Local taxi drivers are feeling “bitter” about North Yorkshire Council’s proposals regarding the future of taxi licenses.
The proposed changes would only allow new taxi registrations for wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs), electric vehicles (EVs), or potentially hybrid vehicles, with the aim of increasing accessibility.
However, taxi drivers warn that these changes could “push drivers out of the trade and discourage new drivers”, leading to fewer taxis available for everyone.
The council launched a consultation survey, which was distributed to both taxi drivers and residents of North Yorkshire, to assess the need for WAVs.
The council currently licenses around 70 WAV taxis, which is one for every 9,000 residents. By comparison, other rural authorities have one WAV for every 2,000 to 3,000 people.
To achieve a similar ratio, the council estimates that about 200 more WAVs would need to be licensed.
Graham Watson, from G’s Taxis, told YorkMix that the proposals have not been properly thought through. He explained that the vehicles the council is mandating aren’t suitable for all journeys or passengers.
He noted that electric vehicles don’t have the range for long trips or rural areas, and that there aren’t enough EV charging points across the UK for drivers to rely on.
“Parliament themselves stated in the house last year ‘that the UK government has not met its targets for EV chargers throughout the UK and that there are not enough charging points,’” Graham said.
He also pointed out that his Ford Tourneo Custom allows him to travel to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and the Port of Southampton without stopping.
“There isn’t one EV available as a taxi that will do that without stopping and charging,” Graham added.
Accounting for all customers
Although Graham currently operates a WAV, purchased in 2020 when other taxi licensing laws were in place, he believes they don’t accommodate a large group of customers.
“Some people cannot or just will not travel in WAVs,” he said. “Corporate business people don’t want to travel in them, and a lot of older customers cannot access them because they’re too high up for them to step in.”
Graham also highlights that because there’s such a wide variety of wheelchair designs, which come with specific transportation needs, the one-size-fits-all WAV requirement fails to accommodate this diversity.
In his four years of owning the WAV, Graham said he has only ever carried two passengers in a wheelchair.
“I’ll go out and turn up to find that the wheelchair is either too wide, too heavy, too long, too high, it’s unstable for the vehicle, or there’s no locking points on it. So I can’t do the job,” he explained.
“There are so many different variations of wheelchairs, I don’t believe the council have actually sat down with the Disability Forum of North Yorkshire to look at the different designs of wheelchairs. Because if they had, they would have to rethink the policy.”
High Costs
The high cost of WAVs is also a major concern for drivers.
Richard Fieldman, who represents around 100 members of the North Yorkshire Taxi Drivers group, agrees that the proposals would result in fewer taxis for everyone.
He said, “The policy isn’t going to create more wheelchair vehicles, all it’s going to do is put a lot of people out of the trade.
“By forcing this onto drivers you’re just creating a bigger problem because a lot of drivers like me who are in their 60s won’t make that kind of investment needed to buy a WAV.
“They’ll just retire early or go find another job.”
Graham also expressed concern for new entrants to the trade, who would likely not be able to afford the new policies.
“If I replaced my vehicle, like for like, it would cost me £68,000 pounds. I paid £33,000 for this brand new four years ago,” he said.
The costs of meters, pods, grab rails, and side steps, plate fees and tests would also need to be covered before drivers could start earning.
Graham told YorkMix, “For someone new coming into the business, a youngster who is probably going to want to do it for 5-20 years, they’re not going to be able to find that sort of money.
“You’re not allowed personal finance on a taxi, so they would have to have business finance which has bigger interest rates and you need a business bank account.
“So there’s lots of things that make it totally unaffordable.”
Richard believes the council has done little research other than look at what other councils have done.
He said, “If you ask the general public they will tell you they can’t get a taxi when they want them, just the same as wheelchair users are saying.”
Both Graham and Richard, along with other taxi drivers, are calling for an unmet demand survey to find out the true demand for taxis across North Yorkshire.
“Myself, Richard, and the executive committee have asked the council to do an unmet survey, paid for by the taxi drivers,” Graham stated.
However, the council has indicated the consultation will end before the unmet survey could be conducted, making it too late to influence the proposals.
Charity Disability Action Yorkshire
Meanwhile, Charity Disability Action Yorkshire is urging the public to contribute to the consultation on wheelchair-accessible taxis.
Chief executive Jackie Snape said, “For many of us, calling a taxi is the answer to a simple need.
“We want a convenient, economic service that will take us to our destination.
“However, for disabled people, the provision of wheelchair-accessible licensed taxis across the district is low, and the alternatives are expensive specialist private hire vehicles which are beyond the means of most disabled people.”
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for licensing, Cllr Greg White, recognised the difficulties that disabled passengers faced.
“It can affect their mental health and leave them isolated, so we need to ensure the trade serves everybody, regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion, or sex,” Cllr White said.
“We recognise that taxis should be accessible to all, and we need to strike a balance that supports users and is feasible for the trade to adopt.
“Although WAV provision is typically lower in rural authorities than in urban areas, we know that we can do better.”
Alternatives
While Graham acknowledges the need for more accessible vehicles, he believes alternative solutions could be implemented.
He suggests setting new targets for WAVs rather than enforcing a blanket rule for all new licenses.
“The council could say the next 50 cars that North Yorkshire Council registers will have to be wheelchair accessible. Really, we only need nine throughout the whole of North Yorkshire to abide by the government’s figures, so maybe even the next 10,” Graham proposed.
He also urges the council to provide financial incentives or grants to help drivers acquire WAVs.
“They could give new drivers money off wheelchair accessible vehicles, or introduce a grant, or free licensing or plates. There’s lots of things the North Yorkshire Council could do to help new people coming on board,” Graham added.
The consultation is set to run until Wednesday 30 April.