Revealed: how vice-chancellor racked up thousands in taxi expenses and claimed for ONE-MILE trips

City’s vice-chancellor racked up thousands of pounds in taxi expenses – and many of the journeys were less than one-mile long, The Square can reveal.

Paul Curran claimed for 133 cab rides between September 2013 and the same month last year, but travelled just 292 miles – an average of two miles per trip.

His shortest journey – between Oxford Station and Balliol College – was only 0.6 miles and would have taken around 10 minutes to walk.

The vice-chancellor, who earns a salary of £280,000 per year, frequently summoned cabs to take him to and from engagements around the capital.

A total of 22 excursions were less than one-mile long, with other short journeys including Barbican to City’s Northampton Square campus – which are three bus stops apart – and trips from Grays Inn Road.

In one such case, Curran took a taxi from Islington Town Hall to his £2.5 million grace-and-favour mansion in Myddelton Square – a distance of less than a mile.

The vice-chancellor also travelled frequently between City’s buildings, despite the university advising students that “walking and cycling can be cheap and efficient”.

Curran took frequent journeys between Northampton Square and Cass Business School – just 0.8 miles apart – at an average cost of £7.

Another of the vice-chancellor’s most regular trips was from The Athenaeum – a luxury restaurant in Piccadilly where he wines and dines university council members.

On January 22nd last year, he also put on expenses a lavish trip to the Royal Opera House with a university donor – with the taxi journey costing £13.

And in December 2013, Curran claimed £134.83 for various unexplained journeys during a two-day trip to Paris.

Curran’s frequent taxi journeys come despite his boast of enjoying “middle distance running” in his official UK Who’s Who entry. The total taxi bill for the year was £1,607.75.

A City spokesman admitted that the vice-chancellor “undertakes a considerable amount of travel on university business” but that he travels using a “mix of bus, tube, pre-booked car and foot” in London.

The spokesman added: “On occasion, due to the vice-chancellor’s diary and the limited time available between meetings, it is sometimes necessary to take a taxi and this is not unusual for at least one leg of the journey between Bunhill Row and Northampton Square.

“For many engagements where there is a definitive end time, pre-booked cars are typically used.”

The vice-chancellor’s expenses, released as part of an investigation by The Square, reveal shocking details of Curran’s luxury lifestyle that students are paying for.

Yesterday, it was revealed that the vice-chancellor splurged £400 on one night in a Dubai hotel and has taken trips to Florida, Tel Aviv and Rio on expenses.

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