Some white taxi drivers are demanding excessive upfront fares instead of using their meters, an exercise by The Times has found.

Those hired from stands around Valletta are obliged to use the taxi meter

The Times asked six taxi drivers in Valletta to be transported to The Strand in Sliema, all of whom insisted on a €20 upfront payment, though one eventually lowered his demand to €15.

Drivers of licensed white taxis must always use their meters unless they depart from a taxi booth, where fixed fares apply. They may charge a pre-agreed rate as long as it is less than the price charged by the meter.

The only taxi booths in operation are at the airport and Valletta seaport.

In one recorded conversation, a taxi driver parked outside the stock exchange tried to justify the €20 fare by showing fixed tariffs from the seaport.

“The seaport terminal is just down there,” he said, pointing vaguely towards the sea.

Other drivers parked at City Gate and outside the Phoenicia Hotel, Floriana, were recorded insisting that the tariff to Sliema was fixed at €20.

“The tariff is €19 plus €1 administration fee,” a driver explained when asked if he would use the meter.

A Transport Malta spokesman confirmed the drivers were in the wrong.

“Drivers of white taxis hired from taxi stands around Valletta are obliged to use the taxi meter. Therefore, the fixed fares, which are charged from the Malta seaport terminal (as an approved taxi booth), do not apply.”

The Taxi Service Regulations also stipulate fixed fares from Buġibba, St Julian’s and City Gate but as no booths exist in these locations the fares do not apply.

According to the regulations, the fixed rate from City Gate to Sliema would be €16 (not the €20 quoted by drivers) if a City Gate booth existed. Fares are calculated by the meter at €1.40 per kilometre for the first eight kilometres and €1 per kilometre afterwards, plus an initial fare of €3.50.

The transport watchdog spokesman denied that fixed fares from the airport and the seaport were higher than those calculated by the meter, despite the Taxi Service Regulations listing the fare from the seaport to Valletta or Floriana as €11, for example. The White Taxis website lists the fare as €9.32.

“Fixed rates are based on the average cost, using the taxi meter as a basis, and grouped in different zones,” the spokesman said.

Three private hire cab companies called by The Times gave significantly cheaper quotes to go from the seaport to Sliema – between €10 and €15 – while the fixed white taxi rate is €20, according to the Taxi Service Regulations.

Private cabs can only operate on a pre-booked basis and their fares are not regulated by Transport Malta, unlike the white taxis.

The Transport Malta spokesman said fixed rates are used at the airport and seaport because “experience has shown that in locations mostly used by tourists, the fixed tariff system works better because it provides the client with clear tariffs and avoids the risk of the driver exploiting the lack of familiarity of the passenger with the shortest or fastest route to destination”.

No white taxi drivers have been caught failing to use their meters by Transport Malta this year but one was issued with an administrative fine for overcharging.