Ken's price hike will hit cabs in London's suburbs

25.10.01

"Keep prices down, and save Surbiton's black cabs"

Kingston and Surbiton's Liberal Democrat MP, Edward Davey, has written to London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, warning him about the damage to London's suburban black cabs if he hikes up the cost of evening taxi fares.

Mayor Ken has proposed that evening London cab fares go up by 50% from this November. The Mayor says this will help increase the number of black cabs working in the centre of London, but his plan looks like damaging cabs in the capital's suburbs.

From his own constituency, Surbiton cab drivers have written to Edward Davey complaining they will lose customers because of these obligatory price hikes. These local drivers fear the higher fares will push people in Outer London away from black cabs and into minicabs, so they want to be able to continue to charge lower fares.

Commenting on this threat to the supply of black cabs in London's suburbs, Edward Davey said:

"This is bad news for suburban black cab drivers and bad news for their passengers.

"Mayor Ken has failed to consult suburban cab drivers properly, yet he's about to hit their businesses hard.

"The fact that yellow badge cabbies are saying "we want to charge lower prices" suggests they know more about the market realities than the Mayor.

"Ken's idea may work in central London, but even there a 50% hike seems excessive. Yet in outer London, his idea could spell disaster. If even 5% of people switch to minicabs, many yellow badge suburban cabbies could be driven out of business: that would mean fewer cabs at higher prices for everyone else.

"The Mayor has to realise that suburban black cabs are vital for thousands of my constituents. At train stations and in our town centres they make people feel safer and can be crucial to getting home safely. People really value the black cab service. We must stop this crazy idea."