Taxi fare increases in Midlothian have been suspended after operators appealed to the government over new fees approved by the council.
Midlothian councillors agreed to introduce increases of up to 20 percent after a review was held in September this year.
However a report due to be considered by elected members this week revealed there had been an ‘unintentional error’ in the new tariffs which changed the waiting time fees from every 30 seconds to 60 seconds, effectively reducing the amount charged from 50p a minute to 30p.
Members of the council’s general purposes committee met yesterday to decide how to deal with the error, but were told it was now out of their hands after taxi operators filed an appeal with the UK Government Traffic Commissioner.
The council’s Derek Oliver told the meeting: “There has been an appeal submitted to the traffic commissioner from the taxi core with regards to the new tariffs set by Midlothian Council. The traffic commissioner has notified us that it is in effect suspending the fare scale as published by the council.”
Midlothian Taxi Owner’s Association had urged the council to increase fares when it met in September after it was revealed a review of the current charges was long overdue.
The proposed new fares would have seen initial hire charges during the day go up to £3.50 from £3, with the evening charge going from £3.80 to £4.50 and festive holiday rates going from £4.50 to £5.
Additional time and distance charges of 25p go to 30p – a 20% increase, across all tariffs except at Christmas holidays when it remains at 40p.
A spokesperson for the traffic commissioner’s office confirmed an appeal had been lodged by three taxi operators in Midlothian against the council’s new tariff although details of the reasons for the appeal were not disclosed.
They said: “The council has been given until November 17 to respond to the appeals.”
Midlothian currently has 52 taxi plates available with 25 currently issued and 140 private hire cars operating in the council.
By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
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