A taxi driver has called on the council to reverse its move to increase private hire operator’s licence fees.

The licence allows drivers to accept bookings for private hire vehicles, but Southampton City Council’s licencing department has outlined plans to increase fees in order to obtain a licence – for a five-year period – from £1,000 to £1,500.

Ian Hall, 71, has been a professional taxi driver since 1981 and has been chairman of Southampton Hackney and Private Hire Association since 2001.

He has submitted an objection letter to the council – calling for the increase in fees to be reversed.

He also wants a tier system, meaning the companies with more vehicles will have to pay more than those with fewer taxis. Ian has one vehicle.

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Speaking to the Echo, he said: “The proposed changes unfairly impact smaller operators – especially sole traders with one vehicle, who would face the same fee increase as larger operators like Uber or Radio Taxis, who manage fleets in the hundreds.

“The uniform pricing structure lacks proportional fairness and creates an undue financial strain on smaller operators who lack the extensive resources of larger companies.

“Southampton City Council should introduce a tiered fee structure, where operators with smaller fleets are charged a base rate and fees increase progressively based on the fleet size.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Southampton City Council said: “Southampton City Council’s licensing team were asked by taxi trade representatives to consider a staggered fee set up.

“It was proposed that the cost of a taxi licence should vary depending on how many cars a company operated.

“However, after careful consideration, we calculated that it would take longer for our staff to process applications with this varied fee structure.

“This would result in an increase in staff costs, which we would then have to pass on to taxi operators. 

“Our licensing team has looked at ways to reduce costs, and this fee is the lowest amount we could charge to recover the costs of administering the licences.”