He drove his hybrid fuel taxi through the city yesterday in the second-to-last leg of his trip from Whangarei to Bluff.
The meter had been running since Monday and had clocked up nearly $7000 by the time he arrived in Leith St.
Told the fare sounded expensive, he said he had not turned the meter off for the ferry crossing between the North and South Islands, and that he had taken the long way down, driving to the West Coast before returning to State Highway 1.
Mr Coxon was due to arrive in Bluff this morning, ending his trip promoting the company's new Blue Bubble brand.
Company chairman Tony Ross said it shared the brand with six of the country's biggest taxi companies in an alliance that maintained company independence without transgressing monopoly laws.
