§ 20. Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, following recent fare increases, what is now the average cost per mile for the hire of taxi cabs in the London area and elsewhere outside London, respectively; what index he has for comparisons on a year-to-year basis; and how these costs and indices compare with 1 April of the current year, 1 April 1979 and 1 April 1978.
§ Mr. BrittanFor typical 2 to 3-mile journeys in London the present fare ranges from 58p to 82p per mile. The equivalent range was from 43p to 60p per mile on 1 April of this year and from 37p to 47p per mile on both 1 April 1979 and 1 April 1978.
Outside London, fare scales vary from district to district, but in a typical area journeys of a similar length would now cost from 58p to 91p per mile. On each of the other dates the range of the average fare was slightly higher than in London.