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:
“The top and bottom of it is they have not got a clue what they are doing. I have said before, this is going to cause destruction for the trade.”
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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:
Angry Harrogate district cabbies fear ruin under new system“I can confirm that the meeting was very cordial.
“Driver’s comments were taken away with an assurance that following a meeting that I will arrange with the relevant officers hopefully next week, a full response will be provided to the representative from the GMBU who offered to circulate to those operators present at the meeting.
“Those present were happy with this proposal.”
Taxi drivers in the Harrogate district have said a new system for regulating hackney carriages will be bad for customers and cause cabbies to go bust.
The current limit of 148 hackney carriages in the district will be abolished when North Yorkshire Council comes into existence on April 1, paving the way for a flood of new drivers.
At the same time, a new single taxi zone allowing drivers to operate countywide rather than stick to their local districts will begin, even though 52% opposed it in a consultation.
Drivers say the single zone will lead to some places being flooded by taxis at busy times while less popular rural areas will struggle to book cars.
They also say ending the cap on the number of hackney carriages means licence plates they paid thousands of pounds for are now effectively worthless.
Supporters of the new system say it incorporates Department for Transport best practice guidance and “any negative impacts tend to level out over time”.
‘Totally destroyed’
The Ripon cabbies in Harrogate this week
Six Ripon hackney carriage drivers, who are supported by colleagues from across the district, met the Stray Ferret this week to express anger at the changes.
Katie Johnstone, of Johnstone Family Hire, said lifting the limit on the number of vehicles would ruin many taxi firms.
She said until now, people like her had paid about £20,000 to buy a plate so they could operate one of only 148 hackney carriages in the Harrogate district.
Ms Johnstone said abolishing the limit meant the plates now had no sell-on value, leaving current plate holders a combined £3 million out of pocket.
She said she took out a five-year bank loan to buy her plate as part of a career change two years ago and “it’s not worth anything now”, adding:
“I’m a single parent — I worked on minimum wage for years. I’ve invested a lot of money to try to better myself and they have totally destroyed it.”
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‘The system has worked for 100 years’
Keith Snowden, whose family has operated taxis in Ripon since 1926, said:
“It’s a ludicrous situation. The system has worked for the last 100 years — why change it?”
All the cabbies predicted many private hire drivers will get hackney licences because it would enable them to make more money by picking up customers from ranks whereas they currently have to be booked in advance.
They said this would create hotspots as drivers battled for customers in busy times in the most lucrative areas, and ignored calls from less profitable rural customers.
Anne Smith, of ANB Taxis in Ripon, said:
“Everything we have put into these plates has been completely taken away from us.”
Ms Smith tried to enlist the support of Julian Smith, the Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, but said he had been “absolutely useless”. Mr Smith did not reply when the Stray Ferret asked for a response.
Paul Dodds, of JPD Taxis, said he feared he and other drivers would have to “pack in” because of the changes.
North Yorkshire Council will replace North Yorkshire County Council and seven district councils, including Harrogate Borough Council, at the end of the month.
The drivers all said the new system was being introduced for the convenience of the council rather than for drivers because it was easier to manage than the current district-wide system.
Richard Fieldman
The taxi drivers said they would continue to oppose the changes until the new system begins next month.
Ripon cabbie Richard Fieldman criticised North Yorkshire County Council’s defence of the changes:
“They keep relating to Department for Transport best practice guide, but have chosen to leave bits of it out to suit them, ie it states that in areas where licence limits are in place, they should firstly conduct an unmet demand survey to see if there is any latent demand, before proceeding with the policy; they have failed to do that.“The fact is, they have totally ignored the result of the consultation, which concluded 52% are against it.”
‘A coherent regulatory framework’
“The hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy incorporates the Department for Transport’s best practice guidance and statutory standards, to ensure that the public continues to be provided with safe and accessible vehicles. It also provides a coherent regulatory framework for the trade across the county.
“As a single local authority for North Yorkshire, we must ensure hackney carriage and private hire licence holders and taxi operators across the county are treated equally.
“Introducing one hackney carriage zone for North Yorkshire will provide drivers with the flexibility to operate across the county and serve these rural areas, create environmental efficiencies with the potential for fewer empty journeys, a wider distribution of wheelchair-accessible vehicles, as well as efficiency savings for the council, with one set of fees and fares.
“All responses to the consultation have been considered. And feedback from customers, and even some of the trade, has suggested that at peak times there is a lack of taxis to serve busy periods. Introducing a single zone should overcome this lack of provision and allow customers to get to their destination safely.”
Cllr Derek Bastiman
“Understandably, there is apprehension from some of the trade of hotspot areas, but evidence from other authorities who have followed a similar approach has indicated that any negative impacts tend to level out over time.
“We have considered the view of the Competition and Markets Authority, supported by the Department for Transport, and imposing hackney carriage quantity restrictions can reduce availability and increase waiting times.
“There is no expectation that quantity restrictions for hackney carriages would continue indefinitely and any proposed sale of vehicles* between proprietors are carried out independently from the council and at their own risk. These sales show people wish to enter the trade to provide a service to the public but are being prevented from doing so by the quantity restrictions.
“We also want to ensure adequate provision of wheelchair-accessible vehicles across the county and have agreed to work in consultation with the North Yorkshire disability forum and develop and maintain an inclusive service plan within 12 months to ensure everyone has access to hackney carriage and private hire vehicles. Until such time, licence renewal and new licence fees for wheelchair-accessible vehicles have been waived.
“The new hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy is a baseline for the new authority, and will be kept under review, as there may be further developments and consultation in the future.”
A Ripon cabbie has said new rules governing local taxi drivers will be a “disaster” for drivers and people relying on the service in rural areas.
North Yorkshire County Council is next week expected to 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.
But their looming abolition on April 1 prompted councillors to run a consultation between October 25 and January 16 on a new policy that would harmonise the rules across North Yorkshire.
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.”
Mr Fieldman also criticised the council’s proposal to end the current restrictions on the number of hackney carriages — even though 45% of consultees opposed this. The Harrogate district limit is currently 148.
He said this would encourage private hire taxi drivers to switch to hackney carriages to avoid their £132 a year operator’s licence, which would “flood the limited space there is already”.
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Mr Fieldman also hit out at draft new rules that would mean hackney carriage licence holders have to get three MOTs a year on cars that are more than seven years old. Currently vehicles up between five and nine-years-old have to have two MOTs a year.
A council spokesman said the new policy incorporated Department for Transport’s taxi and private hire vehicle best practice guidance and allowed the market to determine the level of supply.
He added:
“Despite a fear from the trade of ‘hotspot’ areas, evidence from other authorities that have followed a similar approach has indicated that any negative impacts tend to level out over time.”
Cllr Carl Les
The Conservative leader of North Yorkshire County Council, Cllr Carl Les, said:
“The hackney carriage and private hire licensing policy for North Yorkshire plays an integral part in demonstrating the new council’s commitment to ensuring that the public is provided with safe and accessible hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.
“As a single local authority for North Yorkshire, it also ensures hackney carriage and private hire licence holders and taxi operators across the county are treated equally.
If approved by the county council’s executive next week, the new policy will be adopted from April 1, along with a single set of licensing fees for both hackney carriage and private hire vehicles and a maximum set of fares for hackney carriages.
Taxi licensing changes will cause ‘chaos’, says Ripon cabbie
A Ripon taxi driver has said plans for a single licensing policy for North Yorkshire will lead to “chaos”.
Under proposals just put forward, the new North Yorkshire Council would create a single licensing policy for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles in the entire county.
It would mean drivers in Harrogate could operate anywhere in North Yorkshire whereas they are currently restricted to the Harrogate district.
Richard Fieldman, who has operated his cab in Ripon for 28 years, said the planned changes would see drivers “swamp” areas during the busiest times of day.
Mr Fieldman said the move would see quieter areas deprived of taxis during the busier times.
He said:
“It will mean that any taxi can work in any area.
“You are going to have swamps of taxis in busy areas at busy times. That in itself brings chaos.”
Mr Fieldman added that he feared the council could introduce a single fare rate for the county, which he said would make business “unviable” for drivers.
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The Stray Ferret has approached North Yorkshire County Council for comment.
County council officials said the planned policy would offer drivers “flexibility to operate across the county”.
The authority has launched a public consultation on the changes, which is set to last for 12 weeks.
A review of fare rates across the county will be carried out at a later date.
The council said in a statement:
“In accordance with the Department for Transport’s best practice guidance, it is proposed that the new council will operate one hackney carriage ‘zone’ for North Yorkshire.
“Thereby providing drivers with the flexibility to operate across the county, encouraging environmental efficiencies and creating a wider distribution of wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
“There are no plans to impose hackney carriage quantity restrictions on the creation of a new single zone. Hackney carriage fares and fees will also be reviewed at a later date.”
A consultation into the policy changes is open until January 19, 2023. You can have your say here.