LARGE rises in taxi fares introduced across Waverley this month have met with a mixed reaction from Farnham taxi companies. Without an increase in fares since December 2004, the Association of Farnham Taxi Drivers put forward recommendations for the new tariff earlier this year. But the increases, which typically have put £5 on the fare from Farnham to Guildford and made a £3.60 local job nearly £5, have been attacked by some drivers as too much. Although the minimum charge is retained at £2.60, changes to the overall tariff are complicated by the fact that it is now governed by how many twelfths of a mile the passenger travels, rather than how many tenths, as previously. Russell Thomas, chairman of the Association of Farnham Taxi Drivers, is currently on holiday, but spoke to The Herald at the time of the proposals. Claiming that taxi drivers in Farnham have it worse than their London counterparts, Mr Thomas said: "The drivers in London only do short journeys and don't spend a lot of time waiting between jobs or travelling to or from jobs. They only move when they have a fare. "We do about 50,000 miles in a year on average and our occupancy is only something like 30-33 per cent. Only about 20,000 of those miles pay." Mr Thomas said: "Fuel prices are constantly increasing and the running costs for a taxi have increased. We also have to pay licensing to the council which has also increased." He placed an estimate on the cost of running a taxi in Farnham at "somewhere between £20 - 25,000per year," adding: "There comes a point when it's no longer worth it." However, the new prices have come under attack from Robin Eames of Sapphire Taxis. "Personally, I didn't agree with them. It's too high - people don't want to spent that sort of money to go from A to B. They keep putting the prices up and it's ridiculous. "A lot of the time they put the rates up to keep in tune with the fuel prices, rising insurance and licensing costs and MOT prices. While we do have to counteract that somehow, I personally think that to put it up by that amount is wrong. We were 126th in the national league table and now we are 11th. It's ridiculous. "A £3.60 job local round the town is now nearly a fiver - that's a big increase. But that's what the association asked for and that's what they got. I know a lot of people who didn't want it, but the council in their infinite wisdom changed it," he added. Meanwhile, Terry Cloutman, owner of GT Taxis, has come to a radical solution. "I think it's going to smack us, big time, and to combat that we are not going to do it. "Last Monday, the guy that regulates the meters came down to Farnham station and we didn't have any of our cabs changed. "I had a phone call on Monday saying we had to have them regulated to the new fare, so we took them to Guildford but we are now giving people a 15/20 per cent discount on their fares. "As far as the law is concerned we can charge whatever we want - as long as it's below what the meter says, and Waverley Borough Council are happy with that. But they did make us spend £50 on getting the meters changed. Mr Cloutman expanded on the effect of the price increases. "Farnham station to Guildford station used to be £21, now it's £26, which isn't far off 20 per cent increase. "My feelings are that if the borough council puts it up by three or four per cent in line with inflation, fair enough. But to put it up 20 per cent in one swoop - people are going to get annoyed. "The council argument is that we asked for it. Yes, some people did but it was certainly not unanimous. "On the other hand, we are now charging the same prices as last year, which to be honest has caused a little bit of bad feeling with other taxi firms. "When a company like ours comes along and undercuts, all of our customers know about it and any others who find out about it, well, fair enough!"