Business slams fares  (4/8/2004)

Exeter business leaders have slammed taxi fares and called for the trade to be deregulated.

Representatives of the Exeter business community have called for taxi numbers to be de-restricted following the disclosure that the city's fares are among the top 10% in the country.

July's Private Hire and Taxi Monthly nationwide taxi fare league tables show Exeter at 28 out of 377 licensing authorities throughout the UK, prompting the Exeter Chamber of Commerce to say that this provides further evidence in favour of deregulating taxi numbers, a course of action currently being considered by Exeter City Council.

The chamber claims that deregulation would force fares down due to greater competition from private hire firms, with the current high fares caused by the council's policy of limiting the number of taxis to 48 and fixing fares.

Chamber chairman Brian Thornton said that they were calling for total deregulation so that minicabs would be allowed to pick up customers from the streets, currently monopolised by the taxi trade.  He added that the competition would force taxis to lower their fares to more competitive levels.

But taxi trade spokesperson Carole Whittaker said that some of the local authorities in the table had not implemented a rise in five years, and the high costs in the area also had to be considered.  The most recent rise was passed by the city's licensing committee last October.

A two-mile taxi trip currently costs £4.75 between 7 in the morning and 7 in the evening, while during the 12-hour period from 7pm the same journey costs £5.90.

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