Barnsley Council agrees taxi fare increase

The Hackney Carriage Association submitted a request to Barnsley Council’s licensing department to increase the base rate by 40p to bring hackney carriage fares in line with private hire charges.

The association says the price hike would help towards the “significant rise” in fuel costs, running costs and insurance.

This means that the first mile of a journey will increase from £3.80 to £4.20, although it has not been made clear when the charges will come into effect.

Evening fares will also begin at 8pm rather than 11pm, to encourage drivers to work unsociable hours, and the “super rate” to begin at 1am, instead of 3am.

During today’s meeting of the council’s general licensing regulatory board, councillor David Greenhough said he fully supported the rise, adding that “being a taxi driver is bloody hard way to earn a living”.

“It’s not easy,” coun Greenhough added.

“You’ve got a lot of expense before you even earn a single penny.”

Councillor Tim Shepherd also supported the increase, and told the meeting that the council had to consider the “viability of the town as a whole”.

“We want to drive this town forward, and part of driving this town forward would be to increase the night-time economy and increase the availability of taxis,” Coun Shepherd added.

Councillor Steve Hunt added: “The small number of comments received [during the public consultation] indicates to me that the residents on Barnsley aren’t particularly troubled about this increase.

“We have just spent £200m on the Glass Works, we have a facility which rivals Leeds and Sheffield. We have a great night-time offer.

“But what if, after a night out, people can’t get home safely? We need to ensure that there’s sufficient taxis otherwise leisure consumers may go elsewhere.”

Councillor Margaret Bruff said that she “had some concerns” on behalf of elderly residents, who use taxis to do their shopping.

Councillor Bruff added that she found the increase “excessive”, adding: “We’ve got a lot of other businesses are struggling. We’ve all had problems during the lockdown period.

“Our work increased tenfold during lockdown. We were having to go out in our cars……we’ve had to absorb that cost within our own budgets.

“I’m not saying that they shouldn’t have an increase, I think it’s excessive.”