TAXI drivers have welcomed plans to install meters and minimum fares in the district’s cabs.

The introduction of standard tariffs is due to be agreed on by Epping Forest District Council’s licensing committee later this month, after 150 taxi drivers of the 200 consulted said they agreed on the move.

Azid Sanu, 34, of the Epping Forest Taxi Association, said: “We think meters are a good thing.

“There are people out there who charge high fares and there are people who charge ridiculously low fares.

“It causes a lot of confusion, because if a passenger pays one fair one day and the next it’s doubled, as far as they’re concerned, they’re being ripped off.

“If the fair was regulated, everyone would charge the same.”

He said he had been in disputes with passengers over pay and had been forced to drive to police stations in the past when they had become aggressive.

“I hate doing that and would rather not,” he added. “It’s better for everybody if the fare is regulated.”

He said fitting meters would bring the district into line with neighbouring areas, including Redbridge, Harlow and Chelmsford.

Fellow driver Jamie Goodman, 30, said: “It’s about time. It’s better for the public, because they’ll be charged the same amount.

“A cab right now could take you from Epping to Loughton and the driver could charge you what they liked and you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”

He added that the standard fares would stop larger taxi firms under-cutting self-employed drivers.

“You have to make the fares realistic, with the price of fuel and insurance,” he said. “They (the council) will have to make sure they’re fair.”

The committee will also be reporting on the results of a consultation on where taxi ranks should be in the district at its next meeting, which will take place on April 11.

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