Taxi fare rises planned for Sunderland - this is how much you would have to pay

A formal bid to increase Wearside’s Hackney Carriage fares is due to be discussed by city councillors next week.

Under a Hackney Carriage licence, drivers can be flagged down on the street or accessed at taxi ranks, as well as taking on pre-booked work.

Sunderland City Council can prescribe the maximum fares charged across the city, with individual drivers also free to charge less.

At a meeting of the council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee next week, councillors will consider a formal request from the Sunderland Hackney Carriage Operators’ Association (SHCOA).

Bids to increase Hackney Carriage fares have been approved in recent years, including at a meeting in 2022 and a further increase being agreed in 2023.

A new bid from the Sunderland Hackney Carriage Operators’ Association aims to increase “some elements of the present Hackney Carriage fares and other charges”.

A report prepared ahead of a decision-making meeting next week lists fare increases across the city’s three main tariffs and increases to waiting time and “soiling” charges.

Why are the changes being proposed?

A letter from the Sunderland Hackney Carriage Operators’ Association, published on the council’s website, sets out the reasons for the proposed changes.

This includes “addressing the need to cover our increased operating costs during the present cost-of-living crisis” and other factors, such as the cost of repairs due to “large increases in the cost of parts, labour and energy”.

Other reasons include increased insurance premiums and the “almost prohibitive cost of a replacement wheelchair-accessible vehicle”, which was described as a “cause for serious concern within the taxi trade”.

What is being proposed?

New proposals set out charges based on three fare tariffs.

A report prepared for the council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee sets out six example journey distances for each tariff, ranging from one mile to five miles.

Tariff one applies to journeys undertaken between Monday- Saturday, 7am-11pm, except public and Bank Holidays and the Christmas / New Year period.

The proposed changes would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, an extra 40p for a 2.5-mile journey and an extra £1 for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.45 per cent.

Tariff two applies to journeys undertaken between 11pm and 7am each day and all day Sunday, except public and Bank Holidays and the Christmas / New Year period.

The changes for this tariff would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, a 60p increase for a 2.5-mile journey and a £1.40 increase for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.8 per cent.

Tariff three applies to journeys undertaken from 6pm on December 24 to 7am on December 27, and 6pm on December 31 to 7am on January 2 and all day on other public and Bank Holidays.

The proposed changes to this tariff would see an increase of 20p for a one-mile journey, an extra 60p for a 2.5-mile journey and a £1.40 increase for a five-mile journey, with an average percentage increase of 6.2 per cent.

Elsewhere, the SHCOA has requested the “waiting time” rate for vehicles to increase from 20p per minute to 30p per minute.

The current maximum charge for “fouling of vehicle” is also being proposed to rise by £10, from £60 to £70.

What happens next?

The proposals will be examined in detail at a meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee on Monday, February 26.

The meetings usually include representations being put forward from the Sunderland Hackney Carriage Operators’ Association, as well as questions from councillors.

If the revised fares and charges are approved by councillors, there will be a notice period allowing for objections to be made.

If no objections to the variations are made, or if all objections made are withdrawn, the variations would come into operation from April 1, 2024.

The debate on taxi fares and charges will take place at City Hall and members of the public are welcome to attend.