SOUTHAMPTON taxi passengers will see a hike in their fares in less than six weeks if cab companies have their way.
Taxi chiefs want to put up initial fares by ten per cent in the face of crippling petrol prices, rising road tax and car loan repayments.
They will ask the council to add 20p to both the £2 daytime fare and the £2.75 nightime fare as part of a move to do away with an old fashioned "accelerated start" to fares.
Fares last went up 18 months ago. The trade scrapped plans for rises last year amid a proposed shake-up of the fare structure that provoked outrage from passengers and many drivers.
Clive Johnson, chairman of the Southampton Taxi Consultative Council, said: "The lads have had to struggle with fuel costs. We are really in trouble out there. It's crippling.
"It's scary when you go to the pumps now. We've got to put in for fare increases."
Mr Johnson, who is also boss of Radio Taxis, the largest in the city with about 200 cars, said fuel made up about one quarter of the costs of running a taxi.
Taxi union rep Perry McMillan said: "Drivers are having to work longer hours, are hunting around for the best deals. It's causing financial difficulties for all of us."
The latest rises would see a one mile fare go up by 5.3 per cent, while a three mile journey would rise by three per cent. The new tariff structure will also remove the first of four charges applied every 110m before meters switch to charging for every 225m. The rest of the 110m "drops" will be phased out over the next three years.