Taxi fares in Carlisle set to rise for first time in three years
Taxi fares in Carlisle look set to rise next month – the first time in three years.
Wayne Casey
The initial baseline tariff for a journey of no more than 0.7 of a mile could go up from £2.70 to £2.85. The tariff has not gone up since 2011.
Another charge incurred by passengers when a cab is waiting has not gone up since 2008. It is now being proposed that this goes up from 20p for 50 seconds to 25p for a minute.
The cost of a benchmark two-mile journey would become £5.45 in Carlisle, a rise of 2.83 per cent on current fares.
It will still be cheaper than a comparable journey in South Lakeland (£6.40), Allerdale (£5.80), and Eden (£5.50), if proposals are agreed this week.
Finance experts at Carlisle City Council have been calculating if there should be a rise as part of an annual review of cab fares for members of its regulatory panel.
They take into consideration a range of factors such as inflation and a taxi driver’s fuel and wage costs. It has been identified that transport costs have gone up by 2.56 per cent since the last fare increase.
The regulatory panel is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the recommendations.
Wayne Casey is chairman of Carlisle Taxi Owners’ Association, which has 20 to 30 members.
He said: “The association is going to be discussing this, this week.
“It seems to be a happy medium. The association may look at it differently but I think passengers will realise that we have not had an increase for a few years and that costs have gone up.”
If the recommendations are agreed by councillors and no objections are received by September 19 then the new tariff will apply from October 6.
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My bad 
