Mayor defends cab fare rise

Ken Livingstone today defended his higher taxi fares against growing concern that they are doing little other than costing Londoners mores.

Under the rates brought in last Friday to end nighttime cab shortages, passengers pay 60 per cent more after 8pm. But while most Londoners report no more cabs, the financial impact is arousing comment.

Yesterday, for example, Standard reader Sue Hudson wrote in a letter that a journey from Waterloo to Bayswater had risen from £12 to £22.

Transport for London now points out that the higher rate applies only to the parts of night-time journeys within six miles of the city centre. But surveys by the Standard last weekend showed many drivers unwilling to go beyond the six-mile zone because of the difficulty of finding return fares, despite new rules obliging them to accept journeys up to 12 miles.

A spokeswoman for the Mayor's office said: "The increased charges do only apply for the first six miles but we do not think that necessarily penalises people living in inner London. We are reasonably confident we have got things right."

London Taxi Drivers' Association secretary Bob Oddy agreed: "The increases are about right." He thought the Waterloo-Bayswater example was a mistake.