A SOUTHAMPTON taxi firm has been forced to hike its prices for the first time in eight years due to increasing fuel costs.

The increase comes amid a warning the country will be at a standstill if the Government doesn't "at least cut tax on fuel".

Fuel prices have been soaring over the past few months due to higher demand globally as China eases its Covid restrictions.

The war in Ukraine has also been blamed for higher petrol bills with a warning from the RAC that the cost of fuel will reach £2 a litre this summer.

But now alongside families, city taxi companies are feeling the squeeze.

Simon May is the CEO of Radio Taxis which is marking 50 years in business. 

However, he says that his company, based in Millbrook Road East, has raised prices for the first time in eight years due to the fuel crisis.

Simon said: “We haven’t raised our prices for eight years. However, we had to increase them recently due to the rising costs for drivers.”

He is calling on the government to do more to support the transport industry.

Read more: Cheapest filling stations for petrol and diesel as prices continue to soar

He added: "The Government needs to get their act together and do something now not later.

"The country will be at a standstill if they don’t at least cut tax on fuel. Due to the increase in costs, there’s now a lack of drivers on the road to provide much-needed transport.”

“It’s the taxi drivers that are actually suffering.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Jones, managing director of Door2Door Cars, told the Echo that his fuel cost is up by 25 per cent which has forced drivers to raise prices.

He said: “Because everything has increased in price, drivers have had to raise their rates in order to stay sustainable but that still doesn’t cover all the costs of running a car, things like tax and insurance.

“It’s the taxi drivers that are actually suffering, so we have had to raise our prices up by 20 per cent.”

Joseph says a price cap should be introduced.

He added: “Our appeal is that the fuel prices should be capped like there is on electricity because these companies are still making billions of pounds in profits.”

Pressure is building on the Government to cut fuel duty again after the average cost of filling a typical family car with petrol exceeded £100.

The AA declared “enough is enough” while the RAC said it was “a truly dark day” for drivers.

Figures from data firm Experian show the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts reached a record 182.3p on Wednesday.

That means the average cost of filling a 55-litre family car is £100.27.

The Daily Echo is running our Your Money Matters campaign helping readers with the cost of living.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.

Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself.

Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents

Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News