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19
Nov 2021
Harrogate district taxi licence fees frozen again due to pandemic
Taxi licence fees in the Harrogate district have been frozen for the second year running due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of Harrogate Borough Council’s licensing committee agreed not to increase fees after it was revealed there has been a big drop in the number of taxis on the roads.
Gareth Bentley, licensing manager at the council, said there are around 50 fewer private hire vehicles operating in the area, although he added there are “early signs” that the trade is recovering.
He said:
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Mr Bentley also said the reduction in drivers had an impact on the council’s budget as it meant less income.
He added he was hopeful that a recent policy change which removed a limit on the number of wheelchair accessible taxi licences would help boost vehicle numbers.
Richard Fieldman, who runs A1 Cars Ripon, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he would not “heap any praise” on the council for freezing licence fees again as many drivers had not forgotten the authority introduced a 10% rise before the pandemic.
He said:
The licence fee freeze for the 2022/23 financial year was unanimously approved by members of the committee.
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