Consultation on raising taxi fares to help “struggling” Rotherham cabbies agreed

The 14 day consultation will gather views on a 12 per cent fare rise for Hackney Carriages – the first in the borough in five years.

The current charge for first mile is £4.00, with each additional mile costing the passenger £1.40.

If approved, this will increase to £4.50 for the first mile – an increase of 12.5 per cent – and £1.50 for each additional mile thereafter, an increase of seven per cent.

The current fares were set in 2017, and the Rotherham Hackney Carriage Association made a request to increase them in October 2021.

The fine for soiling a taxi is also set to rise from £45, which drivers say is “insufficient”, to £50.

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The fare increase will apply to Hackney Carriages registered with RMBC, not private hire taxis.

Councillor Saghir Alam, cabinet member for corporate services and finance told today’s meeting: “The taxi trade has been struggling with fuel prices and living standards.

“Coming back in every five years i think is challenging for them as well, so maybe we can look into a review every year, so people don’t have to wait for five years.

“A lot of taxi drivers at the moment are struggling with fuel prices.”

Councillor Chris Read, leader of the council said: “It’s important it’s a sustainable sector -no one likes paying higher prices for anything, but as you say it has been frozen for a considerable period of time, so I think it’s right that we ask the question, we go to consultation.”