The north’s taxi drivers face a wait of several months to find out whether fares will increase in 2015.
Highland Council will relaunch a consultation early next year on whether fares should increase – with a final decision expected in mid to late September.
The council’s previous review, which took place this year, ended in confusion.
A rise of 30p was approved in April this year, but this was appealed by driver Andrew MacDonald of the Inverness Taxi Alliance, supported by 160 other taxi operators.
They supported an increase of 50p, which would bring them into line with drivers in Perth and Kinross, a proposal that had been put to the committee by the taxi alliance during the review process.
Mr MacDonald appealed the decision to Scotland’s traffic commissioner, Richard McFarlane who eventually ruled that the local authority had not carried out a proper consultation.
Mr McFarlane criticised the council, saying it had failed to consult with taxi representatives.
Yesterday Highland Council licensing committee chairwoman Councillor Maxine Smith set out a timeline which will see the operators quizzed again on their position.
The trade has previously been split over the potential fare rise, with drivers in the Highland Capital preferring a greater raise, while drivers in rural areas want to maintain the status quo.
The new consultation will be started in May with a deadline for representations in June.
It will be discussed at a future meeting of the licensing committee at the end of the summer before being put forward for approval at the end of August.
Councillor Allan Henderson, Caol and Mallaig, said: “There is quite a lot of information to be gathered here so this gives us breathing space.
“It is a blessing that fuel prices have improved so that is some relief to the industry.”
Ms Smith said: “We intend to meet with the trade in the coming months to sort out where we are, and have already held early discussions with taxi and private hire car drivers in Inverness.”
Under legislation, the council must review its pricing structure every 18 months.
The new timescale is brought forward from a next review date of March 2016, which would mean that there will have been no change to taxi fares in three years.