FARES for Weymouth and Portland taxi passengers are to become among the highest in the country after councillors voted for an increase in charges.

The charge for the first mile during the day will go up by 20p to £2 and the charge for every mile after will go up by 10p to £1.80.

These increases will also be applied to night-time rates with the first mile on the meter going up by 20p from £2.10 to £2.30. Subsequent miles will go up by 10p to £2.10 a mile.

This will make the borough the 16th most expensive place in the country to hire a taxi.

Weymouth and Portland was the 44th most expensive area out of 380 borough and district councils in the country before the latest fare hike.

Cabs licensed by West Dorset District Council are currently 61st in the national league table, which is produced by Private Hire and Taxi Monthly magazine. Taxi drivers told a meeting of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s management committee that they are feeling the pinch.

Nigel Richardson, chairman of the Weymouth and Portland Hackney Carriage Association, told councillors: “We have felt the pinch of the economic crisis – our costs have risen. We’re not asking for hundreds of pounds, we’re asking for tens of pence – that could make the difference for our trade.”

Speaking after the meeting, Weyline Taxis’ manager John Sapsford said: “We are spending a lot of time queuing in traffic in Weymouth.

"We have a regular customer base and if we are stuck in traffic for an hour, we’re not going to charge waiting time so there’s continuity for the customer so they know what they’re going to pay.

“This is a less than five per cent increase across the board. We don’t think this was an unreasonable request.”

Management committee members approved plans to support the fare hike 138 council-licensed Hackney carriage drivers in the borough.

Councillor Ian James said he wanted to support local taxi drivers. “They are all taking a pay-cut at the moment and we are putting them below the minimum wage.

"A lot of the guys do a lot of hours to make up the minimum wage. In the grand scheme of things 10p makes a lot of difference,” he added.

But Councillor Kate Wheller said: “I find this a bit of a problem because I understand the problems with petrol costs and roadworks that we have.

"Taxis play a vital role in getting vulnerable single women home. A lot of these people are women working in bars and clubs and they have to get home as well.

"They are on minimum wage. On minimum wage that taxi fare is more than an hour’s pay,” she said.