Taxi fares in Inverclyde set to rise from start of December

Inverclyde Council officials have revealed that no objections or representations have been received to a plan to increase the ‘flag fall’ by 7 per cent, and the ‘running mile’ by a further 7 per cent.

Councillors on the local authority’s general purposes board will be asked to approve the new maximum fare scales when they meet on November 28.

Should the new tariffs be approved, they will take effect from Sunday, December 1.

The proposed increase is the first since March 2023, when a steeper hike of 12 per cent was backed by members of the board.

READ MORE: Taxi fares in Inverclyde set to rise by 12 per cent after councillors back plans

Under the proposed new fare scales, the initial charge for a hire from a taxi rank in the area between 6am and 11pm will be £3.30, covering the first 880 yards of a taxi journey or part thereof, with fares increasing by 37p for each additional 291 yards or part thereof.

That will give an approximate cost of £4.78 for the first mile of a journey and of £2.59 for each additional mile.

For hires from a rank between 11pm and 6am, and all pre-booked hires between 6am and 10pm, the initial charge will be £3.41.

For pre-booked hires between 10pm and 6am, and hires from a rank on Easter Monday, May Day, Greenock Fair Saturday and the Greenock autumn holiday, the initial charge will be £3.66.

For all hires on December 25 and 26 and on January 1 and 2, whether from a rank or pre-booked, the initial charge will rise to £6.41.

In each case the additional charge, depending on the extra distance travelled, will be 37p.

Extra charges include £1 per passenger after the first four passengers, 20p for each 31 seconds of ‘waiting time’ and a ‘soiling charge’ of up to £50.

The council's general purposes board will consider the recommended increase at a meeting on November 28. (Image: Newsquest) A report to the board’s next meeting states: “An initial consultation was carried out with taxi operators and representatives of the taxi trade prior to the meeting of the General Purposes Board on September 11.

“As part of the statutory consultation process the proposed revised taxi fare scales were duly advertised on October 18, with responses due to be submitted to the council within the statutory period of one month.

“No objections or representations have been received by the council to date in relation to the proposed revised taxi fare scale.

“Subject to any appeal against the decision by the council as licensing authority, it is proposed that arrangements be made for the fare scales to take effect from Sunday, December 1, 2024 and to be completed by the following Sunday, December 8.”

The new charges will be the maximum that taxi operators in the area will be allowed to charge.

The council is required to carry out a review of taxi fare scales at least every 18 months.

The legislation covering taxi fare scales does not cover private hire cars, though the report states that “some private hire cars may choose to adopt the taxi fare scale and charges agreed by the board”.