Cumberland Council is asking for views on one hackney carriage tariff for the whole district. A two-mile weekday journey would have a maximum fare of £7.
The three former councils still run separate cards. On the council’s own two-mile comparison, Allerdale is £6, Copeland £6.20 and Carlisle £7. The proposal adds £1 in Allerdale, which the report calls 17%, and 80p in Copeland, which it calls 13%. Carlisle’s two-mile fare stays where it is. Those cards were last changed in June 2022 in Allerdale, August 2022 in Copeland and April 2023 in Carlisle (council report).
The report puts the national two-mile average at £7.40. In the same table, Barrow and Eden are £6.80, South Lakeland £7.20, Northumberland £6.40, Durham £7.30, Lancaster £6.60 and North Yorkshire £8.
The card the Executive agreed to advertise has three tariffs. Tariff 1 is the weekday rate. Tariffs 2 and 3 cover the night, bank holidays, Christmas and New Year. The notice, as reported by the News and Star, also takes in waiting time and extra charges for passengers and luggage. The published report gives the £7 two-mile figure in the main text. The full yardage sits in the appendix.
Hackney carriages can use ranks and be hailed in the street. For a journey inside the Cumberland district the meter is compulsory, and it has to be calibrated to the table of fares and sealed. The figure is a maximum. A driver can charge less. Private hire fares are agreed with the operator. This card does not set them.
The trade asked for the rise because running costs have gone up, including fuel. There is no statutory formula. Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 lets the council fix the table, then publish it in a local paper and allow at least 14 days for objections.
How to reply
The News and Star says the consultation opened on 9 October and comments must be in by 4pm on 23 October. Responses can be made online, or in writing to the Licensing Team Manager at Cumberland Council, Civic Centre, Rickergate, Carlisle, CA3 8QG, or [licensing2@cumberland.gov.uk:mailto:licensing2@cumberland.gov.uk].
The same report says the new fares would come into operation no later than 30 November 2026. On 16 September the Executive agreed the card for advertisement, and gave the Licensing Team Manager authority to bring that table in if no objections are received. Objections that are not withdrawn go back to the Executive (minutes).
Carlisle drivers
The current cards are on the council’s taxi fares and charges page.
At the September meeting, the chief legal officer told members that an email from Carlisle Taxi Association, objecting to the proposed tariff, would be reported with any other objections for a final decision. The News and Star’s account of that meeting names the writer as Chris Bray, secretary of the Carlisle 2022 Taxi and Private Hire Association.
Councillor Bob Kelly, the environment and planning portfolio holder, told the same meeting that Carlisle drivers had suggested £7.50, because a move to £7 would leave their two-mile fare unchanged. The Executive still agreed to advertise the £7 card. Kelly said it would be a maximum, and that drivers do not have to charge it.