BCBC’s Cabinet is due to decide later today whether or not to change taxi fares in Bridgend county (pdf).
It’s a long-running saga going back at least a year.
The Cabinet ultimately rejected three proposals from taxi drivers to increase fares last September, despite drivers arguing that: Bridgend fares were below the Welsh and regional average (and they wanted them closer to the minimum wage), they faced increased costs and needed compensation for “dead miles” (where they return from a drop-off in a rural area without a fare on the way back).
The report says that no consensus has yet been reached on how much fares could rise by, but based on the four new proposals lodged with the council, for a 2-mile journey, prices would increase to between £5.50-£6.20 (up from the present price of £4.90).
There are also a number of different calculations for longer-distance journeys and different times of day – too many to list here, but they’re all included in the report.
The Cabinet can choose to either accept one of the four proposals and issue a public notice of the change – with any new fares coming into force on 3rd December 2018 (if there are no objections) – or to keep fares as they currently are.