Harrogate district taxi drivers hit out at ‘unfair’ penalty points proposal

Taxi drivers in the Harrogate district have hit out at “unfair” plans that could see them lose their licences if they get seven or more penalty points.

Harrogate Borough Council has put forward the proposal for approval at a full council meeting tomorrow in a move which it says is “reasonable” and will improve safety for passengers.

But cabbies argue the policy is too severe and will result in a further loss of drivers in the district.

Kevin O’Boyle, owner of Central Taxis, described the proposals as “draconian” and said it will become “far too easy” for drivers to lose their licences.

He also argued cabbies are more likely to pick up points than regular road users because they spend more time on the roads. Mr O’Boyle said:

“There’s a serious shortage of taxi drivers and this just isn’t going to help.

“I’ve done between 2.5 million and 3 million miles, and the chances of me getting points are much greater than the average driver.

“If you’re driving in a strange place that you don’t know too well, it’s easy to drift over the speed limit by a couple of miles per hour.”

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Under the proposals, drivers would still be given the chance to argue their case and give reasons why their licence should not be revoked.

Currently, the council said licences are reviewed on “an individual basis when points accumulate”.

It also said there is no minimum or maximum time that licences can be revoked for and that drivers can re-apply at any time.

Passenger safety

Speaking at a recent meeting, Gareth Bentley, licensing manager at the council, said while he recognised the concerns over a reduction in drivers, this had to be balanced against the safety of passengers.

He also said taxi drivers had to be treated differently to regular road users as “they are in an elevated position in terms of looking after people’s safety.” Mr Bentley added:

“There is a higher responsibility and a higher need for us to ensure safety.”

The proposals have been put forward as part of new statutory standards from the Department for Transport which all councils are expected to adopt unless there are “compelling reasons” not to.

However, the standards are silent on how many penalty points a taxi driver can get before their licence is revoked, and it’s up to individual councils to decide this.

Nearby in Leeds, hundreds of drivers have gone on strikes over similar proposals that could see them suspended if they get more than six points.

‘People will leave the trade’

Harrogate Borough Council held a consultation on its seven points policy during February and March when it received comments from several drivers, one of which described the plans as “unfair”.

The driver said:

“It’s just another example of one rule for everyone else and one for us as we are at the bottom of the food chain.”

Another added:

“The taxi trade is getting harder year on year with longer hours for less reward and councils are doing nothing to help.

“The long term result will be people leaving the trade.”

The policy has been recommended for approval by the council’s licensing committee at tomorrow’s full council meeting.

Harrogate district taxi fares to rise by 5% to help drivers with ‘crippling’ costs

Taxi fares are set to rise in the Harrogate district after the council-backed drivers’ calls for an increase to help cover soaring fuel costs which this month hit another record high.

The 5% fare rise will come into force from May 1 if no objections are raised.

It will make the Harrogate district the 14th most expensive council area for fares in the UK, according to a council report.

The rise was approved by Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, councillor Mike Chambers, on Tuesday after requests from several drivers.

This included Richard Fieldman, owner of A1 Cars Ripon, who said fuel prices have been “crippling” for the trade and that while he welcomed the decision, it should have been made sooner.

He said:

“I’m very pleased to see this passed because it is exactly what we asked for, even though the fare formula showed we needed a 11% rise to cover our costs.

“One thing that has really disgruntled me though is the length of time it is taking to implement this.

“I made the request in November and by the time it is introduced, it will be nearly a year and a half since our last increase in December 2020.

“In this current time when drivers are shouldering rising expenses and some are leaving the trade because they can’t make it pay, it is appalling for the council to show no urgency.”

Kevin O’Boyle, owner of Central Taxis and the longest holder of a taxi license in the Harrogate district, also welcomed the 5% increase which he said struck a balance between the needs of customers and drivers.

He said: 

“We realise the fare formula said we needed a 11.4% rise, but times are not normal and everyone is having to bite the bullet.

“We as drivers felt 11.4% would be too great for the public – and while we would have gained more money in fares, we would have had people stopping using taxis because they would be too dear.”

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Fuel is the biggest expense for taxi drivers and petrol prices at the pumps reached 148.02p a litre at the weekend, while diesel hit a new record high of 151.57p a litre last Thursday.

This comes after a big drop in taxi earnings during the Covid lockdowns when some drivers abandoned the trade for other work.

Last November it was estimated that as many as 60 drivers in the Harrogate district quit with many now in new jobs and little desire to return.

Mr Fieldman said the 5% rise would go “some way” to keep drivers in their jobs as he also expressed hopes that trade will pick up after winter.

He said:

“We are still struggling and I just hope as we get into spring things improve for the trade and that drivers will be able to carry on and make it profitable.”

The 5% rise will be on the running mile and waiting times of journeys, and there will also be an increase in starting prices from £3.40 to £3.60.

It means customers will pay a maximum of £5.37 for a one mile journey, or £24.27 for 10 miles.

A council spokesperson said:

“We are required to strike a balance between setting a fare that is acceptable to the customer and the taxi driver.

“These proposed fares are currently out for public comment, and should there be no objections, the changes will be implemented on 1 May.”

Councillors back calls for 5% increase in Harrogate district taxi fares

Councillors have backed calls for a 5% increase in taxi fares to help cover soaring fuel prices and a drop in earnings for drivers during the covid pandemic.

The rise request was made to Harrogate Borough Council whose cabinet member for housing and safer communities, Cllr Mike Chambers, will now make a final decision whether prices should go up.

If approved, the increase would make the Harrogate district the 14th most expensive council area in the UK for taxi fares, according to national trade newspaper Private Hire and Taxi Monthly.

However, local taxi drivers have argued the district’s position is not as high for journeys above two miles.

Speaking at a meeting of the council’s licensing committee on Wednesday, Cllr John Mann, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Pannal, said he appreciated that prices may be higher than some areas but taxi drivers needed support.

He said: 

“We seem to be in the middle of a cost of living crisis at the moment and we are all aware prices are going up rapidly.

“If you are a taxi driver all of this is not good because it eats into your profit. I do have sympathy with the trade.”

Cllr Sue Lumby, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Coppice Valley, added: 

“If the trade is not profitable, no one is going to do it.

“It may help the public to have the rise if it means we keep the taxi drivers.”

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The 5% rise would be on the running mile and waiting times of journeys, and there would also be an increase in starting prices from £3.40 to £3.60 if approved.

The request comes after warnings that as many as 50 taxi drivers in the Harrogate district quit during the previous lockdowns and many have now found new jobs with little desire to return to the trade.

Last year also saw record costs for both petrol and diesel in the UK, with diesel hitting prices of over £1.50 per litre for the first time in history.

Driver shortages

During a consultation held in September, drivers said the trade had been “badly affected” by rising costs, not just on fuel but also vehicle prices and parts.

One driver told the council:

“Needless to say we are trading in difficult circumstances due to increasing costs, driver shortages and backlogs at DVLA and other agencies which is hindering the testing of new drivers.

“Although fuel prices seem to be rising on a daily basis one has to accept this trend cannot continue indefinitely.”

The consultation was held with 500 taxi drivers, although only 30 responses were received.

Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting, Gareth Bentley, licensing manager at the council, said this was a “fairly normal” response rate for consultations held with the trade.

He added: 

“Clearly the trade is finding running vehicles considerably more expensive now.

“We do start from quite a high point in terms of our fares at the moment – and we have got to balance the needs of the travelling public with the trade’s ability to make a reasonable living.”

Council to issue more wheelchair taxi licences to tackle shortfall

The number of hackney carriage licences in Harrogate looks set to increase for the first time in 30 years to improve taxi options for people with disabilities and those who require wheelchairs.

Harrogate Borough Council has licensed 148 hackney carriage cabs since around 1988 but only 11 have wheelchair access.

A council study in March found wheelchair users faced “increasing difficulty obtaining the services” of suitable taxis.

At a licensing committee meeting last night, the local authority pledged to take action.

Cllr John Mann, a member of the committee, said he felt the number of dedicated wheelchair vehicle licences needed to be increased.

He said:

“I think this is a very difficult issue and it is replicated across the district and in other big towns.

“I do think we need to increase the supply of wheelchair vehicles for wheelchair users. At the same time, we need to protect the sustainability of the local taxi trade.”

Because the council caps the number of hackney carriage licenses, the only way to obtain one is to buy an existing vehicle – which the council said can inflate the price by £10,000 or more.

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In a letter to the council’s licensing committee, Garry Sadler-Simpson, chairman of Mainline Taxi Association, said it could be difficult to recruit drivers for wheelchair accessible vehicles because the vehicles were less profitable.

The vehicles cost more to buy, he said, and generated at least a quarter less per mile than saloon cabs. He added:

“Add to this the length of time spent on each job making sure your passenger is comfortable and safe at both sides of each job and it can be another reason for drivers of these vehicles taking far less money than their standard car workmates. 

“It does not take too long for some to want to move on to other vehicles.”

However, Mr Sadler-Simpson added the issue needed to be resolved.

The council agreed to issue 12 more licences for wheelchair accessible hackney carriages to increase supply. It said it would review the impact of the new licences in 12 months time.

Although the council cannot force taxi firms to provide more journeys to wheelchair users, it said its measures would help to increase supply.

The committee also agreed that the maximum length of a hackney carriage with wheelchair access should be increased to 5.2 metres and that the council continue to publish contact details of firms which offer wheelchair accessible taxis.

A further report will come back to the committee with more detail on the proposal at a later date before a final decision is made at a full council meeting.

Harrogate taxi firms hoping demand will start to increase

Two taxi firms in Harrogate that have run an essential service during the pandemic, are hoping that demand will increase as we ease out of lockdown.

The firms have offered extra services over lockdown including 24/7 phone lines and a shopping service for the elderly and shielding.

They have put safety measures in place including drivers and clients wearing masks and customers are asked to sit in the back seat.

Tracie Geelan who works for Elite Taxis told The Stray Ferret  that the firm has continued to run during lockdown:

“We are doing more to support our older clients, our drivers are even taking shopping orders over the phone and doing that for them too. We also have one of our directors Paul who rings all of our shielding customers weekly to check in and say hello to give them someone to talk to.

“We’ve had different requests during the pandemic, for example, driving to Heathrow airport to pick up customers after they’ve been stranded abroad or we had one client who was stuck on a cruise boat and wasn’t sure where it would dock. So we put one driver on standby who left as soon as we knew where the boat had docked.”

One of the directors of Elite Taxis, Paul Cox, has been ringing his shielding clients weekly to give them someone to talk to.

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Another taxi firm in Harrogate, Blue Line taxis, has

“We are still fulfilling contracts with some schools, especially those with parents that are key workers. We have kept our offices open 24/7 so customers hear a human voice rather than an automatic message when they ring us, its normally hospital staff that ring us overnight and we want to make sure we’re maintaining a high level of service.

“Things are getting back to normal but people are still frightened to come out. It won’t happen in a month or two but we’re optimistic business will pick up again.”