the scheme of things.

Variable factors include the size of vehicle, number of people, time of day etc. Also different councils set their ownrates and these can be different for both prebooked private hire vehicles and hackney carriages

Personally I would go to the council websites and look up their rates, should be under taxis or licensing, and compare the rates. The three I would try are Bournemouth, New Forest and Eastleigh

If you're happy with Bournemouth Hackney carriage rates, just grab one at the airport. As you already know roughly how much it will cost, you can ask the driver to set the fare. Using the above example, I would suggest £65, that way the driver knows he's getting a fair price, and you know that you're not being turned over.

Did you have a date in mind as I might be able to help, at OOF rates obviously...

[05omegav6]

Not a Taxi Driver, but thats about 30 miles, I can get a Cab from home to Stansted Airport for a fixed £30, about 25 miles, so all those quotes seem expensive to me.

Have you tried ringing the Airport Cars? or a local Taxi in the SO50 area.

Specialist airport transfer firms are fickle things, that £30 is probably based on the fact that a it's a quick, easy journey and also half way to Heathrow and not that far from the centre of London either, rather than the actual cost

For example, our fixed price prebooked jobs are priced according to the appropriate meter rates for number of passengers/time of day, but airport work is often priced differently,  we charge £65 from Horsham/Gatwick to Heathrow, yet at 45 miles it should cost £90 Go figure

[Del Boy]

Our rates here are £2.60 a mile, all cab firms if in the same area should be the same if they're all from the same council, unless you're ringing independent drivers?

[Taxi_Driver]

Agreed if they are aLl hackney firms (price set by licensing authority) but private hire firms all have different rates (its the firm that sets the price) . We also have set fares for airports. But if we drop say 1 mile from Heathrow you'll be paying 15 squid more ;-)

[05omegav6]

Our rates here are £2.60 a mile, all cab firms if in the same area should be the same if they're all from the same council, unless you're ringing independent drivers?

You'd have thought so Local Authorities set their rates independently, usually by public and trade consultation. Hackney Carriages and their operators are governed by the Towns Act 18??, and are subject to local byelkaws based on each LAs interpretation of these byelaws. All journeys in Hackney carriages (taxis) should be metered, and you may not be charged over the metered rate, exception to this is Soilage, which can be any reasonable charge. For a definition of reasonable, ask yourself this: 'If I were called out at 3am on a Sunday morning to clean up someone elses vomit, how much would I charge?'
 
Private Hire/Prebooked cars (minicabs) are also regulated by the LAs using local licensing guidelines as a framework of operation, these guidelines are not byelaws, but are usually similar. This type of car need not have a meter fitted, in which case the fare should be agreed before departure. Exceptions to this are if the journey changes at the passengers request,ie ' I need to go via xyz to pick my mates up' this fare would then need to be re agreed at this point. If no meter is obvious and the driver demands a previously unagreed fare at the end of the journey the passenger is perfectly entitled to ask how the fare has been calculated. You should pay in full,noting drivers badge and plate details and take a legible written receipt followed by a written complaint to the LA. If the car has a meter fitted it should be USED and be CLEARLY VISIBLE unless the fare is previously agreed.

To sum up, for a prebooked journey of say 5 miles, I could quote a fixed price of £500. if the customer agrees then that is the fare charged. If however the same journey was metered, it would cost approx £10. If a hotel/restaurant books a car on your behalf, they are the customer, not you, so always double check what they've agreed to on your behalf. A sensible driver should be aware that this is the case and ask if you are aware of the fixed price.

[mantahatch]

Thank you everyone.
We are returning on the Friday 5th October, pick up is from Bournemouth airport approx 4.30pm landing if all goes well. Will try the council website as suggested. It is only 2 people 1 case and 1 handbag (not mine) Leaving the kids at home, well say kids they are 19 and nearly 17, probably find the house destroyed when we return 

[Taxi_Driver]

Private Hire/Prebooked cars (minicabs) are also regulated by the LAs using local licensing guidelines as a framework of operation, these guidelines are not byelaws, but are usually similar. This type of car need not have a meter fitted, in which case the fare should be agreed before departure. Exceptions to this are if the journey changes at the passengers request,ie ' I need to go via xyz to pick my mates up' this fare would then need to be re agreed at this point. If no meter is obvious and the driver demands a previously unagreed fare at the end of the journey the passenger is perfectly entitled to ask how the fare has been calculated. You should pay in full,noting drivers badge and plate details and take a legible written receipt followed by a written complaint to the LA. If the car has a meter fitted it should be USED and be CLEARLY VISIBLE unless the fare is previously agreed.

Just to clarify Al......yes private hire firms are regulated by the LA's however the fares they charge are set by the private hire firms.....the LA has nothing to do with fares charged by private hire firms.......also one other point.....i agree about your procedure for disputed fares, however the LA would not want to know......they would refer the complainant back to private hire firm 

[05omegav6]

Private Hire drivers are regulated by the LA, and if the driver has deliberately concealed the meter then they are breaking the law. Also, while the PH operators are free to charge whatever they like, this must be agreed with the customer before the journey starts, any fixed pricing after the event is almost certainly in breach of the LAs licensing conditions

Our Licensing Officer can be a right arse at times, and will hold the driver accountable first, and the operator a very close second. The customer is always right when it comes to official complaints

Only two nights left...

[jonnyboyws6]

£2.60 a mile? We are doing long runs for not much over a pound round here. It's bleak up north, I should move.