INVERNESS, Need to consult.

Highland Council's proposed taxi fare rises thrown out

Rises in taxi fares proposed by Highland Council have been thrown out by the deputy traffic commissioner for Scotland.

Richard McFarlane said the local authority had failed to consult on the trade on the increases.

He said the fare scales will have to be altered to those fixed in January 2013.

A total of 160 taxi drivers backed an appeal to the commissioner that sought increases higher than those proposed.

Highland Council had proposed raising some tariffs by 30p and a £6.50 supplementary booking charge by £1.

However, taxi operators said higher increases were needed to cover fuel and other costs.

In a written decision, Mr McFarlane said the local authority had not held the required consultation.

He said: "The focus has undoubtedly been on the Inverness operators."

The deputy commissioner said councillors had not had "sufficient information" to properly review the scales for all the different rural communities in the Highlands.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-29331302