FUEL PUMP PRICES: Diesel taxi shifts costing over £7 MORE compared to summer 2020 prices

Fuel prices are going through the roof for taxi drivers, and other motorists, who rely on four wheels to go about their business. But how much of a difference does a one penny increase really make to cabbies?

The average full-time cabbie will run around 30-40,000 miles each year. Any slight increase, or big increase as we are seeing now, can severely impact taxi drivers who cannot immediately adjust their prices to cover the costs.

Let’s start with the trusty diesel TX4 black cab. In this cab you’ll get 33.2 miles per gallon (MPG) at best. Taking that figure into account, the driver will need 4.52 gallons, or 20.55 litres of diesel, to travel 150 miles each shift.

Granted, that one penny change doesn’t account for too much, about £1 per week more, but when that single penny becomes multiple pennies, that's when they REALLY start to add up.

Let’s go back to July 2020 when the UK was just a few months into the coronavirus pandemic. The price of fuel stood at £1.10 for unleaded and £1.15 for diesel. Fast forward to current times and those prices have been hiked up by a HUGE 35p per litre.

It now costs an eye watering £7.19 MORE to work a 150-mile shift in an iconic diesel TX4 cab. That’s £35.95 per week more, £143.80 per month more and a MASSIVE £1,725.60 over the course of a full year if prices remain.

Licensed taxi tariffs are usually worked out using a cost index system that takes into account the costs of running a taxi for the general public. However, pricing is not dynamic and drivers must wait for pricing reviews and consultations before changes can be made. In some licensing authorities taxi drivers have not seen price increases for over a decade and are now struggling to cover costs.

There has been rising calls for the Government to assist motorists with the rises by cutting the VAT on fuel from the pumps. So far, that call has been rejected by the Treasury.