Plans to increase taxi fares in Breckland district have been dropped.It had been proposed to increase the rate for Hackney carriages by about 6.5pc, with a one-mile fare increasing from £3 to £3.
Plans to increase taxi fares in Breckland district have been dropped.
It had been proposed to increase the rate for Hackney carriages by about 6.5pc, with a one-mile fare increasing from £3 to £3.20, a two-mile journey from £4.80 to £5.11, a five-mile trip from £10.20 to £10.85 and the running mile cost from £1.80 to £1.91.
But Breckland councillors decided against the rise as fuel prices were falling and the existing fares were already significantly above average for the region. Councillors were concerned that any increases would place an additional burden on taxi users in rural areas.
In a report for the committee, the East Anglia average fare for five miles was shown to be £9.45, with cabs in King's Lynn and West Norfolk charging only £8.54 for five miles.
The council's general purposes committee also decided to stop the temporary measure of putting an extra 20p on each taxi journey. This was put in place in July to reflect the then rising cost of fuel.
A spokesman for the council said: “Fuel prices are now beginning to fall, so an increase in fares cannot be justified at this time.”
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