Taxi... that'll be £11 please

The average cost of hailing a black cab will go up to just under £11 after Ken Livingstone gave approval for the ninth increase since he became Mayor eight years ago.

The new rates, which come into effect on 5 April, amount to an annual increase of 4.7 per cent - at a time when the Government says inflation is running at 2.1 per cent.

As a result, an average fare jumps from £10.37 to £10.86 - up 49p - though passengers have to pay extra at night or over the weekend.

The minimum fare remains £2.20 but the meter will tick over more quickly to allow drivers to maintain their income levels. The cost of running a cab has increased, largely as a result of a 13.3 per cent hike in diesel prices.

A 20p levy that cabbies have been allowed to charge since 2005 to help pay for measures to make their vehicles more environmentally friendly is to be discontinued. However this has been replaced by a 20p increase in the minimum rate - meaning the same charge for passengers.

Mr Livingstone, who gained the approval of the Transport for London board for the rise, said: "There is not the slightest question that the cab trade would have preferred us to leave the environmental charge in, even though they have recovered the cost of retro-fitting their cabs.

"I thought about this, but the only possible logical reason for doing this would be to make my life a lot quieter in the run-up to the election. That didn' t seem to be justified." His critics said the latest rise creates extra pressure on passengers already landed with above-inflation increases in season tickets for Tubes and trains. Roger Evans, Tory chairman of the London Assembly transport committee, said: "It's very much part of a wider fares increase above inflation. It's going to be another cost to people to get around London, particularly for visitors as they tend to use more cabs."

Fares are charged at three different tariffs. The basic rate applies on weekdays between 6am and 8pm. The next rate runs from 8pm to 10pm on weekdays and 6am to 10pm at weekends. The third - and highest - rate runs throughout the week from 10pm until 6am, as an incentive to encourage cabbies to work at nights.

TfL says the 20p "green" levy is being removed because it is " confident" that all black cabs in the capital will meet Euro III emissions standards by June.