That the proposed amendments to the Hackney Carriage Tariff as set out in the submitted report be approved and the Director of Adults and Community Services be instructed to carry out the public consultation as set out in the prescribed process under Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.

The Tariff was last increased in October 2024.  The Table of Fares (Tariff) should be set to enable sustainable income for drivers, future investment in vehicles and to clearly set rates that minimise the opportunity for overcharging or confusion.

The alternative options were to further amend the proposed revised tariffs or reject the proposed revised tariffs.  These options were discounted as the proposed uplift would assist those taxi drivers licensed through the Council to face the rise in fuel costs and other cost of living rises and support Torbay’s taxi trade to make a viable living, therefore reducing the number of drivers leaving the trade for better remunerated work and encouraging consideration of investment in newer environmentally friendly vehicles.

This decision may be implemented on 3 August 2026 unless the call-in procedure is triggered (as set out in the Standing Orders in relation to Overview and Scrutiny).

The common term for Hackney Carriages is ‘taxis’, a customer can flag down a taxi in the street or at taxi ranks without booking unlike private hire vehicles that must always be booked in advance of the journey.

Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, allows the Council to set the maximum costs and fares that drivers may charge the public for journeys taken in a taxi. The Council does not have powers to set fares for journeys in private hire vehicles.

Taxi fares were made up of an initial hiring charge (flag fall) and a mileage rate, both of which were expressed in terms of distance and or time.  The Tariff had to be displayed within all taxis to allow passengers to calculate the approximate cost of their journey.

In accordance with the statutory procedure set out in Section 65 of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976, Members agree the proposed changes to the Tariff, the Council must then undertake a public consultation prior to making any amendment to the Tariff.  A notice must be published in at least one local newspaper circulating in the areas setting out the variation and specifying the period, which cannot be less than 14 days from the date of the first publication of the notice, within which and the manner in which, objections can be made.

If no objections to the variation of the Tariff are received, or if all objections are withdrawn, the revised Tariff will come into operation on the date of the expiration of the consultation period.  However, if any objections are made and not withdrawn, the Cabinet will consider the objections and set a further date, not later than two months after the first specified date, on which the tariff shall come into force with or without further modifications.

At the meeting Councillor Tranter proposed and Councillor Billings seconded a motion that was agreed unanimously by the Cabinet, as set out above.

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