Use taxis to get about? Taxi meters coming to you soon...

Apparently, Mid Suffolk District Council have decided to make fare meters mandatory for licenced taxis in the area, with introduction scheduled for the Autumn.

My source tells me that the likely impact is to make journeys that don't include Stowmarket potentially unviable, as the meter can only be switched on when a passenger is picked up. After all, will a taxi driver want to pick me up here in Creeting St Peter to take me to Earl Stonham if all they get is a £3 fare?

My taxi driver this evening told me that his licence fee has increased from £16 to £60 per annum, and the cost of the mandatory badge on the rear of the car from £35 to £170, a genuine disincentive for those drivers who might only work part time. Throw in the cost of petrol, and getting a taxi may become quite difficult in the years to come.

For those of us who live in small villages, where public transport is sparse, and especially for those who don't or can't drive, this is another blow, and I am surprised that a District Council which serves so many small villages hasn't worked out the implications. Perhaps they all live in Stowmarket...