Fuel prices have been raised in the Budget for the second year, meaning that come April the price of gasoline will have been hiked 13 cents per litre in just over a year.

The duty on fuel, which went up by five cents in last year’s Budget, acquired an additional eight cents per litre, with 5.5 cents for fuel imported by Belco.

Bob Richards, the Minister of Finance, said the increases stood to yield an extra Customs revenue of $11.7 million, which will boost deficit reductions and support government services.

But the news was poorly received by taxi operators, some of whom said it effectively cancelled out any gains from the fares increase approved by Parliament for May 2014.

“That’s going to take its toll,” said Calvin Dill of the Triple D taxi service. “I see this having a serious impact on our business.”

Mr Dill said he had been able to maintain steady business through the last year but had not seen the taxi industry pick up much.

“Anything going up for taxis is too much,” said operator Roger Vanderpool, who was prepared to wait for the implementation of the higher duty before assessing its impact.

One Hamilton driver said that even with the many taxis using diesel, which lowered fuel costs, the increase stood to override any benefits of the rate increase.

“This is just going to eat it up,” he said. “That’s going to hurt when it comes into effect.

“For me, last summer was a little better than the previous and I’m anticipating this summer to be better. There’s been an opportunity to recoup some money and now we get this additional expense.”

Another driver nearby said that the industry “might be picking up, but not for me” and said the hike stood to “hurt my pockets even more”.

“It’s not picking up,” a third taxi operator said. “If gas is going up then your pockets are getting that much lower. That rate increase was absorbed within that same year. It’s two steps forward, three steps back.”