HACKNEY carriage fares in Redcar and Cleveland are to go up despite objections from local taxi drivers.
The borough council had been asked to put up the fares by people in the trade to reflect increasing costs of fuel and insurance.
Despite a petition being handed to the council signed by some of the drivers, the authority's licensing committee this week agreed to put up the fare for its 143 licensed Hackney carriages.
The charge will now be £1.90 for the first mile and £2.20 for each tenth of a mile after that.
It means the authority goes from being one of the cheapest places to hire a cab, as it was ranked 339 out of 380, to midway up the table.
Council officers felt this was a reasonable deal and committee chairman, Councillor Brenda Forster, said: "It must also be remembered that if they don't want to put their tariffs up they don't have to."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article