Glasgow cab drivers defend soaring weekend fares
Private-hire drivers claim their wages haven't gone up for a decade.
Last updated 11th Oct 2021
Private-hire drivers in Glasgow are telling Clyde 1 they are being forced to charge higher fares at the weekend because the cost of living is on the rise.
John Paul Duffy works in the city and claims he struggles to keep up with rising fuel costs and keeping his car on the road.
He said: "Licensing fees, insurance and general maintenance of the vehicles have gone up and so I think it is only right that fares increase too.
"Drivers have to charge more during busy times, like Friday and Saturday nights, because they don't earn much money when it is quieter.
"People need to remember that most of the time we aren't earning much and the majority of our income at the minute has to come from the weekends."
"Our wages have not really gone up for ten years"
John Paul points out that driver wages have not gone up in real terms for the last decade.
He added: "We are still only charging £1.50 per mile on average and if you compare that to ten years ago it was around £1.10.
"Unfortunately, we have had to put prices up because of the struggles we have faced during the pandemic.
"Our wages have not really gone up for ten years."
"The customer shouldn't be out of pocket"
He admits passengers are being ripped off when they have to pay £40 or £50 for a 10 minute journey home from Glasgow city centre on a Friday or Saturday night.
John Paul said: "We obviously don't agree with these high prices.
"It's not good for the passenger or the driver.
"We should be earning a fair and liveable rate of pay with a reliable average per hour, but the customer shouldn't be out of pocket either."
"Sometimes it is not worth going out"
Twenty-five-year-old Joe Gardener from Bearsden spent two and a half hours on a Saturday night last month trying to find an affordable taxi home.
One driver quoted him £35 and he claims it has put him off going on nights out.
He said: "I'd rather miss out on a couple of pints and a bit of chat with my mates than to pay a ridiculous price to get home.
"I don't want to have to pay these fares and sometimes it is not worth going out.
"There has to be a way of getting the customer home safely without ripping them off, but we need to keep drivers happy too and pay them a wage they deserve."