Travelling in a taxi in Rhondda Cynon Taf is about to get more expensive. Council officials have confirmed that the tariffs for hackney carriages - the ones you can flag down off the street - will be going up at the end of August.
A council report has justified the move saying that it is the first increase in 10 years - and that drivers were having to fork out much more because of sharp rises in fuel costs.
Here are the proposed increases per tariff:
Tariff one (up to four passengers between 7am and 7pm)
- Two miles going up from £5.20 to £5.80
- Five miles going up from £10 to £11.20
- 10 miles going up from £18 to £20.20
Tariff two (up to four passengers from 7pm to 7am and Sundays and Bank Holidays)
- Two miles going up from £5.70 to £6.50
- Five miles going up from £10.80 to £12.50
- 10 miles going up from £19.80 to £22.50
Tariff three (Five to eight people from 7am to 7pm)
- Two miles from £6.30 to £7
- Five miles from £11.70 to £13
- 10 miles from £20.70 to £23
Tariff four (Five to eight people from 7pm to 7am and Sundays and Bank Holidays)
- Two miles from £6.90 to £7.80
- Five miles from £12.90 to £15
- 10 miles from £22.90 to £27
Tariff five is double tariff one and tariff six is double tariff three with the cost of fouling of the vehicle increasing from £45 to £55 and the waiting time cost increasing from £13 to £15. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day will be double tariffs one and three and start at 6pm on Christmas Eve to midnight on Christmas Day and start at 6pm on New Year’s Eve to midnight on New Year’s Day.
A report by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said the increases were "proportionate" and supported by consultation undertaken with the trade and public. Officials also argued the new rates were still below the the UK national average of £6.17 - as seen in the National Hackney Fares table taken from private hire monthly magazine.
The report also said last Hackney carriage meter rate increase within Rhondda Cynon Taf was in 2012 and that much has changed since then. With the need for cleaner and greener vehicles being pivotal for the council in its aim to become a carbon neutral authority, the recent pandemic has caused the taxi trade to suffer losses in income which has had a further impact on the ability to buy vehicles that will be compliant with the aim and ambition of Welsh Government and RCT Council as these vehicles come at a much higher cost to the drivers and operators, the report said.
Since the last increase in meter rates for RCT licensed hackney vehicles, the cost of operating a hackney carriage has risen dramatically. According to the RAC Foundation, in July 2012 the average petrol price was £1.32 per litre and for diesel it was £1.37 per litre.
But as of April 1 2022, petrol averages at £1.63 and diesel at £1.77 per litre which is a 23.5% increase in petrol costs and a 29.4% increase in diesel costs on a date-to-date comparison. The AA Fuel Price Report shows the cost of diesel has increased from a Wales average of 122.2p per litre in March 2018 to 151p per litre in February 2022.
The Unleaded 95 Octane petrol has also increased during the same period from 119.3p per litre to 147.2p per litre and the council report added that since February 2022 (the latest AA fuel report available at time of writing) the cost of fuel has risen significantly. Inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI) averaged 3.1 across 2012.
Today, RPI inflation sits at 8.2% and the lesser 0CPI (Consumer Price Index) at 6.2%. The council report added that inflation across the whole of 2021 alone was 7.5% and that the 6.2% inflation rate for the CPI in the United Kingdom is at a 30-year high.
The report said only three comments were received during the consultation process, all from the trade, and only one of the comments provided “relative information and feedback”. The report said: “It is proposed that the increase in tariffs is approved to enable the taxi trade to be able to be viable in their business, which in turn provides a service to the community.
“Other nearby local authorities have or are increasing their rates. Without an increase in RCT rates there is a high probability that drivers will either leave the trade altogether or get licensed in other local authorities.” There were no public objections and the new fares will come into force on August 31.
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