OXFORD is the third most expensive city in the UK when it comes to jumping in a taxi, according to new research.

The city’s black cabs cost an average of £3.04 per mile - just behind Leeds and the most expensive Coventry on £3.11.

The data collated from local authority websites across the UK only takes into account black cabs.

Fares in the city are set by Oxford City Council and not by the drivers.

Cab drivers have been critical of the city’s roads and increasing congestion, with some claiming its fares were rising by almost double for short journeys across the city.

The City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association (COLTA), has been calling for Oxfordshire County Council to allow black cabs to use a link road through the new Westgate Centre, which they are currently banned from.

Other drivers told the Oxford Mail that, at the height of the congestion at the end of last year, journeys from High Street to the station - typically costing £6 and taking seven or eight minutes - had risen to around £11 and were taking up to 45 minutes.

The research - from private number plate specialists regtransfers.co.uk - does not factor in congestion or average time of journeys.

Cambridge was on average one pence cheaper than Oxford per mile but had a higher minimum fare cost of £2.80.

The city’s fleet of 107 black cabs was the smallest of all the 25 cities in the study - and was some way off the second smallest of 170 in Kingston-upon-Hull.