Taxi Driver Online

Couldn't be bothered looking into this, but looks like the second one this week where the headline 'hike' figure is misleading because it's only on the flagfall, and thus as the distance increases the percentage increase decreases

To be fair, though, the headline does specifically say the 'starting' fare, although I suspect that detail will be ignored by the average reader of the Watford Observer.

And, to be fair again, 30% on the flagfall is a fair old hike, and obviously on all but the longer runs the percentage increase will be significant if it all goes ahead.

And, in fact, the actual stated increase in the piece below is almost 32%


Starting taxi fares could soon be hiked 30 per cent in Watford

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/starting-taxi ... 00603.html

Starting fares for taxi rides in Watford could soon be hiked by more than 30 per cent.

A borough council consultation on changes to the Hackney Carriage Table of Fares is currently underway.

Under the new fares, incremental increases based on distance travelled would stay the same but the amount paid for the initial stage of the trip will rise by 70p.

For a journey between 6am and 11pm, the first 109m or 25.7 seconds previously cost £2.20 - rising 20p every 64 metres or 15 seconds until the meter reached £4.60. From that point each additional 128 metres or 31 seconds cost 20p more.

Click here to view the consultation: Taxi Tariff Consultation 2026

This means the shortest possible journey will be 31.82 per cent more expensive, but the difference will be much smaller for longer rides.

Journeys at night increase in cost more rapidly, but a starting fee increase from £2.20 to £2.90 will still be the only change.

Trips for six or more passengers currently start at £3.30 and this will increase to £4.

Double fares for Christmas and New Year, as well as charges for required cleaning, will remain the same.

The consultation will last until midday on January 30, with passengers and drivers alike able to give their views.

A £2.20 flag was a disgrace; a £2.90 flag isn't much better.

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IDFIMH

Bang on Sussex - for some reason I was fixated with the percentages, and didn't even notice the £2.20 flag

The article is also clear as mud as regards what the increase actually is, at least if like me you assume the T2 flag is normally higher than the T1 flag.

But, in a nutshell, both the T1 and T2 flagfalls are £2.20, and are proposed to increase to £2.90.

On the other hand, there's no proper flagfall distance in the conventional sense, and the meter starts cranking up almost immediately.

And the T2 premium is delivered by reducing the yardages rather than the more standard method of increasing the kick off and increment prices.

But, in a nutshell, if you get a tiny wee run at night, at present you only get £2.20 for it, which is no more than during the day

And, of course, because the current flagfall is so poor, it makes the 30% headline hike claim even more misleading - even after the 'hike', a £2.90 flagfall on T1 and T2 is abysmal

Given that Watford is just outside of one of the most expensive cities in the world, £2.20 or £2.90 is madness.

Shame on the council and the local trade for allowing that to happen.

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IDFIMH