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South Hams proposes new hackney carriage fares with 23 October start date
South Hams District Council has begun the statutory process to change maximum taxi fares across the South Hams, publishing a formal notice on Thursday 24 September.
The notice was issued under Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 and confirms that the council intends to vary the charges applying to hackney carriage journeys within the district.
Taxi operators, drivers and members of the public have until 22 October to lodge written objections. If none are received, the varied table of fares will come into operation on 23 October.
The council stresses that its tariff establishes maximum charges rather than compulsory prices. Hackney carriage drivers can charge less than the amounts permitted by the fare table.
Different arrangements can also apply when a journey ends outside South Hams. The statutory notice says the fare for such a hiring can be negotiated with the driver before the journey begins or calculated using the meter.
The proposed variation follows several years without a change to the district’s standard tariff. Industry fare data for September 2026 lists a two-mile South Hams Tariff One journey at £7.80 and records the authority among councils whose previous increase occurred in 2022.
That £7.80 figure also appears in official comparative material produced elsewhere in Devon. An East Devon District Council comparison published in 2025 recorded South Hams at £7.80 for a two-mile daytime journey and identified 2022 as the year of its previous increase.
The current fare structure remains applicable while the statutory objection period runs, with 23 October identified as the start date only if no objections are made.
If objections are submitted, the legislation provides a process for the council to consider them before determining the eventual fare variation. The 23 October date should consequently be treated as conditional until the objection period has expired.
