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Gwynedd Council taxi fare rise set for final decision after consultation receives no objections
Gwynedd Council’s licensing committee will consider raising the maximum fare for a short taxi journey to £4 and bringing forward its late-night tariff from October.
Gwynedd councillors are being recommended to approve changes to the county’s maximum hackney carriage fares after a statutory consultation closed without receiving any objections.
The General Licensing Committee will consider the proposal on 21 September, with the revised tariff scheduled to take effect from 1 October 2026 if approved.
Under the changes, the maximum fare for a journey of less than one mile would rise from £3.60 to £4. The 40p increase is equivalent to around 11.1% and was requested following representations from taxi company owners over operating costs.
The hours covered by the late-night tariff would also be extended. The higher rate currently begins at midnight but would instead operate between 10pm and 7am.
However, the late-night premium would be reduced from 60% above the basic tariff to 50%. The change means drivers could charge the premium for an additional two hours at the start of the night, although the permitted uplift on the standard rate would be lower.
Taxi businesses had originally proposed starting the late-night tariff at 9pm. Councillors instead selected a 10pm start during an earlier meeting in June, considering it a fairer balance between the requirements of operators and passengers who depend on taxis.
Three requests for a fare review were submitted by taxi company owners. Gwynedd has not increased its standard tariff for the first and second mile of a journey since 2019, when the maximum charge for the first two miles rose from £5 to £6. Other supplementary rates were changed in 2022.
The council consulted the taxi trade for four weeks before launching the statutory process. Two emails supporting an increase were received from the industry.
A subsequent 14-day public consultation ran from 19 August until 3 September through a local newspaper and the council’s website. No public responses were submitted, leaving councillors with a recommendation to implement the revised tariff as advertised.
