Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is looking at increasing taxi fees

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Transcript

00:00Going to the shops, travelling to work, or getting home after a night out could be about to get more expensive.

00:07That's if you go by taxi in Tunbridge Wells.

00:10The proposed changes will bring the tariffs in line with other districts in the area,

00:15although there's quite a split in rates.

00:18Tunbridge Wells would become the second most expensive area to hail a cab in Kent.

00:24A local hackney carriage company has requested for rise.

00:29One of the reasons why these cabbies are asking for a tariff increase is because

00:33most of their passengers nowadays, when they open their wallet,

00:36they're not paying with cash, but rather reaching for their card.

00:40And for the drivers, that means fewer tips and less profit.

00:452022 was the last time there was a tariff increase.

00:49The council every year has keep on putting their rates up to us by 5, 6%.

00:56This year it's only 4.5%.

00:59Card fees, the public wanted us to take cards.

01:03We listened to you, we got told we've got to take card machines,

01:07and that is a cost that we have swallowed, but we can't swallow it anymore.

01:14Taxi drivers themselves can't raise tariffs.

01:18It's down to the local licensing committee.

01:22I'm not inclined to accept that card payments are a massive issue here.

01:30The cost of card payments, because not everybody pays by card anyway.

01:34The cost of living perhaps is.

01:37Cars are getting more expensive, financing cars is getting a lot more expensive.

01:43Gone are the days where the term free money was banded around.

01:47Council has voted unanimously for the increase.

01:50It'll now go to consultation.

01:52If there are no objections, it'll be implemented later this year.

01:57Gabriel Morris in Tunbridge Wells.