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What time do taxi rates change? Setting up day, night and weekend tariffs

Rates change at whatever time your local tariff says, often around 22:00 for the night rate and all day on weekends. Switching tariffs by hand is easy to forget. Give each tariff a Schedule in FareMeter, switch on Apply automatically, and the right one picks itself the moment the meter is stopped.

4 min read · Updated 2026-09-11

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Why schedule your tariffs

Forget to flip to the night rate at 22:00 and you undercharge every ride until you notice, sometimes for a full week before a passenger's receipt gives it away. A schedule takes the job off your plate: give a tariff a time window and a set of weekdays, and FareMeter checks them before each ride.

One thing to know: the tariff only switches while the meter is stopped. Start a ride at 21:50 and it rides out the whole trip on the day rate, because reassigning the tariff halfway would mean repricing distance you already drove.

The two starter tariffs

FareMeter starts with two example tariffs you should edit to your local rates. Both use the classic speed-threshold mode.

Starter tariffs as they come in the app
TariffScheduleBase fareMinimum farePer kmPer minute
Day06:00 to 22:00, every day3.504.001.200.30
Night22:00 to 06:00, every day5.006.001.500.40

The same 8.5 km ride with 5 minutes of waiting costs 15.20 on the day rate (3.50 + 8.5 × 1.20 + 5 × 0.30) and 19.75 on the night rate (5.00 + 8.5 × 1.50 + 5 × 0.40).

How to set a night tariff that switches on by itself

  1. Open Settings and, under Tariffs, tap the pencil next to your night tariff, or tap Add Tariff to make a new one.
  2. Give it a name and colour, then fill in Base fare, price per km or mile, Per minute and Minimum fare from your local rate card.
  3. Under Schedule, turn on Apply automatically. It starts as 22:00 to 06:00 every day.
  4. Change From and To if your night rate starts at another time. A window that ends before it starts crosses midnight.
  5. Tap Save. Next time the meter is idle during those hours, the night tariff is selected for you.

Adding a weekend or Sunday rate

  1. Tap Add Tariff and enter your weekend rates.
  2. Turn on Apply automatically, set From and To, and tap the weekday letters so only Saturday and Sunday stay highlighted.
  3. Tap Save.

For a Sunday-only rate, leave just the Sunday letter on. The day of a window that crosses midnight is the day it started, so a Saturday 22:00 to 06:00 window is still Saturday's rate at 02:00 on Sunday.

When two schedules overlap, the narrowest wins

FareMeter measures each schedule as minutes per day × number of days, and when several match, the smallest one is used. Here is what that means for a weekend tariff, with Day and Night as above.

Which tariff runs at 23:00 on a Saturday
Weekend tariff scheduleWeekend sizeNight sizeTariff used
Sat and Sun, 00:00 to 23:592 × 1,439 = 2,878 min7 × 480 = 3,360 minWeekend
Sat and Sun, 06:00 to 22:002 × 960 = 1,920 min7 × 480 = 3,360 minNight (weekend does not match at 23:00)

So if your weekend nights should use the night rate, give the weekend tariff daytime hours only. In daytime at weekends it still beats the Day tariff, which covers 7 × 960 = 6,720 minutes.

What about a fixed rate to the airport?

FareMeter has no separate airport tariff. Airport is a one-tap extra charge you add to a metered ride (5.00 by default, editable under Quick Extras in Settings). For a fixed-price run, quote it first with the Fare Calculator in the Work tab, or make a tariff whose Base fare is the fixed price with 0 per km and 0 per minute.

Easy to get wrong

  • Setting 00:00 to 00:00 to mean all day. That window is actually empty; use 00:00 to 23:59 instead.
  • Expecting the tariff to switch mid-ride. It does not — the new one only kicks in on the next ride.
  • Two tariffs sharing identical windows. Only one can win a tie, so make the hours or days differ.

Questions and answers

What time do taxi fares increase at night?
It is set by your local authority or company, often around 22:00, sometimes earlier on weekends. Enter your own start and end times under Schedule.
Can a tariff apply only on certain days?
Yes. Under Schedule, tap the weekday letters to turn days off. With all seven highlighted, it applies every day.
Can I switch tariffs by hand?
Yes. Any tariff can be selected on the meter while it is stopped. A schedule only saves you from having to remember.
Are there holiday rates?
There is no holiday calendar. For a public holiday, select the holiday tariff by hand before the ride.

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