.jpg)
Blaenau Gwent taxi fares could rise as council considers competing tariff proposals
- Perry Richardson
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
Hackney carriage passengers in Blaenau Gwent could face higher fares as councillors consider competing proposals intended to address rising operating costs across the taxi trade.
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s General Licensing Committee will examine the options at a special meeting on Thursday 3 September. Members’ comments will inform Joint Director of Neighbourhoods and Environment Mark Thomas, who will make the final decision on the tariff.
The review follows requests from taxi drivers for the daytime minimum fare to increase from £4 to £4.50. Drivers cited higher fuel prices, while one proposed temporarily applying the higher Tariff 2 rate until fuel costs fall. Another suggested bringing the evening tariff forward from 10pm to 6pm.
A consultation held in May generated 118 responses from taxi and hackney carriage drivers, with a further two submissions received after the consultation closed. The council said its objective was to maintain a tariff capable of supporting competitive and affordable services while keeping licensed operations commercially viable.
Under one daytime proposal, Tariff 1 would begin at £4.50 for the first mile, followed by 23p for every subsequent one-twelfth of a mile. That would increase the cost of a two-mile journey from £6.40 to £7.26. A five-mile journey would cost £15.54 and a ten-mile journey £29.34.
An alternative daytime option would retain the £4.50 opening charge but raise the subsequent distance rate to 25p for each one-twelfth of a mile. That would produce estimated fares of £7.50 for two miles, £16.50 for five miles and £31.50 for ten miles.
For evening and overnight work, one proposal would apply Tariff 2 from 6pm until 6am, starting at £5.63 and adding 28p for every subsequent one-twelfth of a mile. Estimated fares would be £8.99 for two miles, £19.07 for five miles and £35.87 for ten miles.
A second Tariff 2 option would start at £5.60 and charge 30p for each subsequent one-twelfth of a mile. This would take the estimated price to £9.20 for two miles, £20 for five miles and £38 for ten miles.
The previously advertised council proposal retained the 10pm start for Tariff 2. It also included a £9 opening charge and a 45p incremental rate during specified Christmas and New Year periods. Higher tariffs were proposed for five-to-eight-passenger vehicles and bank holiday journeys.
The council has noted the commercial balance involved in setting the maximum metered fares. It warned that excessive charges could weaken passenger demand, while rates set too low could make some taxi businesses economically unviable and reduce the number of licensed hackney carriages.
Blaenau Gwent’s current two-mile fare of £6.40 is below the £7.46 UK average cited in the committee report. Even the lower daytime proposal would take the local two-mile price to £7.26, leaving it slightly below that comparison figure.
The authority originally intended the advertised tariff to take effect on 24 August if no objections remained. The council’s statutory notice said unresolved objections would require it to determine the table of fares, with or without modification, and set a revised commencement date.
