FCCC Chief Executive, Joel Abraham.

The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced an increase in taxi fares.

From today, the new flag fall charge has increased from $1.50 cents to $2 between 6 am to 9 pm in Viti Levu, and $1.70 to $2.30 cents for locations outside of Viti Levu.

The flag fall charges will increase from $2 to $3 from 9 pm to 6 am in Viti Levu while charges will increase from $2.20 to $3.30 between 9 pm to 6 am outside Viti Levu.

The flag fall for airport taxis increases from $5 to $7.10 cents.

The waiting charges have also increased from 10 cents to 18 cents per minute.

FCCC Chief Executive, Joel Abraham says they have concluded the first phase of their assessment and decided to publish an interim authorization until they conclude the comprehensive review.

Abraham says due to the supply chain issues and future unpredictability, the commission has revised flag fall charges.

“This means the consumers will only see an increase of 50 cents whilst providing interim relief to the drivers, while we embark on our comprehensive review to determine what the final rates are to be.”

The drop charges remain the same, while they monitor the global market situations.

Abraham adds they will finalize the final rates in the next six to nine months.