Highland Council plans taxi fare price hike

Highlands Council is planning a 30p rise for all taxis regardless of distance. Picture: TSPL

HIGHLAND Council has announced plans to increase all taxi fares across the region by 30p, regardless of the distance travelled.

The local authority has put the proposal out for public consultation, with the closing date for comments being 11 March.

The council says the review is taking into account increases in the costs of operating taxis, such as rising diesel, petrol and overall vehicle running costs.

Councillor Maxine Smith, convener of the Highland licensing committee, said: “The committee has exercised a balancing function in setting taxi fares between the expectations of taxi operators to earn a living against the public expectation to be able to hire a taxi of reasonable quality at a reasonable price.”

It is also proposed that the charge applied to compensate for the cost of the outward journey for hires which commence three miles or more away from the taxi, or taxi base, and where the customer wishes to travel further away be increased from a maximum of £6.50 to a maximum of £7.50.

Responses to the consultation will be reported to the committee on 1 April, with a proposed implementation date of 26 May.