Coventry taxi fares increase agreed by council

Taxi fares will rise this summer in Coventry despite a split in opinion among drivers



Councillors approved the hike from August, the first time hackney cab prices have risen since 2014.

More than 40% of drivers support the rise over a third say prices should be the same, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

"It doesn't matter what we do, we're going to upset some people," councillor Patricia Hetherton said.

The change will see the city's black cabs' daytime tariffs of £3.80, up from the current rate of £2.80, with the cost of each additional tenth of a mile rising by 5p to 30p.

A council report published ahead of the approval said the increase will mean the city's hackney cabs will be the eighth costliest to use in the country.

Drivers were divided over the benefits and drawbacks of a fare rise, a council consultation revealed.

One driver said they wanted higher rates as "fuel prices are very high".

Another said, with the cost of living on the rise, they felt an increase in fares "is justified".

However, others feared it would put potential passengers off especially with competition from private vehicle hire apps like Uber and Ola.

"Any increase in price will shatter the black cab trade completely - the cabs should be priced competitively so it can keep up," one driver responded.

Not exactly the smartest of moves for a council that (allegedly) wants us to leave our cars at home!

The city already has more taxis than it can really support, I forecast that this will force quite a few out of the city and really open up the floodgates to the likes of Uber.