TAXI users will pay more after fares increased this week for the first time since 1997.
Fares have risen 8.42 per cent, meaning a 10 km taxi trip on a business day will cost $14.65 instead of $13.50.
Transport director general Mike Harris said the Taxi Council of WA, the industry’s peak body, supported last year’s introduction of the CPI as a method of monitoring fares.
“The CPI is also generally recognised and accepted by consumers as a responsible means of determining prices,” Mr Harris said.
In August Perth taxi drivers lobbied for an eight per cent fare increase because the price of autogas had risen from 25c to 40c per litre. Autogas was selling for about 55c per litre this week.
Drivers claimed they were being paid $6 an hour for working 70 to 80 hours per week.
Before fares were tied to the CPI, taxi fares increased about 17 per cent over a five-year period, while the index rose three per cent.