July 24, 1977

REDDITCH'S cabbies have been granted the fare increases they claim were necessary to end fiddling and give them a 'decent living wage'.

Councillors nearly doubled the fares this week, bringing them in line with the rates Birmingham cabbies are allowed to charge.

Derek Tonkinson, chairman of the newly formed Redditch Taxi Owners' Association, has welcomed the news.

"Redditch council has come over to reality at long last," he told our reporter.

"We are quite happy with these rates, although we feel they will have to be reviewed again, perhaps at the end of this financial year."

Taxi travellers in Redditch will probably not greet the news with the same enthusiasm.

Until yesterday, the official rate was 20p for the first mile and 16p a mile thereafter - although many cabbies were upping the fare way above this level as the Indicator discovered this April.

The new rates are as follows.

Journeys up to one mile 35p and journeys more than a mile, 35p for the first mile and 5p for each succeeding one sixth of a mile.