Taxi Fare Rise Criticised

17/10/2007 18:00:00

Taxi users in Aberdeen have criticised a decision by a local governing body of the trade, it has emerged.

According to the BBC, the Aberdeen Taxi Group has backed a decision to raise taxi fares in the city and this has come under fire from locals who claim the rises are unfair.

It is thought that the rise will allow taxi drivers working in the city to charge more depending on the number of people in the taxi and if the journey is a short one.

However, the new fares have been criticised following a similar rise last summer. One taxi customer told the BBC that the cost of taking a cab would discourage people from going to the city centre at night.

"Pubs in the town are actually losing out because there are not enough taxis to get you home. And when you do get into them you are getting ripped off," she said.

The Aberdeen Taxi Group, which works on behalf of taxi drivers in the area, defended the move stating that the estimated five per cent increase was a "fair pay rise for drivers".

Earlier this month the BBC reported that a number of taxi drivers in Dundee were to protest by staging rolling road blocks in the centre of the city over issues such as over-provision and rank spaces.

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