The cost of flagging down a taxi is set to rise in one borough by 25% - from £4 to £5.

However, under the proposals adopted by Tonbridge and Malling council this week, passengers will be able to travel a little further for that initial “flag” fee, before being charged extra - another 293 yards.

After that, every fare will continue to rise in 20p increments - as they do now - but the distance you can travel for 20p will reduce from 125 yards to 117 yards.

The next result is that the cost of travelling one mile will increase from £5.40 to £6 - a rise of 11%.

The cost of travelling two miles will rise from £8.40 to £9 - a rise of 7.1%.

The cost of a two-mile journey is the national standard by which local authorities compare the relative cost of taxis in their towns.

Currently, Tonbridge and Malling stands 46th from the top in a national league table, but the rise once adopted will take the borough to the 19th highest.

The proposals were put forward by taxi drivers themselves and are designed to make things easier for passengers to calculate the fare, as well as bringing in more money for the cabbies.

Basically, passengers will know they must pay £6 for the first mile and then every mile thereafter is another £3.

The council received a petition signed by 66 of the borough’s cabbies last April, asking for an increase, since fares hadn’t risen for three years.

The council subsequently polled its 488 registered drivers, asking if they wanted an increase. Of those who responded, 78 said yes, and four said no.

But Anthony Garnett, the council’s head of service for licensing, pointed out that the council set the maximum fare that could be charged and that individual drivers were free to charge less if they wanted.

Cllr Dennis King (Con) reminded drivers of the law of diminishing returns and warned that putting up prices might result in them having less business.

Cllr Anna Cope (Green) observed that costs had risen for people living in Tonbridge and Malling as well as for taxi drivers.

She said that some people in more isolated parts of the borough with poor bus services relied on taxis to get about.

She said: “We need to balance the needs of taxi drivers with the needs of people who might be priced out of making their trip to the shop or to the doctors.”

Cllr Keith Tunstall (Con) was concerned that higher fares might deter people from catching a taxi to travel home late at night, putting women, especially, at risk.

During the debate, the committee took advice from Terry Hill, who runs Castle Cars in Tonbridge. Mr Hill told the councillors that the average journey was around three miles, which would equate to £12.

The new fares were agreed by a majority vote of eight to one and will come into effect on August 1.

As well as increased journey fares, passengers will pay more for waiting times - 20p will buy them only 24 seconds’ waiting instead of 30 seconds, an increase of 25%.

But the one bit of good news for passengers is that there will no longer be an additional fee for travelling on a Saturday or Sunday.

The fares only apply to hackney cabs, not private hire vehicles.