Taxi fares set to rise
GROUPS sharing taxis in Southampton will be slapped with a new £2 charge under fare hike proposals approved by councillors.
Taxi trade chiefs have asked councillors to put up starting fares by 10p in the day, taking them to £2.50, and raise nightime fares by 20p to £3.40.
They also want to bring in a new £2 charge for journeys where five or more share a cab, and hike the waiting charge from £16 to £20 an hour.
Clive Johnson, speaking on behalf of Southampton’s combined taxi trade, said cabbies with larger multiseat cars were faced with larger repair, maintenance and tyres bills, as well as higher fuel costs, which were hurting the whole trade.
Mr Johnson said the pressure on the taxi trade had “severely increased” since the last fare increase in December 2010, with fuel due to go up again in August, by 3p, as well as rising insurance.
Cabbies also want the go-ahead to charge an extra ten per cent to cover the transaction costs for new credit and debit card machines being introduced in some cabs.
Under the new table of fares, the meter would go up by 20p for each 205m of a journey rather than the current 212m. It means the cost of a typical three-mile trip would go up by four per cent, from £7.20 to £7.50 in the day and from £9.20 to £9.55 at night. The Christmas and New Year fares will be unchanged.
Southampton City Council’s licensing committee agreed to put the new fares out to consultation.
They will come into force on April 27 if there are no objections.
If councillors have to consider objections, the rises could be delayed until June.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/9611735 ... t_to_rise/
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