The taxi industry is pushing for a 12 percent fare hike to cope with soaring fuel costs.

The industry's BIU representative Junior DeSilva said fares had stayed stagnant for four years and taxi firms across America were upping prices.

He said the Public Services Licensing Authority had passed the request on to the Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown and they were now waiting for a response.

He said: "I would hope we would be able to hammer out some type of agreement by January.

"In America there are 22 cities where fares have gone up because of the rise in fuel.'' And he said the digital dispatch system, which should be up and running in March, meant drivers would be hit with further one-off costs of $2,000 for putting in the new system.

Transport Permanent Secretary Herman Tucker said the Minister had seen the proposals but no decision had been made. He pointed out that any fare changes had to be approved by Parliament.