Taxi Driver Online

East Lothian taxi fares expected to be frozen by licensing bosses

TAXI fares in East Lothian will not increase when they come up for review next week after a lockdown consultation received no feedback.

A report to East Lothian licensing sub committee will tell councillors there is no need to increase the fares as part of an 18-month review because no representations were made.

It says a consultation with the taxi trade was launched on March 20 – days before lockdown began – and closed on May 18.

But it said: ” There were no responses or proposals received to alter the current fee structure.

“The sub-committee are entitled to complete the review of fares with the decision being to make no changes to the current levels.”

At the last review, in March 2019, the sub-committee agreed to trade requests for an increase, despite the fact the Private Hire and Taxi Monthly magazine had named East Lothian the most expensive place in Scotland to travel two miles in a cab.

It introduced changes which meant taxis could increase their initial £3 minimum charge to £4 after 6pm and reduced the distance travelled before the 20p additional charges kick in on the meter.

Licensing authorities are required to review fares every 18 months.

Next week’s sub committee meeting will be asked to formally re-adopt the current fares “in the absence of any proposals for change”.

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