The cost of a taxi home at night in Worthing is set to rise by a pound per journey after new fares were approved.
Dozens of taxi drivers presented a petition to Worthing Borough Council asking for new tariffs, and last Monday these were unanimously approved.
A maximum standard daytime rate, from 6am to 11pm, for one to four people will go from a £3.50 start rate up to £4, and from £0.10 for every 88 yards or 18 seconds after that, to every 70.1 yards or 16 seconds.
A maximum standard night rate, from 11pm to 6am, for one to four people will go from a £4 start rate and £0.20 for every 120 yards or 30 seconds after that, up to a £5 start rate and £0.20 for every 97.2 yards or 30 seconds.
The maximum passenger soiling charge will also go from £100 up to £150.
The petition was submitted by 37 members of Worthing Taxi Trade, and said the rise was needed due to “unprecedented inflation since covid”, increasing maintenance, insurance and licensing fee costs.
It highlighted a “troubling trend” of a loss of some “long-serving” licenced drivers, which could also increase licensing fees on remaining drivers.
It said: “Worthing Taxi Trade has been attuned to these economic challenges and has deliberately refrained from requesting a fare increase following a proposal made last year.
“We greatly value our relationship with the public and recognise their importance to our business; thus, we have chosen to adopt a cautious approach before submitting this proposed tariff update.
“Throughout our interactions with the public over the past few years, we have received feedback indicating that many individuals have experienced incremental wage increases in 2022, 2023, 2024, and are likely to see further increases in 2025.
“Unfortunately, the taxi trade has not kept pace with these wage adjustments. The cumulative impact of these increases is likely to align with the fare adjustments we are proposing.”
They added they hoped to implement annual fare increases, similar to Arun District Council, in line with inflation, in order to avoid ‘significant’ rises every few years, as with the current proposal.
A report to the council’s licensing committee outlined that out of 341 authorities responsible for taxi fares in the UK, Worthing was number 58, with three other Sussex licensing authorities ranking higher than Worthing – Arun, Brighton and Hove, and Mid Sussex councils in descending order.
The proposed tariffs will now go out to public consultation for two weeks before potentially coming into effect.
