By tom mack
Taxi fares in the city have leaped by up to 40p a mile as the surge in the cost of fuel continues.
Night-time passengers travelling after 10pm have been hit the hardest by the fare rise, which applies to Leicester City Council's black cabs.
The tariff, which also covers bank holidays and Sundays, used to be £4.40 for the first mile and £1.40 for subsequent miles.
The new charge is £4.80 for the first mile and then £1.80 for each extra mile.
It means the cost of a 10-mile journey has soared by more than 20 per cent from £17 to £21.
Day-time journeys, which used to cost £3.90 for the first mile and an extra £1.40 for each extra mile, now cost £4 for the first mile and then £1.50 for each extra mile.
A 10-mile journey, which previously cost £16.50, now costs £17.50.
Black cab drivers have welcomed the fare rise – the first since the summer of 2007 – but admit passengers have been shocked by the sudden and dramatic jump.
Mike Ward, chairman of the Leicestershire Public and Private Hire Association, said: "The rise is a bit high and the public will see it as a big leap.
"But it's long overdue – it's been nearly four years and if rises had been happening over the last few years it wouldn't be such a large jump.
"It's 10p a mile in the day-time – it's not a lot considering the fuel increases and that we've had no increase at all since 2007."
Leicester City Taxi spokesman Peter McGovern, who runs some of the black cabs in the city, said there were other expenses besides fuel that were increasing.
He said: "A rise is needed. There's been a big rise in the cost of fuel and now the VAT rise means the cost of repairs and insurance will go up as well, so it has an affect on how much a driver can make."
Fares, which are controlled by the city council, have remained unchanged since June 2007 because of the recession.
In that time, diesel prices have risen from below £1 a litre to more than £1.30 a litre.
Taxi passengers in Leicester yesterday had mixed views on the scale of Monday's increase.
Suzanne Joynson, of Blaby, said: "Fares are usually quite reasonable but I wouldn't pay much more. It's getting ridiculous."
Ian Knight, of Clarendon Park, Leicester, said: "If I use taxis it's only as a necessity so I accept the price and it wouldn't stop me using them."
Councillor Sarah Russell, the city council's cabinet member for environment and sustainability, said the authority looked at prices in other cities, as well as the charges of private hire companies in Leicester, before deciding the increase.
She said: "Hackney carriage drivers have had to incur increased costs in maintaining and running their vehicles and we have listened to the proposals of the RMT union and the Leicester Black Cab Association.
"We also had to ensure that these revised fares are competitive with private hire fees, compare well with other cities and the regional average, and remain affordable to the public in these difficult economic times."
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/n ... ticle.html_________________
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