Glasgow taxi fares set to rise 19.36% if council gives the green light

Glasgow taxi fares could be on the rise by nearly 20% if a recommendation is given the green light by councillors.

Glasgow City Councillors have been asked to decide on the 19.36% increase after a list of recommendations was produced by an independent research firm.

The steep increase is seen as vital to cover mounting operating costs and inflation.

If approved the increase would push the ‘flag fall’ (starting fare) price up 30p from £3.40 to £3.70. For fares between 11pm and 6am the flag fall will rise to £5.40.

There would also be increases on all daytime and nighttime tariffs.

Cabbies in Glasgow have struggled badly since coronavirus restrictions were imposed in Spring 2020. A slump in work levels and little support offered by the licensing authority saw taxi drivers leave the industry.

Despite the financial pressures taxi drivers must also finance new vehicles or retrofit existing black cabs to meet new emission standards arriving on 1 June 2023.

However, taxi operators who do not have access to funded retrofit solutions to meet Low Emission Zone requirements will be given extra time to prepare, after the proposal was approved by the City Administration Committee in October 2022.

The plan to grant a 'time-limited exemption' of one year to operators under these circumstances would see enforcement of the emission standards required by Glasgow's LEZ deferred until 1 June 2024.