Reading Taxi fares hike agreed by councillors
Cllr Jeanette Skeates said: 'I do have some sympathy with you in that you haven’t put up fares'
Day rates for taxi fares in Reading will rise by an average of nearly five per cent after Town Hall licensing bosses gave the green light for cabbies to increase the cost of journeys in the town.
A licensing applications sub-committee at Reading Borough Council gave approval to recommend the change following a proposal by Reading Taxi Association (RTA) and Reading Cab Drivers’ Association (RCDA).
Members of the committee agreed to an average increase of 4.68 per cent on daytime fares and reduction of one second in waiting time when a vehicle is at traffic lights or stuck in congestion before the meter ticks over. The application maintained there would be no change to the £2.20 minimum charge before the taxi moves off or night rates, resulting in an overall average fare increase of 2.34 per cent.
Meters would tick over every 146 yards up to two miles and 142 yards after that distance instead of 160 yards and 152 yards respectively.
RTA and RCDA also put forward their preferred option of increasing day fares by 6.74 per cent which was rejected by the committee at Reading’s Civic Centre last Tuesday afternoon. Taxi drivers claimed fully comprehensive insurance policies had risen by up to 40 per cent and huge fuel increases had forced them to apply to put up fares for the first time since September 2008.
Asif Rachid, chairman of RTA, said: “We have been putting off fare increases for a number of years now primarily because of the climate.
“Everyone is feeling it and we have also been hit by constant rises in fuel prices, cost of living, inflation and insurance costs. Hence just to reach some of that bill we have asked for the fare increase.”
Tahir Abdullah, chair of RCDA, said: “We have done as much as we can to bear the cost but have come to the point that we need some help and fare increases are the way out.”
Tom Kirrabe, a taxi driver of 17 years, told the committee the number of taxis in the rank at Reading station had increased by 40 per cent in three years and members of the committee said that the cabbie’s proposals may discourage people from using taxis.
Councillor Jeanette Skeates said: “I do have some sympathy with you in that you haven’t put up fares.
“You could have done so year on year and maybe people would not have noticed it quite as much if it had been done in smaller amounts.”
Committee chairman Cllr Peter Jones added: “I appreciate you have held back in the past and costs have gone up but we are trying to be fair to the passenger as well, and I would agree that we should recommend the 2.34 per cent increase.”
The committee recommended the council’s head of environment approve the increase subject to no objections being received. Should no objections be raised the new fares will come into force at the beginning of October.
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