I have been a taxi driver for 30 years and for many years enjoyed the job and made a reasonable living.

I live in Harrogate and operate out of Ripon.

But since North Yorkshire Council replaced Harrogate Borough Council in 2023 things have gone downhill rapidly to the point where me and many colleagues are thinking of leaving.

North Yorkshire Council, which licenses hackney carriages, seems intent on killing the trade and anyone who uses taxis should take note of what’s going on — particularly a vital decision this week.

Firstly, the council got rid of the restrictions on where hackney carriages can operate. Previously only taxis licensed in the Harrogate borough could operate in the Harrogate borough. Now, as cabbies warned, they come in from all over the area to affluent areas like Harrogate town centre but ignore rural areas, which is why it can be hard to find a taxi at night.

In the latest development, the council wants to introduce a new taxi licensing policy that says all new hackney carriage vehicles must be either a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, a zero-emission vehicle, or a hybrid electric vehicle. It means drivers would not be able to update their cars without facing an additional cost of thousands of pounds.

Downward spiral

As a representative of about 125 drivers on the North Yorkshire Taxi Drivers Group, I will urge councillors not to implement this disastrous move at a meeting tomorrow (March 17).

The local taxi trade is already on a downward spiral, with drivers leaving the trade in numbers due to the influx of Uber drivers, and the constant negative conditions being put on the trade. Almost no new drivers are entering it.

The council, which sets fares, hasn’t allowed a fare increase since 2023 — but it has increased how much drivers pay for a licence.

The new vehicle recommendations will only result in an even bigger decline because what is being proposed is either too expensive or impractical.

Drivers in rural areas of the county are not making enough income to afford the required vehicles, and there is no solid evidence that there is demand for a big increase in the number of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. It is not good enough for the council just to compare us to other regions before making decisions that have a massive impact on drivers’ lives.

The council should undertake an unmet demand survey, which the trade would pay for, that looks at how many extra vehicles disabled people need. 

Councillors are under no obligation to accept the latest proposal. They should reject it, as many other councils up and down the country have done.

Many, such as City of York Council, have recognised the damage it would do to the trade, and have accepted instead a policy that all vehicles should comply with Euro 6 emission standards. This is what should happen in North Yorkshire.

The current proposals will not increase the quota of wheelchair-accessible vehicles, they will only achieve a decline in taxi numbers in North Yorkshire.

Uber is not the answer

Drivers feel like we are constantly being hit over the head with a big stick.

This new proposal would put us at a massive disadvantage to the ever-increasing number of Uber drivers in the area, who do not have to operate under the same conditions.

Some people might say ‘what’s wrong with Uber taking over because it’s cheaper?’. Well, Uber isn’t regulated as tightly as we are and its business model is based on destroying the opposition then putting up fares. The council sets our fares — would you prefer to see the demise of black cabs and everything left to a private company?

It is imperative that solid evidence is achieved before any decision is made on the new licensing police, otherwise there will be irreversible damage to the trade.

I have been working closely with Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and former transport secretary Louise Haigh on cross-border taxi issues and the overhaul of the taxi and private hire trade regulations.

I have seen what’s happening nationally and this new policy would harm drivers and customers by leading to the demise of taxis in the Harrogate district.