A TAXI driver has been dubbed the Grinch Behind The Wheel after he scuppered a bid by trade bosses to cut fares this Christmas.
Marc Smith, 50, called the festive goodwill gesture “truly bizarre” and claimed many passengers did not care what they were charged to get home from a night out in the city at Christmas.
He told councillors considering his lone objection to a trade proposal to cut fares from double to time and a half that drivers deserved the higher premium for working Christmas holidays.
He said cabbies were making half what they were ten years ago after the number of taxis and private hire cars in the city had tripled and costs had escalated.
“This will just be taking money out of the trade,” he said, adding that cowboy drivers would switch off their meters anyway.
Mr Smith, a Southampton cabbie for 15 years, went on to call for rises in fares of up to 25 per cent and a minimum £5 charge.
He admitted that he thought his objection would “make no difference whatsoever” but the delay in holding a council meeting to reject it means the reduced fare for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will not now be brought in until next year.
Perry McMillan, chairman of the Southampton cab section of Unite, said: “It’s clear that Mr Smith is not a team player.
“He had every opportunity to talk to the different trade groups.
“The only taxi fares he should be interested in is Coventry because that’s where he will be sent.”
Clive Johnson, chairman of Radio Taxis and the Southampton Trade Association, said: “Thanks to this Christmas Grinch members of the public this will not have a reduced rate this Christmas.
“We will have to charge double time again after working hard for six months to give members of the public a lower rate.”
Ian Hall, chairman of the Southampton Hackney Association who first proposed the cut in Christmas fares, said: “It’s austere times and it’s going to be a bad Christmas for a lot of people. We hoped this would have attracted more people frightened by high fares.”
However, a slight rise in fares for cab rides – the first in more than two years – will come in on December 29.
Taxi trade bodies in the city reached a compromise deal, accepted by councillors, for starting fares to go up from £2.20 to £2.40 in the day, and from £2.95 to £3.20 at night.
The distance at which taxi meters tick over after the first 440m will be shortened from 225m to 212m The taxi trade says that in the past year vehicle tax, insurance and fuel costs have risen by a quarter, while drivers have been told to install compulsory taxi cameras costing up to £700 and face a ten per cent hike in council licence fees from £150 to £165.
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