Taxi fares on the Isle of Wight will remain unchanged for the third year in a row, after the Isle of Wight Council concluded that the current rates still offer a viable profit for licensed taxi proprietors.
A letter circulated to taxi trade stakeholders confirms that the local authority has completed its annual fare review, considering various operating costs such as fuel, insurance, maintenance, and driver wages.
A member of the Isle of Wight Council’s Licensing team, has said:
“Officers have recently undertaken the annual fare review where we consider the table of fares in line with the current costs of running a licensed vehicle in order to determine whether or not a fare increase is justified.
“Having taken into account all of these factors, the calculations would demonstrate that the current tariff of £2.40 per mile on tariff 1 still provides a profit to the taxi proprietor based on 20,000 paid miles per year.”
The review took into consideration fuel costs of £1.40 per litre, running and servicing costs from the RAC adjusted for higher mileage, insurance figures from Zego, and a wage benchmark based on the living wage, including employer National Insurance contributions.
Vehicle depreciation and licensing fees were also factored in.
As a result, the council has determined that no fare increase is warranted this year. The next review is scheduled for November 2026.
The current fare structure, approved in May 2022, remains in place. It sets a starting fare of £3.50 for the first half mile under Tariff 1 – applicable between 08:00 and 20:00 on weekdays – with a charge of 60p for each additional quarter mile. Higher tariffs apply during evenings, weekends, holidays, and for vehicles carrying more than 4 passengers.
While the freeze may be welcomed by passengers amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures, some drivers may be disappointed by the outcome, given the increasing costs of maintaining vehicles and working unsociable hours.
the island has some of the highest taxi fares ever – it is ridiculously expensive to use.
I got a taxi from Southsea Hovercraft terminal to the railway station at the hard and it was £5. Here on the island the same journey distance is over £10.
I once had to get a taxi on a weekend as a relative had been admitted to st marys in an emergency – cost over £25 from Ryde to Newport
a friend needed to attend a course in cowes – taxi from ryde to cowes during commuter time in the morning – £50
is the council having a laugh with these fares.
and why after all this time do we still not have UBER on the island
The island overcharges on everything.
Taxi’s take the p*ss, many coffee shops charge
more for a coffee than what coffee shops charge in
the big smoke.
The island is paved with gold, full of many greedy
businesses who pay cheap rates and wages compared
to many mainland businesses, yet they ain’t shy charging
extortionate prices.
Builders are the same, hence why mine come from
Pompey.
The council should have pushed for a reduction no matter how small
The sooner Waymo come to the island the better,
much cheaper and safer (driverless taxi’s)
Also not driven by chimneys.
The fares are less than London. Uber might be an answer. I do wonder if this “freeze” for three years could also be applied to council employees? It always seems to be that the self employed take the hit.