PROPER RATES FOR HIRE CARS I AM not in the habit of writing to newspapers or
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journals with the object of seeing my name in print, but an article in your issue dated January 9, entitled "Private Car Hirers Who Turn to Highway Robbery," stirred me sufficiently to warrant the employment. of a Sunday afternoon to put before you the case of at least one private car hirer.
In the first place, before the abolition of the basic petrol ration, many individuals were funning on privatehire work cars not licensed for this purpose. Most of them appeared to have no idea what these vehicles were costing them to run, and as long as they were covering petrol and oil, driver's wages and " a little for the use of the car," they were quite satisfied. Consequently, when anyone tried to charge a rate which was reasonable to both parties, he could not compete with this type of operator and, in some cases, did not get the job.
I have worked out costs according to the ideas put forward by S.T.R. in your journal, and have come to the conclusion that a fair rate is Is. per mile, full or empty. It must not be forgotten that, unlike the taxicab man, a private-hire driver cannot pick up passengers for the return journey if the car should be empty. Therefore, the rate I give must apply to all mileage from leaving the' garage to the return to it.
The particular vehicle to which I am applying this charge is a large Humber limousine. The petrol allowance is in the region of 151 gallons per week, and as the maximum obtained is 15 m.p.g., I think you will agree that Is. per mile is not unreasonable.
If you would care to let S.T.R. investigate the cost of running such a vehicle for private hire and publish his conclusions in your journal, I would be most interested and more than a little grateful.
I think it would be a good thing if the Passenger Vehicle Operators' Association could standardize rates of hire for cars employed in this work. The essential point, however, would be to see that operators did not charge below a certain rate rather than above that proposed.
At the moment, with the basic ration gone, it is reasonably possible to obtain work at a proper rate, but directly the basic returns, together with a host of what I might term illegal users, it will once again be difficult to obtain work at economic figures. R.S. Nottingham.