Liverpool taxi drivers are considering a boycott of Liverpool John Lennon Airport next week in protest at a planned increase in fees for dropping off and picking up passengers. From Tuesday, September 1, the airport will raise the minimum charge for using the express pick-up and drop-off area from £6 to £7 for up to 10 minutes.
The fee increase affects customers using the express car park as well as drivers using the Hackney rank at the airport, who regularly pick up fares from those heading out or returning from holiday. Drivers have told the ECHO that they have to pass on the fee to passengers and that any additional increases will make an already difficult job much harder.
Drivers say job is already hard enough
One driver, who regularly works on jobs at the airport, told the ECHO: "Taxi drivers in Liverpool aren't happy with the increase in price, the job is already hard enough."
"Passengers already think the current £6 that we have to add to whatever they pay on the meter is going in our pocket but its not, we have to pay the airport for using that area," the driver said. "Passengers might say how much to city centre, we say its £25 plus the £6 toll, we lose a lot of work to competitors. It's hard enough without adding another £1 on top."
Another driver, who asked not to be named, used a recent example to illustrate the difficulty. "I did a job the other day and they only wanted to go to the Travelodge near the airport, when I got there the meter was £4.80, I had to add the £6 on, they paid by card and I lost an 80p charge on there. So I technically did that job for £4," he said.
Potential boycott discussed among drivers
He added: "It's tough times for a lot of people, being a taxi driver is tough at the best of times. We do long hours, we work hard, everything is on card payments now and we have to pay fees on them, so we lose money there too. So technically we are actually losing money on the extra money we are paying to the airport - and now that is going up."
The ECHO understands that a large number of city black cab drivers are active in a community WhatsApp group, where discussions about a potential boycott of the airport are being had. One driver confirmed this, stating: "What a lot of drivers are saying is they might boycott the ranks for the day, I think there will be a lot less cabbies on the rank itself."
"If we don't go there, the airport will feel it. You have got to take a stand," the driver added. "Liverpool is a working class city and the airport is profiting. When is enough going to be enough? When will they realise they are in a city full of working class people? We pick people up who have saved up all year for a holiday, had a great time away and then we have to tell them they have to add £7 on their journey. And we have to explain that it's not us. It's not fair."
Airport responds to fee increase
Responding to the complaints, a spokesperson for the airport said: "Liverpool John Lennon Airport is continuing to work with our airline partners to further grow the low-cost route network and to invest in new and improved passenger facilities in order to continue to deliver a best in class passenger experience. However, like many businesses we face increased operational costs due to rising business rates and higher energy charges, plus National Insurance and minimum wage increases and car parking revenue is an important source of income to help offset these substantial cost increases."
"As a consequence, from September 1, the minimum charge to use the express drop off car park for up to 10 minutes will increase from £6 to £7. This remains in line with charges at many other UK airports, however drivers continue to have a choice and can use the free drop off and pick up car park for stays of up to 20 mins, which is a short walk of less than 10 minutes over to the terminal."
The spokesperson added: "The same charge will apply to drivers on the hackney cab rank at the airport too as it always has done. However, drivers pass this charge on to their passengers as part of the fare from the airport in the same way that private hire drivers using the Express Drop Off Car Park do too."
"We are aware some Black Cab drivers who work on the rank at the terminal may choose not to work at the airport next Tuesday. We aren’t expecting any disruption for passengers, however If there are insufficient black cabs on the rank to cater for passenger demand at peak times, we will assist passengers to find alternative ways for onward travel from the airport."
