Taxi fares in York will increase due to soaring inflation if there are no objections to an advert placed in a local newspaper.

In a Licensing and Regulatory Committee meeting on June 13, councillors at the City of York Council voted to advertise proposed increases of Hackney carriage fares in the city’s local media.

If implemented, it will see the price of a ‘tariff one’ mile journey increase by around 60p per mile, from approximately £4.90 to £5.50.

However, the new fares could see trips to and from the racecourse on race days to as much as £8.20 a mile and for Christmas and New Year trips up to around £10 a mile.

Taxi fares in York set to increase due to soaring inflation

Current Table of Fares	Proposed Table of Fares
Standard Charges	Additional	Standard Charges	Additional
Tariff 1 £3.00 157.8 yards 144.29 metres 39.8 seconds	20p 168.2 yards 153.8 metres 42.4 seconds	Tariff 1 £3.40 215.8 yards 197.3 metres 56.4 seconds	20p 144.8 yards 132.4 metres 37.9 seconds
Tariff 2 £3.90 77.6 yards 70.96 metres 19.3 seconds	As above	Tariff 2 £4.40 124.0 yards 113.4 metres 32.2 seconds	As above
Tariff 3 £6.00 1066 yards 974.75 metres 4 mins 27.6 seconds	As above	Tariff 3 £6.20 313.0 yards 286.2 metres 81.8 seconds	As above
Premium Rates	Additional	Premium Rates	Additional
Tariff 4 £4.50 157.8 yards 144.29 metres 39.8 seconds	30p 168.2 yards 153.8 metres 42.4 seconds	Tariff 4 £5.10 215.8 yards 197.3 metres 56.4 seconds	30p 144.8 yards 132.4 metres 37.9 seconds
Tariff 5 £5.85 77.6 yards 70.96 metres 19.3 seconds	As above	Tariff 5 £6.60 124.0 yards 113.4 metres 32.2 seconds	As above

Coun Rachel Melly said: “Hackney carriages are very important for public protection, for making sure people can get home safely. Disabled people are mentioned in the report as relying on Hackney carriages for having independence and getting about. I would also include women, anybody who is intoxicated or vulnerable at night and needs to get home safely so it’s important that we consider this carefully.”

Coun Jason Rose said: “It’s definitely worth acknowledging that the inflation levels have been high for a couple of years and continue to be really high. I think it is absolutely something that needs to go through as a review like this.

“But it’s worth noting as well that there are people in the city who are vulnerable, particularly in the categories you [coun Melly] already named for whom if they are living on the edge of the city I think it’s a 16.5 per cent increase on a taxi fare each time they get a taxi.”

He added: “They’re already hit by large cost of living increases, particularly the more vulnerable people are impacted more by those cost of living increases, and on top of that the transport fees are going to be a lot higher than that as well.”

The tariffs are as follows:

Standards charges

Tariff 1 – day time 7am – 10pm

Tariff 2 – night time 10pm – 7am

Tariff 3 – race days (to and from the racecourse only)

Premium rates – Christmas and New Year

Tariff 4 – day time 7am – 10pm

Tariff 5 – night time 10pm – 7am

It also covers extras, which include additional charges for:

Bank Holidays
Cats and dogs (excluding assistant dogs)
Each item of luggage carried in the boot
Fouling of the vehicle interior

Meanwhile, the results of the inflation calculations over the last four years have shown the following percentage increases:December 2018 – December 2019 – 2.91 per centDecember 2019 – December 2020 – 0.99 per centDecember 2020 – December 2021 – 9.62 per centDecember 2021 – December 2022 – 10.97 per cent

Taxi fares in York set to increase due to soaring inflation