PAY RISE: Taxi driver and YouTuber explains latest fare review and what it means to passengers
Taxi driver and YouTuber Tom Hutley explained how the latest London black cab tariff changes vary in his latest video which has already attracted tens of thousands of views.
Within the video Hutley runs through fare increases in three areas. These include the starting price rising to £3.80, a 5.5% increase to day-time tariffs one and two, and a new Heathrow drop-off charge worth £5.20 in extras.
The new taxi tariffs were set by Transport for London (TfL) after a rapid increase in fuel costs and inflated cost of living.
The latest fare rise went live on 30 April 2022 and is the first tariff review since 2020.
As part of the video taxi driver Hutley, who has amassed over 50,000 YouTube subscribers, goes on to show viewers how the taximeter works and how the tariff is updated remotely.
Hutley’s YouTube channel has been a massive hit with viewers ever since it first launched in March 2020. The London black cab driver and qualified taxi guide completed the ‘Knowledge of London’ in 2017 after 3 years of studying. Four years into the job he now has a fast-growing channel on YouTube and has recently launched his own blog.
What tariff changes have come in?
The taxi fares (on Tariffs 1 and 2) have increased by 5.51% and the meter drop increased from £3.20 to £3.80. Late night and long distance Tariffs 3 and 4 were frozen. The latest review saw an increase to the Heathrow extra from £2.80 to £3.60 and introduction of a new extra of £5.20 to be added to the meter when dropping a passenger at the terminals at Heathrow to cover the drop off fee.
Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) set the feeder park fee which taxi drivers must pay to access the taxi rank. In July 2021 the fee increased from £3.60 to £7.20. HAL state that the large increase is needed to cover losses incurred during the coronavirus pandemic, as HAL contractually cannot subsidise this.
A new ‘Terminal Drop Off Charge’ now applies to ALL vehicles entering the forecourts of Heathrow’s terminals, although licensed taxis were on an exception list until 30 April 2022.
This new £5.20 fee added to the fares helps drivers cover the costs of the new £5 terminal drop off charge.
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