Taxi Night Surcharge: How It Is Calculated

Three ways a night surcharge is built

Your city's rate card says which one applies, and it differs from place to place. They all answer the same question: how much extra, and on what?

A percentage of the metered fare, for example +20 % between 22:00 and 04:00. The extra grows with the ride.
A flat amount added once per ride, whatever the distance.
A separate night tariff with its own base fare, price per km and price per minute.

The percentage maths

Take a tariff of 3.00 base fare, 1.20 per km and 0.30 per minute, and a ride of 8.5 km with 5 chargeable minutes and a 5.00 airport extra. Rounding goes to the currency's own decimals, halves rounded up.

A 20 % night surcharge on the metered fare
Step	Calculation	Amount
Metered fare	3.00 + 8.5 × 1.20 + 5 × 0.30	14.70
Surcharge	14.70 × 20 %	2.94
Extra (airport)		5.00
Total	14.70 + 2.94 + 5.00	22.64

Taxi fare calculator: base fare, distance and time

Showing the worked example. Turn on JavaScript to calculate your own numbers.

Same maths as the app's continuous tariff: base fare + distance × price per distance + chargeable minutes × price per minute, raised to the minimum fare if lower, If you enter a surcharge percentage, it is taken from the metered fare (after the minimum, before extras), rounded to the currency, and added as its own line; extras are not surcharged. Stepped tariffs and your city's official rates are not included.

Type 20 into the surcharge field above and the surcharge line and the total move together, in the same order as the table.

Percent on the fare, or on the whole bill?

Some riders and drivers apply the percentage to the bill including extras. Whether that is allowed depends on the local rule, and on this ride it changes the answer by a full unit.

Same ride, two ways of applying 20 %
Method	Surcharge	Total
On the metered fare only	2.94	22.64
On fare plus extras	3.94	23.64

The calculator uses the first method. If your rate card says the surcharge covers extras too, leave the extras at 0 and add them to the base fare instead.

A percentage is not the same as a night tariff

FareMeter's starter Night tariff (base fare 5.00, 1.50 per km, 0.40 per minute) prices the same 8.5 km, 5-minute ride at 19.75, against 15.20 on the starter day tariff. That is about +30 % here, and the figure moves with the ride, because the base fare, the distance price and the time price all change at once.

A ride that crosses the cut-off

If the night rate starts at 22:00 and your ride starts at 21:50, there are three ways to price it: all at the day rate, all at the night rate, or split at 22:00. Rate cards differ, so read yours. FareMeter picks a tariff only while the meter is stopped, so a ride keeps the tariff it started on.

What FareMeter does today

FareMeter can add a percentage surcharge to any tariff. A time-window surcharge, such as night, is decided by when the ride starts and can cross midnight; a manual one, such as a zone change, you switch on from the meter.

Open Settings, edit a tariff or tap Add Tariff, and find Percentage surcharges.
Tap Night surcharge (example), Zone surcharge (example) or Custom surcharge. The examples only fill in starting values: the percentages are yours to enter.
Set Percent. Under Applies, choose By time of day and set Applies from and Applies until, or choose Manual switch on the meter.
Tap Save. On the Meter tab each surcharge shows as a chip. A time-window one lights up by itself when the ride starts inside the window, and a manual one you tap. Its amount appears live under the fare and as its own line on the receipt.

The same editor has Fare steps: turn on Charge in steps to raise the fare by Amount per step at every Distance step (km) and, if you fill it in, every Time step (min), like a mechanical meter. While steps are on, the per-distance and per-minute prices are ignored.

The other option is the Night quick extra you tap during a ride. It adds a fixed amount (3.00 by default, editable under Quick Extras in Settings), not a percentage.

Questions and answers

Is a taxi night surcharge calculated on the total or on the fare?

It depends on the local rule. The usual reading is the metered fare, with extras such as luggage or tolls added afterwards. The calculator above does it that way; on the example ride a 20 % surcharge is 2.94 on the fare and 3.94 on fare plus extras.

Do taxis charge more after midnight?

In many cities yes, but not everywhere and the hours differ. The rate card of your city tells you, and the calculator only does the arithmetic once you know the percentage and the base.

How do I turn a night percentage into a tariff?

Multiply the base fare, the price per distance and the price per minute by 1 plus the percentage, so by 1.20 for +20 %. Keep the minimum fare as your rate card states it.

How a taxi night surcharge is calculated, step by step