People in Charlottetown will be paying more to move around the city when the harmonized sales tax is introduced next month.

Prices at parking meters and taxi fares will both be increasing, both by about 10 per cent.

Increases in taxi prices will be rounded off. A $6 ride in zone one will come to $6.50 in April. The biggest price increase will be $1.25.

The cost of parking at a meter downtown will go from $1 to $1.10 an hour. The original plan was to put the prices up more.

"We were going to put it up to a dollar and a quarter thinking that the machines would not take a dime, but they have told us that the machines will take a dime," said economic development committee chair Coun. Stu MacFadyen.

Even with the increase the downtown parking rate remains one of the lowest in the Maritimes.

Coun. David MacDonald believes the price increases will catch many people off guard.

"Much of the public is the same way I am. I'm not sure what's going to have HST attached to it and what doesn't. I never even thought for a moment about cabs or that kind of thing," said MacDonald.

"I think the more the public finds out what kind of impact this is going to have, the more questions we're all going to get at all levels of government."

Changes to the taxi prices will require a bylaw change, and that will happen during the next city council meeting.