TAXI fares in Poole are set to increase by three per cent this year.

If approved by the council’s licensing committee, the rise could potentially come into effect in May and will affect hackney carriages – taxis that are allowed to pick people up from the street.

The request for an increase in maximum fares was made by the Poole taxi trade and, if implemented, will see Poole’s fares match those recently approved in Bournemouth.

The current cost of a one-mile journey on the basic day rate is £4.44, however this would increase to £4.58.

It currently costs £2.24 per mile thereafter, but this would increase to £2.31, meaning a two-mile journey would cost £6.89, a three-mile journey £9.20, a four-mile journey £11.51, and a five-mile journey £13.82.

The cost of the first mile on the 'unsocial hours' tariff is currently £5.91, but this would increase to £6.10 (£3.08 per mile thereafter).

In a report to committee members, licensing manager Frank Wenzel stressed the economic benefits the taxi trade brings to the town, “enabling visitors to move quickly and safely around local areas”.

“To enable this taxis and PHVs have a particularly important role in this day-to-day transport network, especially in the night-time economy, ensuring the public return home safely, and in ensuring that people can disperse quickly and peacefully after events,” he said.

Poole’s taxi trade made the request for a rise in fares in February so that they will be in line with Bournemouth’s.

The formula for calculating changes in fares in Bournemouth was adopted by Poole in 2010. This formula uses changes in national wage levels and the cost of motoring to calculate a percentage change in costs, which is applied to taxi fares.

Since the introduction of the formula, taxi fares have increased at the same level across Bournemouth and Poole, and in 2012 the taxi trade in Poole adopted the same fare chart used in Bournemouth.

If the new rates are agreed by the licensing committee, they will be advertised in the press and anyone who objects to the increases will have 14 days to make a written objection.