Black taxi fares are to rise by 7.6 per cent – including at night, in a bid to ensure there are enough cabs available to help women get home safely.
Transport for London has refused a request from the cab trade to hike fares by 11.6 per cent – closer to the rate of inflation – but also rejected a wish from passengers for a fares freeze.
The changes, which are due to be approved next week, will come into effect next month.
The weekday, weekend and night rates – between 10pm and 5am – will all increase by 7.6 per cent but the minimum fare will remain unchanged at £3.80.
The night rate has been frozen since 2016 to try to ensure fares remained affordable for women reluctant to use late trains, Tubes or buses.
But concerns were raised that fewer cabbies would work at night if the premium rate was eroded – itself creating a safety problem because of a shortage of taxis for hire.
TfL said: “We believe this option strikes the most appropriate balance between taxi drivers being fairly paid and taxi users getting fair, reasonable and affordable fares.”
The increase is greater than the 5.9 per cent fares hike in Tube and bus fares that was approved by Mayor Sadiq Khan and which comes into effect on Sunday, March 5, alongside a similar increase in rail fares.
The number of licensed taxis in London has fallen from 18,961 in March 2020 – when the first pandemic lockdown began – to 14,892 last October, a drop of 21 per cent.
The number of licensed drivers has fallen by 16 per cent over the same period, from 22,409 to 18,754.
Only 158 new taxi licenses were granted by TfL last year – fewer than half the 393 awarded in 2019.
More than 900 taxi drivers, trade groups and passengers responded to TfL’s consultation on taxi fares.
The majority of drivers and trade groups wanted an 11.6 per cent hike, one of a number of options under consideration.
The changes that TfL’s finance committee is expected to rubber-stamp next week including the scrapping of a surcharge of up to £2 that passengers who book a blacok cab via phone or app can be charged.
TfL reviews black cab fares annually to “strike a balance” between taxi drivers being fairly paid and passengers getting “fair, reasonable and affordable fares”.
Over the last year there has been a large increase in taxi drivers’ operating costs, including the costs of diesel and electricity/electric vehicle charging, according to TfL.
More than 6,000 black cabs are “zero emission capable” and can run on electricity.
A number of organisations raise concerns about increasing fares, including Hammersmith and Fulham council, Lewisham council, London Councils, London TravelWatch and Transport for All.
They flagged the cost of living crisis and the impact increased fares could have on users, in particular disabled taxis users and women “who may feel less safe using other modes of transport”.
A report to the TfL committee said that last increase to the night tariff was in April 2016, when it rose by 1.6 per cent.
It said: “We kept it at the same level since then because of feedback that taxi fares overnight were too high which we considered might result in some customers being placed in dangerous situations if they decide to an unlicensed vehicle as a result.
“While a perception that overnight fares are too high still exists, there is now evidence that maintaining overnight fares at their current level is leading to supply issues at night as some taxi drivers feel it is not worth working at night.
“We consider that this could have an adverse impact in terms of public safety as customers might be less able to locate a taxi and more likely to use an unlicensed vehicle during overnight hours as a result. We therefore recommend an increase in the [night] tariff 3 by the same level as the [weekday and weekend] tariffs in order to encourage drivers to make themselves available to work at these times.”
The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association did not respond to a request from the Evening Standard on Thursday morning for comment.
