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Blaenau Gwent licensing committee keeps hackney fares on hold despite driver calls for rise
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council's General Licensing Committee has recommended KEEPING hackney carriage fares unchanged, rejecting a proposed increase after a special meeting on 3 September 2026, according to a council report published on the authority's democracy website.
The rejected proposal would have raised the daytime Tariff 1 opening charge from £4.00 to £4.50 for the first mile, a 50p increase, with 23p charged for each subsequent distance unit. Separate options for evening and festive-period tariffs, along with a proposal to move the start of evening rates from 10pm to 6pm, were also on the table but did not proceed.
The committee's decision followed a consultation launched in May 2026 that was sent to 118 licensed hackney carriage drivers in the borough. Only three responses were received, according to the council report: two in favour of an increase, one of which proposed an alternative approach to waiting-time charges, and one proposing a different tariff structure altogether. Committee members concluded the response was too thin to justify a change to the existing fare table.
The committee's position is a recommendation rather than a final decision. Under the council's delegated arrangements, the tariff is ultimately signed off by Mark Thomas, the council's Joint Director of Neighbourhoods and Environment, who has yet to confirm the outcome. Existing fares remain in force in the meantime.
Councillors on the committee discussed a route back to a review if circumstances change, noting that a formal request from at least 11 drivers, roughly 10% of the borough's licensed hackney carriage trade, could trigger a fresh look at the tariff before the next scheduled review.
The proposal had originated from drivers themselves, who asked the council in earlier discussions to raise the opening fare to help offset higher fuel and running costs. Blaenau Gwent's own reporting on the process, in a piece published on 1 September 2026 previewing the special committee meeting, set out the same competing tariff options that were ultimately rejected.
The outcome leaves Blaenau Gwent among a smaller group of Welsh and English authorities this year that have held fares steady rather than raised them, contrasting with neighbouring areas such as Gwynedt and Denbighshire, where councils have separately approved or frozen fares this autumn following their own consultations.
Blaenau Gwent's low response rate, just three replies from 118 drivers consulted, sets it apart from cases elsewhere where fare rises have followed stronger driver engagement.
