Council supports ‘cost of living’ alignment of Hackney carriage fares
23 September 2022
Under new proposals, Hackney carriage fares could be aligned ahead of schedule across West Northamptonshire after the council answered drivers’ calls for an increase.
West Northants Council (WNC) had been considering an alignment of fares for the former Daventry, Northampton and South Northants areas as part of a review of taxi policies.
At their meeting on Tuesday, 13 September, Cabinet members supported proposals for a single table of fares to cover West Northants which also accounted for rising fuel and energy costs.
Cllr David Smith, Cabinet Member for community safety and engagement, and regulatory services, said: “The taxi industry was hit hard during lockdown and many drivers were forced to leave the trade.
“Some of the tariffs were also set many years ago and if they were not updated now, it would have been very challenging for existing drivers to continue.”
As part of the a pre-consultation on the proposed alignment, the WNC Licensing Department wrote to all Hackney licence holders to canvas their views regarding a potential fare increase. 34 per cent of drivers in Daventry and Northampton responded and called for a fare increase. There are currently no Hackney carriage licence holders in the South Northants area.
The new proposals aim to create one tariff across West Northamptonshire Council. People are now being asked their views on proposals, as WNC launches a 14-day consultation. A public notice has been issued today (Thursday, 22 September) which asks people to have their say on the new proposed table of fares. To review the proposals and provide your views by Thursday 6 October visit WNC’s consultation hub at hackney carriage fares increase.
Following the 14 day notice period, if no objections have been received, the proposed tariff will have come into effect immediately. Should there be objections, WNC will consider and decide if changes are required. Following this, a date for when the new fares come into operation can then be set and will come into effect no later than two months after the notice period has ended.
The tariff sets the maximum that licensed taxis can charge, however, each driver can determine if they would like to charge less.
Private Hire Operator Companies set their own tariffs according to market forces.