Rising pump prices put emergency taxi fuel extras back on the agenda for UK hackney licensing authorities - and for drivers who cannot rewrite their own meters overnight.
On 15 September 2026 the RAC reported average petrol at 170.54p a litre, the highest since August 2022, and diesel at 192.86p, the highest since July 2022. Simon Williams, the RAC's head of policy, said prices had jumped another penny in 24 hours and warned that oil trading above $100 a barrel pointed to further rises. A typical 55-litre fill was already about £94 for petrol and £106 for diesel since the start of that month.
Private hire operators can usually adjust commercial rates more freely. Hackney carriage extras are different: under Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, councils set a published table of maximum fares. Any new surcharge has to sit in that table - or wait for a full fare rewrite and statutory notice.
How some councils already handle fuel spikes
Blackpool Council keeps a standing diesel and petrol band system tied to weekly government road fuel prices. For diesel, extras start at 30p once the litre reaches £1.50, then 60p at £1.65, 90p at £1.80 and £1.20 at £1.95. On an RAC average of 192.86p, that structure sits just below the top diesel band - close enough that a further climb toward £2 would push many journeys onto the highest published extra.
North Devon took a similar trigger approach in April 2026, resolving to advertise a tariff that adds 20p once the government's weekly ultra-low-sulphur diesel price exceeds £1.70, then another 20p for each further 5p a litre. That kind of link lets meters respond to GOV.UK weekly road fuel prices without waiting for a fresh political decision every time the forecourt moves.
Other authorities have preferred temporary flat extras. In 2022 Southend-on-Sea consulted on a 40p fuel surcharge per journey for up to a year, or until a wider licensing review finished - a short-term patch while base fares caught up.
Sheffield's June proposal
In June 2026 Sheffield's Environmental Services and Regulation Policy Committee approved a temporary diesel-linked surcharge, subject to statutory consultation, and deferred a full fare review until later in the year. That showed the trade pressure Middle East-driven diesel costs were already creating. By the autumn, objections and changing price evidence were feeding into whether the surcharge should proceed or wait for a broader November fare review - a reminder that Section 65 consultation can slow even an approved idea.
Why it matters on the rank
For diesel-heavy fleets, fuel is a cash cost on every shift. Without a published trigger, drivers cannot simply add an unofficial meter extra. Councils without a fuel band face pressure either to open a full fare consultation or to adopt a Blackpool-style schedule that moves with the official weekly prices.
As of mid-September 2026, diesel was not yet at the later £2 average, but it was close enough - and climbing - that authorities with existing surcharge tables were already near the upper bands, and those without them were watching the RAC and government series carefully.