Taxi fare review: likely outcome revealedLocal cabbies predict ‘disaster’ as new single taxi zone created

Senior county councillors have backed creating a single taxi zone for North Yorkshire, despite concern from local drivers.

North Yorkshire County Council will introduce a single hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy from the spring.

The existing seven district councils, including Harrogate, currently have their own hackney carriage and private hire licensing policies. However, under the new policy, drivers will be able to operate in any area of the county.

At an executive meeting yesterday, senior county councillors approved the move towards a single licensing policy.

Councillors also backed a move to carry out a review of how it could increase the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles within the county.

Cllr Simon Myers, executive councillor for growth at the authority, told the meeting said:

“What North Yorkshire wants to have is the best, safest and most accessible taxi service for its residents.

“I recognise, as the trade points out to us, that they are an essential part of accessible travel in a rural county.”

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Meanwhile, Cllr David Chance, executive councillor for corporate services, proposed waiving licence fees for new wheelchair-accessible vehicles and for renewals in order to incentivise more drivers to come forward.

He said:

“Given that we wish to demonstrate the council’s commitment to increasing the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles in both the short and longer term, I’m going to suggest that we consider waiving the licence fee for new wheelchair accessible vehicles and relicensed wheelchair accessible vehicles in the lead up to finalising our policy on the matter.

“That would be done through the inclusive service plan. This would incentivise the retention of existing wheelchair accessible vehicles by the trade, but also offer an immediate incentive to those considering the purchase of new vehicles.”

‘A disaster’

However, the policy has come under criticism from local drivers who said the move was not supported by the trade during a consultation.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents disagreed with the key proposal of introducing a single zone for North Yorkshire, which would allow cabbies to operate across the county rather than only in their districts. However, the idea still looks set to go ahead.

Richard Fieldman, who owns Ripon firm A1 Cars and runs a Facebook group that includes 52 taxi drivers in Ripon and Harrogate, said:

“Making it one zone will mean that at peak times drivers will target hotspots, such as Harrogate on a Saturday night, and leave rural areas with no taxis. It’s common sense that people will drive to maximise their earning potential.

“It will be a disaster for us and a disaster for people who live in quieter areas because they won’t be able to get a taxi at busy times.

“The same policy has been tried in other areas and it just leads to some streets being swamped with taxis so it’s bad for other road users as well.”

New taxi fares for North Yorkshire revealed

All hackney carriage vehicles in North Yorkshire look set to be allowed to charge a maximum of £7.40 for a standard two-mile journey.

Currently Harrogate Borough Council and the other six district councils in the county set their own fares for hackney carriages.

But the new North Yorkshire Council, which will become the sole licensing authority on April 1, will align the maximum fares when senior councillors meet next week. A report to the councillors is here.

The proposed new county-wide fare structure is based on what customers currently pay in both Harrogate and Selby districts.

Out of 350 local authorities Harrogate and Selby currently stand at number 76 in the national hackney carriage fare table — meaning the taxis will be more expensive than in almost 80% of other places.

Under the proposed tariff, a two-mile journey within North Yorkshire would cost a maximum of £7.40 between 6am and midnight. The price will go up after midnight and at Christmas and new year.

A maximum soiling charge of £100 – should a vehicle need to be cleaned – has also been set to align with the current charges in Richmondshire, Craven and Ryedale. The rate in the Harrogate district is currently £80.

Cllr Derek Bastiman

Cllr Derek Bastiman

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Derek Bastiman, said:

“We need to ensure all businesses, residents and visitors across North Yorkshire are subject to the same maximum fare, regardless of where they live, work or visit.

“The setting of taxi fares is a statutory duty for the licensing authority and our aim is to strike a balance between setting a fare that is acceptable to the customer and to the taxi driver, and not create confusion by varied fares in the licensed area.

“The proposed fares are the maximum hackney carriage drivers can charge. They can, of course, charge a lower fare, should they wish to do so.”

If approved by North Yorkshire County Council’s executive on Tuesday next week, the proposed fares will be subject to a statutory 14-day consultation period.

Once a tariff of fares has been set, a driver cannot charge more to passengers than the charge shown on the meter apart from in certain exceptional circumstance, such as where a journey ends outside of the council area and a fee has been agreed in advance.

Private hire vehicles set their own fares and cannot be regulated by the licensing authority, so customers should agree the fare before the journey commences.

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