TFL FINANCE COMMITTEE: ‘Black cabs are an important part of women’s safety’
It was agreed that ‘Black cabs are an important part of women’s safety’ during a recent Transport for London board meeting discussing the taxi industry.
On 9 March 2022, Transport for London (TfL) Finance Committee met to discuss whether to approve a new black cab taxi tariff to help cabbies meet rising costs.
The meeting saw taxi fares in London increase 5.51% during daytime tariff rates in a bid to help the industry cover rising fuel and running costs.
Black cab prices between 10pm and 5am were frozen, but amendments to the starting meter rose by 60p across all tariffs.
During the meeting TfL Finance Committee board member Anurag Gupta expressed concerns around women’s safety, especially late at night. Gupta was keen to stress the importance of black cabs in the capital in providing a safe mode of transport for women at night.
Gupta suggested the freezing of late night fares and ensuring night time tariffs are kept fair for both cabbie and the general public was “an important part for woman’s safety”.
Gupta added: “Black cabs are an important part of women’s safety and especially if we do have to cut bus routes because of funding impacts, my worry is that we should not drive black cabs off in the night, yet at the same time we must make sure it remains affordable because it is an important part, especially in women’s safety.”
London’s transport regulators also described 2022 as a ‘KEY YEAR’ for the London taxi industry in their bid to recover from the pandemic and building back on driver numbers within the industry.
There were also discussions around the long-term viability of the taxi industry and future of black cabs in the capital if they London wishes them to be part of the ‘iconic image of London’.
READ MORE: TFL: ‘KEY YEAR’ for black cabs if the capital wishes them to be part of the ‘ICONIC IMAGE OF LONDON’
