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17
Mar 2023
Harrogate cabbie criticises council after taxi licensing meeting
A Harrogate district taxi driver has criticised North Yorkshire County Council over a licensing policy following a meeting with a senior councillor.
Cabbies from Harrogate, Ripon and the GMB Union met with Conservative councillor Derek Bastiman, executive councillor for open to business, over the new single zone policy in North Yorkshire yesterday.
Under the plan, the new North Yorkshire Council will create a single licensing policy for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles in the entire county.
It will mean drivers in Harrogate can operate anywhere in North Yorkshire, whereas they are currently restricted to the Harrogate district.
After the proposal was announced, drivers predicted it would cause “chaos” and called for a meeting with the council over the policy.
Following the meeting with Cllr Bastiman, drivers criticised the council over the continuing with the proposal.
Richard Fieldman, who has run his taxi company for 28 years in Ripon, told the Stray Ferret that he felt the council “did not know what it was doing”.
He said:
Read more:
- Angry Harrogate district cabbies fear ruin under new system
- Taxi licensing changes will cause ‘chaos’, says Ripon cabbie
- New council plans single taxi licensing for North Yorkshire
Mr Fieldman added that some drivers would lose out under the new system.
He said cabbies raised concern over the policy and potential new fees and fare with Cllr Bastiman.
However, Mr Fieldman said he felt that the trade was “fighting a losing battle”, but that added they would continue to oppose the changes until the new system begins next month.
In response, Cllr Bastiman told the Stray Ferret:
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