Posted on the 5th February 2026 in PHTM News

ROYAL BOROUGH TO VOTE ON TAXI FARE HIKE AMID CONFUSION OVER PRICES

Councillors in the Royal Borough are set to make a final decision on Monday 9 February, on a proposed 10 per cent increase to daytime taxi fares.

The move comes after a petition from drivers also called for the council to raise the minimum day fare from £6 to £7. While daytime rates would rise, the nighttime tariff would remain unchanged.

At a Royal Borough licensing panel meeting in October last year, councillors voted in favour of the proposed increase before it went out for a 14-day public consultation.

A council report noted that the borough's current prices for a two-mile journey are lower than all other Berkshire local authorities.

But a handful of residents objected to the tariff changes during the consultation with one arguing that the rising costs are “pricing people like myself out of the market unfairly.” 

The objector warned that the previous jump from £3 to £6 had already turned taxis into “a luxury on any day” rather than an affordable transport option.

The licensing panel meeting will also address a misunderstanding among some drivers regarding surcharges for larger vehicles.

It said some drivers believed that the minimum fare when using the 1b or 2b tariff – a higher price that applies to carriages carrying larger groups of people – should be 50 per cent higher than the standard minimum fare.

But Royal Borough officers said a 50 per cent rise in the minimum fare, on top of the 50 per cent surcharge for journey rates when carrying more people, would be ‘excessive and unfair’ on passengers.

The report added: “The intention was that the minimum fare, currently £6, would be the same for all vehicles and should not be 50 per cent more for people carriers carrying five or more passengers, i.e. £9.

Officials also acknowledged that the price hike would likely “disproportionately affect” residents with mobility problems who rely on hackney carriages to get around.

Councillors will make a final decision on the fares when they meet on February 9.


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