Taxi fares in East Lothian will be increased by 20 per cent from February 1 next year after a proposal for the increase was approved unanimously by members of East Lothian Council’s licensing board.

Currently, taxi fares in East Lothian start at £3 and increase by 20p for each additional 40 seconds of waiting time, every additional 146.5 yards or a combination of the two.

The new fares will start at £3.60 and increase by 24p – the 6pm-6am starting fare will be £4.80 and the Christmas and New Year fares will begin at £6 and increase by 48p.

This will be the first rise in the cost of fares since 2019.

READ MORE: Taxi drivers supporting 20 per cent increase in cab fares in county

At today’s meeting of the licensing committee, members reviewed letters of support for the increase from Ian Torrance, from Torrance Taxis in Dunbar, and Robert Campbell from AC Taxis.

Councillor Colin McGinn, chair of the meeting, said he welcomed the feedback from taxi owners on the proposals.

He said: “I am pleased that we have had feedback from the consultation sent out to our taxi owners. It’s something that we’ve asked for time and time again and there has been a lack of responses on a number of papers. I would welcome more [responses] because we do need to consult.”

Councillor Jeremy Findlay questioned why there had been little response to previous consultations with taxi owners.

He said: “The 20 per cent increase is quite large. If taxi firms had come back to us in the past, then the increases could have been staggered up as opposed to us going for a full 20 per cent now.

“The onus is on the taxi operators to respond to these consultations.”

READ MORE: Taxi tariffs remain unchanged following council review

Councillors agreed unanimously to approve the increase with a starting date of February 1.

It was also agreed unanimously to update the conditions relating to taxi and private hire operators' licences.

The updates will mean zero emission vehicles presented for grant of a new licence will be no more than four years old (since date of first registration) on the date when the licence is granted, while Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles presented for grant of a new licence will be no more than three years old.

The updates will also mean that substitution or temporary vehicles will be no more than seven years old (since date of first registration) on the date when the substitution on the licence takes effect and will not be older than the vehicle to be replaced.

These updates will come into effect from today.

It was also approved that the maximum age of a taxi permitted to be used will be 12 years. This will come into effect in April 2025.