In response to John Wilson’s letter (Monday’s Oxford Mail ViewPoints) I think it only correct that I explain the facts where Oxford hackney carriage out-of-city fares are concerned.

Due to the fact that once a hackney carriage leaves the outer boundary of its licensing district the driver is prohibited from picking up another fare until he returns to that boundary, it is only correct that the person hiring a cab for such a journey pays something towards the empty return journey.

For that very reason taxi legislation dating back to 1847 and 1976, allows for a taxi driver to charge any fare that he/she wishes, as long as the driver agrees/informs his passenger of the rate or fare that he intends to charge.

Oxford City Council officials were in part, correct, when they informed Mr Wilson that the tariff three that he was charged to travel to Kidlington is a Christmas period tariff.

They were incorrect, however, if they informed him that tariff three should not have been used and that the passenger was entitled to a part refund. This is, of course, provided the driver informed him at the outset of the journey the rate or the fare that he was going to be charged.

Because taxi legislation allows a driver to basically charge whatever rate he wishes for a journey ending outside the city boundary, over three decades ago, in its attempts to stop passengers being charged prohibitive rates for their out-of-city journey, the taxi association drew up guidelines for members, so that by using tariff three for out-of-city journeys, there would be a consistent rate, where passengers knew within a few pence how much their journey was going to cost them.

Taxi drivers who do not comply with the association’s guidelines where these journeys are concerned could have quoted Mr Wilson a very much higher rate than the standard tariff three on the taximeter, had he been informed at the commencement of the journey.

I wonder which he would have preferred?

I trust this assures hackney carriage passengers that no law is being broken, so long as the fare has been agreed in advance and that tariff three is very much lower that the fare charged by drivers not using the taximeter for out-of-city fares.

Alan Woodward City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association