TAXI fares are set to rise for travellers in Rossendale - the only question which remains is by how much.

Rival proposals have been drafted, by both cabbies leaders and borough council licensing chiefs, which could see fares rise by up to 17 per cent.

Rising fuel costs and insurance premium increases are just two reasons behind the town hall proposals to raise the flag' rate, when people initially hire hackney carriages for an initial mile, from £2.30 to £2.70.

Under the council's suggestions, the cost of every whole mile subsequently would be £2.30 - a 60p increase than at present.

The pricing restructure would mean the price of hiring a taxi would also be more after midnight, through to 6am, and on Sundays and certain public holidays.

While the flag rate would rise by 60p, from £3.45 to £4.05, each mile would cost 90p more.

The same principle will apply to the most costly rates, for trips taken on Christmas Eve, after 6pm, on Christmas Day, after 6pm on New Year's Eve and throughout New Year's Day.

An 80p rise in the flag rate is proposed, alongside a £1.20p adjustment for each mile travelled.

But taxi bosses are proposing a more modest rise, after consulting with members, with the flag charge for standard journeys only jumping from £2.30 to £2.50, and every mile then costing only £2.

The second tariff, for late-night fares and public holidays, would have a flat fee of £3.75, with it costing £3 for every mile thereafter.

And the third set of fares, over Christmas and New Year, would be just £5 to hire and £4 for every mile undertaken.

A Rossendale council spokesman says in a report that a second option on fares had been provided due to the "current economic climate relating to the increase in fuel charges".

Chairman of Rossendale Taxis Association, Glen Bulcock, who runs GB Taxis in Bacup, said: "The last increase we had was in 2005 and it is reviewed evey three years by the local council.

"Since the last review there has been a 70 per cent rise in licensing fees and the price of petrol has increased. On top of that Rossendale Borough Council have just hit us with administration costs and we're just about to start a series of meetings with them about that.

"The rise in the cost of licenses is crippling a lot of taxi proprietors who are putting money into their own businesses just to stay afloat, so the increase in fares in well justified.

"It's particularly annoying because Rossendale Borough Council are supposed to be helping us but taxi owners get nothing - all we seem to do is pay them."

Members of Rossendale's licensing committee will have the task of determining which set of proposals to adopt when they meet at Hardman's Mill, Rawtenstall, next Monday.

Hackney carriage fare increases were agreed upon last October but were postponed until now following representations from Rossendale Taxi Association.