Hackney drivers on the Isle of Wight have asked for a fuel surcharge, not a higher rate per mile. The Licensing Committee meets at 10am on Friday 16 October at County Hall in Newport to decide whether to put that surcharge out to consultation. The intended start, if it clears the notice, is 1 December 2026.
The table of fares was last approved in May 2022. Tariff 1 is still £3.50 for the first half mile and 60p for each further quarter mile, from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday. Nights, Sundays and bank holidays stay on the higher tariffs. Luggage stays at 20p an item, an animal at £1, and soiling at up to £100. Officers say the mileage rate does not need to rise. The extra is for fuel only, and only while the licensing department says a band is in force (existing fare table).
The chart
The proposed card has eight columns, from an average of £1.80 a litre to £2.50. The surcharge is added at the end of the journey, on top of the meter, and it rises with the metered fare. Fully electric taxis are exempt. The report does not exempt hybrids, and it does not say which average the council will use.
At £2 a litre the published extras are 20p on a fare up to £5, 40p from £5.01 to £10, 90p from £20.01 to £25, and £2.50 on a fare of £50 or more. At £2.50 a litre those become 45p and £5. At £1.80 a litre a fare of £50 or more takes £1.50. There is no column below £1.80 (proposed fare table).
Two cells do not follow the steps in the rows beside them. A fare up to £5 at £1.90 a litre is printed as £1.50. A fare of £35.01 to £40 at £2.20 a litre is printed as £1.10. The committee has not adopted the chart.
How it would be switched on
Drivers would not pick the column. The licensing team would email proprietors when a surcharge applies, and that column would stay in force until a further email. Drivers would have to record each journey on which they add it. Officers would make random checks. The card in the cab would have to show the chart, and the driver should tell the passenger before adding it. The fares are still a maximum. A driver may charge less.
This is a hackney table. Private hire fares are not part of it.
The committee is being asked to approve the draft for the statutory notice under section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, or to vary it. The notice runs for at least 14 days in a local paper, with a copy at the council offices. If nobody objects, or objections are withdrawn, the table can start on the date in the notice. If objections remain, they go back to the committee and the start date moves, but it must still fall within two months of the original date. No consultation has been run yet (committee report).