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ANTONIA Allés, the Balearic director general of commerce, announced the increases in taxi fares which her department would propose to the finance ministry for approval. She made her announcement after a meeting of the prices committee, and there are only two exceptions to the increases approved by the Palma city council last November. The city council's decision was not final and needs the approval of the prices committee and the ministry. The two increases which were rejected were the supplements for calling a radio cab. The companies wanted to increase the daytime charge from 45 to 70 euro cents, and the night-time and holiday charge from 90 cents to 1.10 euros, the equivalent of a 22.22 per cent increase. The committee also rejected a minimum fare of ten euros from the airport to a nearby destination. For example, if the meter shows only eight euros, then that is what the customer will pay. All the other proposals were approved unanimously. The average increase in fares this year is 6.3 per cent. The price on the meter when a taxi is flagged down remains unchanged at 1.80 euros. The new fares are expected to come into force at the end of February. Gabriel Moragues, the president of PIMEM-Taxi, said that he would appeal the decision not to accept the increase of the supplement for calling a radio cab. He added that the cabbies will have no alternative but to lower the flag as soon as the call is received. “The supplement system is much better for the customer,” he said. He added that he shared, but did not accept the decision on the minimum cost of a fare from the airport. But Radio-Taxi expressed its satisfaction at the decisions taken by the prices committee. The city council declined to comment until it had received the information in writing.