Isle of Man taxi fare rise 'not a surprise'

A rise in Isle of Man taxi fares has not come as a huge surprise and is not exorbitant, a passenger watchdog organisation has said.

The Road Transport Licensing Committee said taxi fares would go up by about 1% from 1 April, due to rising fuel costs.

Chairman of Travelwatch Isle of Man, Brendan O'Friel, said the increase was inevitable with a rise in oil prices.

He said taxis were an important mode of transport on the island, particularly in places not covered by bus services.

Driver protests

"They do provide a very important service, the buses don't go everywhere on the island," he said.

"Making sure that taxi fares are affordable for people is really important and I would certainly welcome anything that would help passengers who are finding present taxi fares unaffordable, ways in which we could get those fares down."

Drivers from across the island protested earlier this month over plans to restrict drivers to picking up fares within their licensing district.

The all-island taxi proposals were drawn up after a public consultation showed that most residents were in favour of allowing drivers to ply for trade from anywhere in the island.

But taxi drivers said the plans would encourage drivers to congregate in Douglas.