SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE FARES RISE BY 255 PER CENT AFTER ZERO PUBLIC RESPONSES

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE FARES RISE BY 2.55 PER CENT AFTER ZERO PUBLIC RESPONSES

Taxi fares in South Gloucestershire are set to increase by 2.55% in April, following a public consultation that received no responses.

The fare hike, impacting the district's dwindling number of hackney carriages (approximately 50), was approved by councillors on 27 March.

Despite advertising the consultation in local newspapers, on the council's website, and directly to taxi drivers, no members of the public provided feedback.

Asked if she was surprised that nobody responded to the public consultation, Lily Brine, a licensing service manager at the council, stated: "Honestly, no I wasn’t. Based on our previous consultations on fees, charges and tariffs, we don’t usually get a particularly high response to the consultations."

The decline in hackney carriage numbers is attributed to the rise of ride-hailing apps such as Uber, less stringent regulations for private hire vehicles, and the district's sprawling geography, which favours pre-booked journeys.

"When I first joined licensing, we had probably had 350 hackneys. It’s now down to about 50," Ms. Brine explained.

"But with private hire vehicles, because of the way that society and technology has changed, it’s gone very much towards private hire and those pre-booked journeys rather than hackney carriages picking up at the side of the road."

Furthermore, new council rules requiring all hackney carriages to be wheelchair-accessible by summer have reportedly driven drivers to switch to private hire due to the high costs of compliant vehicles.

The new fare structure will begin with a £2.40 initial charge, covering the first 115 meters, followed by 20p for every additional 111.4 meters or 26.7 seconds of waiting time.

An additional £1.70 surcharge will apply between 6pm and 6am on weekdays and from 6pm Friday to 6am Monday.

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