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Somerset Council plans taxi fare rise - have your say

https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk ... ise---say/

Somerset Council is consulting on proposals to increase the maximum fares that hackney carriage taxis can charge across the county.

Hackney carriage fares are set by the council and calculated using an electronic meter in each licensed vehicle. The current maximum fares have been in place since May 2024.

The council sets the maximum rates operators can charge, and individual drivers are free to charge less if they wish.

After surveying licensed hackney carriage proprietors, with 59 percent of respondents supporting some form of increase, the council is now proposing changes that it says reflect inflation and higher fuel costs since those rates were introduced two years ago.

As part of the statutory consultation, anyone wishing to object to the proposed maximum fares can do so via the council’s online survey on its Citizen Space platform. The survey will close to respondents on July 19.

Under the proposals, distance and waiting time charges would rise by 10 percent.

If approved, the standard maximum tariff would increase from £4.60 to £5.06 for the first mile, with each additional tenth of a mile rising from 30p to 33p. The maximum waiting time charge would go from £1.00 to £1.10 for every two minutes.

A new discretionary maximum booking fee of up to £10 could also be applied to pre-booked journeys, aimed particularly at encouraging drivers to accept bookings in rural areas where they may travel long distances before picking up a passenger.

The existing additional passenger fees for evenings, weekends, public holidays and journeys with more than four passengers would remain unchanged. The current maximum "soiling" charge and the ability of drivers to recover tolls and clean air zone charges would also stay the same.

Council’s view Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts, Somerset Council’s lead member for communities, said "The proposed changes seek to balance the rising costs faced by drivers with the need to keep fares fair for passengers.

"The maximum fares set the upper limit that licensed taxi drivers can charge, but individual taxi businesses remain free to set their rates below those levels."

Under the legal process for setting hackney carriage fares, the council must consider any objections it receives before making a final decision.

"If no objections are received, the proposed table of fares will take effect automatically," Cllr Smith-Roberts added.

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