Taxi company welcomes fuel duty freeze – but will still eventually have to increase fares

Taxi companies are relieved after it was announced that fuel duty will not increase for the first time since 2012.However, one firm has said that it will eventually have to increase its fare prices because council rates are due to go up soon.During Labour’s first budget since 2010, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that a 5p cut to fuel duty on petrol and diesel, which is due to end in April 2025, will be kept for another year.

This will mean that the 5p per litre cut in fuel duty introduced by the Conservative government in 2022 will continue. This was implemented due to rising prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leading to an increase in the cost of oil.Ms Reeves said it would be the “wrong choice” to increase fuel duty next year.Pete Roberts, manager of King’s Lynn Taxis, welcomes the news that there will not be an increase in fuel duty. However, he says that he will have to eventually increase fares due to West Norfolk Council’s proposal to increase hackney carriage proprietor, private vehicle hire and private hire operator licence fees – which will impact taxi firms operating in West Norfolk.Mr Roberts said: “It’s good news that fuel duty hasn’t gone up but fares will have to go up eventually. “It’s just one thing because everything is going up.”Mr Roberts said that taxi drivers would have been “up in arms” if fuel duty increased.A spokesperson from West Norfolk Council said: “Taxi-driver licensing is one of the most administratively-intensive parts of the council’s licensing work. Legislative changes mean the administrative burden associated with this work has further increased since 2015, and so have costs. “We had originally planned to review the licence and other fees in 2020 but when COVID hit, the council took a decision to delay because it would cause extra hardship to a group already hard-hit by the pandemic. This work has been further put off by rises in the cost of living.“We have now reached a point where the rising cost of providing the service means we cannot put it off any longer. A thorough review of all aspects of administering the service has been undertaken. This review included the effects of changes in legislation and court cases that have been heard, and the current cost of providing the service.“We are conscious that the percentage rises are significant and for this reason we have not backdated any of our costs, which would have pushed the fees even higher. However, we feel that the cost of a licence is still reasonable at just over £115 per year for an existing driver to renew their combined licence, for example.”Anyone wishing to comment on West Norfolk Council’s proposal can write to the assistant director of legal services and licencing, BCKLWN, King’s Court, Chapel Street, King’s Lynn, PE30 1EX or call 01553 616200 by December 18.