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New cut-price “off peak” black cab fares for longer journeys across London are being launched today as part of a fightback against minicabs and apps such as Uber.

The new fixed prices are up to 30 per cent below the metered fare but only apply to trips of six miles or more.

The journeys have to be booked through black cab hailing app Gett and the discounts apply on weekdays between 10am and 4pm, 8pm to 11pm and 2am to 6am when demand from passengers is lower. For example, a 6.6-mile journey from Mayfair to Canary Wharf, with a metered fare of £37, would be reduced by 30 per cent through the fixed fare to £25.90.

Remo Gerber, chief executive of Gett in the UK, said: “Some taxi apps charge more when they’re busy. We think this is unfair so we make fares cheaper when we’re quieter.

“Our passengers have the best of all worlds — a highly trained black cab driver, getting you home quickly and safely, using bus lanes to avoid the traffic, and a fare confirmed before the cab even turns up. No other taxi app offers all this in London.”

Most black cab journeys in London are for short hops of a mile or two in central London. More than 90 per cent of journeys of six miles or longer are made in minicabs that can heavily undercut the metered fare.

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said the service would make black cabs far more competitive against rivals such as Uber. He said: “Minicabs can change their fares as and when they want. We can’t do that, and rightly so — you couldn’t have a situation where you put your hand up in the street at 3pm and the cab’s a fiver and you put it up at 4pm and it’s a tenner.

“The difference between us and Uber is that when it’s quiet we’re going to give you a discount but when it’s busy we’re not going to charge you more.”