A crackdown on taxi safety in the Ribble Valley has resulted in three vehicles being taken off the road due to "serious" defects.

Joint operations with Ribble Valley Borough Council's taxi enforcement officers and the DVSA, saw 11 licensed vehicles, a mix of hackney carriages and private hire, subjected to rigorous spot checks.

While eight vehicles passed the inspection, three were found to be non-compliant, highlighting concerns over passenger safety.

"One Ribble Valley licensed hackney carriage was found to have two tyres with tread depth below the legal limit," officials reported.

Also "a Blackburn with Darwen licensed private hire vehicle operating in the borough had an insecure passenger seat."

Both of these vehicles were immediately suspended, only returning to service after repairs.

A further Ribble Valley licensed private hire vehicle was flagged for a faulty indicator, rectified on-site, and an ABS fault, which was repaired within six days.

Councillor Ian Brown, chair of the council’s licensing committee, emphasised the importance of these checks, stating: "The majority of taxi operators make sure their vehicles are properly looked after and safe to be on our roads. These regular checks help make sure those standards are maintained, and highlight those vehicles that don’t meet the grade and take them off the road if necessary."

The council has also issued passenger safety advice, urging riders to "ensure the driver is wearing an identification badge that has not expired, and checking the driver's identity against the photograph on the badge," to ensure they are using legitimate and safe services.

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London's hackney carriage fares are set to rise significantly next month, with a 5.05% increase across tariffs and a 40p jump in the minimum fare, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.

The changes, effective from 26 April, come as drivers grapple with escalating operating costs.

The minimum fare will climb from £3.80 to £4.20, impacting journeys under 85.2 metres. Subsequent tariffs will also see a 5.05% increase, with tariff four mirroring tariff two rates. This translates to approximate per-mile costs of £3.97 for tariff one, £4.80 for tariffs two and four, and £5.08 for tariff three.

The black cab community has largely welcomed the move.

"So there can be no confusion, the UCG holds the view, that we are fully entitled to the tariff increase, after all we’ve laid that money out. Our tariff is a year in arrears," posted the United Cabbies Group on X.

One driver echoed the sentiment, stating: "Any driver not wanting the increase needs to give their head a wobble. We deserve every penny!!"

Drivers cited rising expenses as justification for the hike. "100% to an increase. I pay more for everything I use," one commented, while another argued: "Drivers naturally have differing views. Mine is I very much welcome the increase and don’t think it’ll make a jot of difference to who chooses a black cab or not. Prices increase across all businesses, ours should be no different."

TfL defended the increase, stating it aims to "strike a balance between taxi drivers being fairly paid and taxi passengers getting fair and affordable fares."

The changes follow a consultation period between October and December 2023, and final approval by TfL's Finance Committee on 26 February.

Further adjustments include an increase in the Heathrow Airport drop-off charge from £5.20 to £6, and a reduction in the "Heathrow extra" charge from £3.60 to £2.

These changes come as the number of licensed taxi drivers in London has fallen to a new low of 16,816.

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Local authorities in the Midlands are set to roll out thousands of electric vehicle chargers thanks to more than £40m in Government funding. The approved projects consist of three groups comprising 13 local authorities:

Derby City £1,758,000

Derbyshire County Council £6,604,000

Lincolnshire County Council £5,620,000

Herefordshire Council £1,124,000

Nottingham City Council £1,704,000

Nottinghamshire County Council £5,522,000

Staffordshire County Council £4,588,000

Stoke-on-Trent City Council £2,693,000

Telford & Wrekin Council £1,020,000

Worcestershire County Council £3,481,000

Warwickshire County Council £3,295,000

Leicestershire County Council £3,151,000

Rutland County Council £257,000

Investment to boost charging infrastructure in cities, towns and rural areas, particularly for those without access to driveways comes on top of £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to electric.

Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “Making charging as seamless and as easy as possible is a crucial to making the switch to electric a success, and rolling out over 16,000 chargers across the Midlands will make driving an EV cheaper and easier, especially for those without a driveway.

“Electric vehicles will power growth, cut emissions and improve lives in the Midlands and beyond, as we continue to deliver our Plan for Change.”

The announcement follows a particularly positive week for electric vehicles, with £120m confirmed to help drivers and businesses buy zero-emission vans, taxis and electric motorcycles.

The UK’s public chargepoint network continues to grow every day, with over 74k public chargers now available across the country and a record of nearly 20k added last year alone.

With £200 million announced at Budget to continue powering the chargepoint rollout and £6 billion of private investment in the pipeline, the UK’s charging network will continue to see hundreds of thousands of chargers added in the coming years, delivering resilient infrastructure so that EV owners can drive with the confidence that they’re always close to a chargepoint.

With over 382k EVs sold in 2024 – up a fifth on the previous year – the UK is the largest EV market in Europe. There’s never been a better time to switch to EVs, with one in three used electric cars under £20,000 and 21 brand new electric cars RRP under £30,000.

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A Salford licensed private hire driver, Mr Arif Mohammad, has pleaded guilty at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court following a complaint from a member of the public, which Salford City Council Licensing Service investigated.

The complainant reported that Mr Mohammad had overcharged her for a private hire journey having attended a concert at Bolton Stadium in July 2023.

Following the event, the complainant had approached Mr Mohammad’s private hire vehicle and asked if he could take her and three other people to a hotel. Mr Mohammad agreed to the journey without there being a booking in place with a private hire operator.

The law requires that all private hire journeys are booked through a private hire operator. Failure to do so can result in the driver’s motor insurance being invalid.

When interviewed in respect of the suspected offence, Mr Arif Mohammad admitted offering the journey without a booking through a private hire operator, describing it as a "big mistake", stating he was "very sorry".

Salford City Council is responsible for regulating taxi and private hire drivers licensed with the authority. Criminal offences committed by licensees whilst working as taxi and private hire drivers are regarded as extremely serious, particularly the offence of illegally plying for hire.

The offence can lead to a licence being suspended or revoked or an application to renew the licence being refused.

Mr Mohammad has been ordered to pay £400 in fines, £1,200 in costs and a victim surcharge of £160. The offence related to a breach of: The town and Police clauses Act 1847

Councillor Barbara Bentham, Salford City Council's Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, Environment and Community Safety said: “Taxi and private hire services are an important part of the transport network, and we thank all of our licensees that operate to a safe and high standard.

"Drivers have a duty to operate in accordance with the law and the conditions of their licence and the authority will not hesitate to take enforcement action where necessary. As a reminder, a private hire vehicle must always be booked through a licensed operator.”

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North Yorkshire Council's proposal to mandate wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs) for new taxi registrations has ignited a debate, with taxi drivers calling for more research and warning of potential trade damage.

The council aims to increase the number of WAV taxis, currently standing at approximately 70, or one for every 9,000 residents, a ratio significantly lower than other rural authorities.

The council's consultation proposes requiring all new taxi registrations to be WAVs, electric, or potentially hybrid vehicles, with the goal of reaching a ratio of one WAV for every 2,000 to 3,000 residents, necessitating around 200 additional WAVs.

However, Richard Fieldman, representing the North Yorkshire Taxi Drivers group, comprising around 100 members, argues that the policy could lead to a decline in taxi availability.

"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," he stated.

"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.”

Fieldman is calling for an "unmet demand survey" to accurately assess taxi demand across the region. "The council has done no research at all other than look at what other councils have done," he claimed.

“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.”

He also advocates for allowing Euro 6 petrol and diesel vehicles, which meet stringent EU emissions standards.

Conversely, Disability Action Yorkshire is urging public participation in the consultation, emphasising the need for accessible transportation.

Chief Executive Jackie Snape highlighted the challenges faced by disabled individuals: "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.”

Councillor Greg White, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for licensing, acknowledged the difficulties faced by passengers requiring accessible vehicles.

"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," he 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.”

The consultation period runs until Wednesday, 30 April, and further details can be found at www.northyorks.gov.uk/taxi-consultation.

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