Taxi passengers in St Albans face some of the highest tariffs in the country to help drivers deal with rising costs.

At a meeting yesterday (Tuesday, November 1), cabbies and an industry representative asked St Albans City and District Council members to raise the rates which they can charge for hail-and-ride journeys in taxis licensed in the district.

Drivers and the GMB trade union proposed raising the fares to a point where a two-mile journey would cost £11.44 – one of the highest rates in the country, second only to Transport for London’s Heathrow Airport fare at £13.20.

Councillors in St Albans raised fears this cost would drive passengers away from using taxis in the city, Harpenden and Redbourn, and instead agreed their own tariff which puts a two-mile fare at £9.08 – the sixth-highest in the country.

Under the previous arrangements, which have been in place since 2014, a two-mile journey set passengers back £6.20.

Steve Garelick, of the GMB trade union, said: “We have got to reach a standard beyond drivers just keeping their heads above the water.

“As you will be aware, part of what took us to this point in the first place is that tariffs have to go up with the cost of living and fuel costs.

“Licensing costs and the cost of a disclosure and barring service (DBS) check have all risen.

“When you start to take these costs into account, drivers have had to start making decisions about how to put food on their tables.”

Mr Garelick noted that along with costs associated with inflation, drivers and employers are having to factor in medium-term ambitions, such as investment into electric vehicles.

A council report into the price hike noted that a one-mile fare would work out at £3.85 under existing arrangements.

This charge was introduced in 2014, and council officers believe that the price of a one-mile journey would cost £4.95 in 2023 if the charges had risen with consumer price index inflation alone.

“Given that the fuel inflation rate has been higher and our licensing fees have increased, it should be considered that the fare increases beyond just inflation,” the report reads.

The two-mile £11.44 fare which the drivers put forward would have been made up of a £4.60 charge for the first 600 yards of a journey, followed by 15p per 60.52yds afterwards.

A 50 per cent unsociable hours increase was proposed between 10pm and 6am.

Councillors agreed the fare should be £3.90 for the first 880yds, followed by 15p per 76.52yds afterwards, with the unsociable hours levy from 11.30pm.

Councillor Danny Clare, who does not sit on the St Albans licensing committee, told his colleagues: “I think that a young person working after midnight might face spending up to two hours’ wages just to get home.

“I hear a lot of stories about women being left out on the street because they look slightly intoxicated.

“These prices have to increase but the service has to reflect what the people of St Albans demand.”

A series of councillors said taxi drivers risk being undercut by private hire firms such as Uber and Bolt if prices rise too high, or could risk isolating older people who rely on cabs to travel to hospital appointments.

Cllr David Heritage said: “We need to look out for our public. If the increase is too high, it could be the straw which breaks the camel’s back.”

According to Private Hire and Taxi Monthly, the £9.08 two-mile fare structure which councillors agreed will sit in the top 10 highest tariffs in the country.

This list currently features nearby Luton Airport (£9.70, third), London (£9.60, fifth) and Stevenage (£8.70, seventh).