THE cost of catching a taxi in Craven will rise next week for the first time in a decade.

Craven Council’s licensing committee has approved a 33 per cent rise in fares, after the last increase was introduced in 2012.

The increase, which comes into force on Wednesday (May 25), means the cost of a two-mile trip is going up from £5.30 to around £7.

It follows warnings from taxi drivers who said they have been “on their knees” during the pandemic and struggled to earn more than the minimum wage due to high fuel and parts costs.

But one driver told the committee that fares shouldn’t go up by too much in order to keep customers interested.

He said: “We don’t want to be in a position where we are losing trade. A price rise of a third on the original tariff is realistic and will help us to retain some of the customers we already have.”

It is up to the taxi trade to make requests to the council in order for a fare rise to be considered. The latest request was made in November 2021.

This was followed by a consultation – which received just nine responses from taxi drivers and members of the public.

Skipton South councillor Robert Heseltine told the meeting: “This is a significant fare increase, but the consultation comes across to me as though the public is just apathetic about it.

“Yet as soon as they get in a cab and realise how much more they are being charged, there will be an outcry.”

The consultation was held in March and advertised in the media and on the council’s website and social media channels. All licensed taxi drivers were also contacted directly, the council said.

The 33 per cent rise also applies to soiling charges, waiting times and call out charges for taxi journeys.

Councillor Simon Myers, chair of the licensing committee and deputy leader of the council, said the committee would be happy to look at a further fare increase later this year if fuel and parts costs means the 33 per cent rise is “eroded” for the taxi trade.

He told drivers at the meeting: “If you feel that you are suffering, come back to the licensing committee because we want to help the taxi service in Craven.

“We don’t expect you to do it for nothing.”

For more about the new fares, visit cravendc.gov.uk/licensing/taxi-and-hackney-carriages/hackney-carriage-table-of-fares.