South Tyneside Council urges public to have their say on 18% taxi fare rise proposals

Members of the public and taxi trade will be invited to have their say on proposals to increase South Tyneside’s hackney carriage fares for the first time in four years.

The local authority’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee has agreed to launch a 14-day consultation on proposals to hike fares by 18 per cent across two standard tariffs.

The proposals apply to hackney carriage taxis which can be flagged down or accessed at taxi ranks, as well as taking on pre-booked work.

The council is responsible for setting maximum fares and as South Tyneside’s operators use a mixed fleet of hackney carriage taxis and private hire vehicles, changes can influence the wider trade.

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On Friday (October 30), councillors discussed a request from dozens of hackney carriage drivers aiming to bring the council into line with some borough private hire operators and some neighbouring councils.

The council last agreed to increase fares in August, 2022, and prior to that the last increase was 2019.

Licensing officers said South Tyneside’s hackney carriage fares were one of the lowest across the region and noted new proposals were “not significantly out of step” with other North East charges.

A formal letter to the council said a fares review was requested following discussions with, and support from, more than 30 licensed South Tyneside hackney carriage drivers.

The letter noted that the cost of living and operating costs had “increased considerably” over the last four years and in the context of inflation, argued that the 18 per cent increase represented a “real-terms increase of only around 1.2 per cent overall”.

It added the proposed fare increase was about “restoring purchasing power lost since 2022”, with the aim of achieving a “reasonable balance between keeping fares affordable for passengers and ensuring that hackney carriage work remains commercially viable.”

The increase is proposed to the ‘initial hiring charge and distance elements’ of tariffs one and two, which cover 7am until 10pm and 10pm until 7am respectively.

It also proposed an increase in the bus tariff affecting vehicles that can carry more than five passengers.

Councillors were told that there were around 230 hackney carriage vehicles licensed with the council and there were some questions from the committee about potential negative impacts of the increase.

Council licensing officers said the 14-day consultation period gives the opportunity for the taxi trade and wider public to voice any concerns.

The consultation will include a public notice inviting written representations to the council’s licensing department.

Any objections received will be considered by the Licensing and Regulatory Committee before a final decision is taken.

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