Torbay's taxi campaign starts to return results

But more drivers are still needed

Torbay Council’s campaign to make up for the shortfall in taxi drivers in the Bay has started to return results – but more drivers are still needed.

In July the council slashed the cost of application fees for a taxi licence from £349 to £50 for the first 50 people who came forward. It formed part of a bid to make up for the increased demand for taxis as restrictions eased and the number of drivers fell.

The council has so far recruited 18 of its target of 50 drivers, with 12 other applications at various stages of the application process. The licence fee discount is first-come first-served and is due to expire on 31 December.

A Torbay Council spokesperson said: “Recruiting 50 new drivers has always been an aspirational target… Where elements of the process are managed by Torbay Council, we are endeavouring to expedite matters, where feasible.  

“We are conscious the shortage of drivers is an issue which impacts nationally, and we are keeping the situation under review.”

Councillor Christine Carter (Liberal Democrat, Roundham with Hyde), cabinet member for corporate and community services, praised the results so far. “This is really positive news for local people and Torbay visitors alike, all due to the successful response to the reduced fee initiative,” she said.

“To have 18 new taxi licenses allocated to drivers now working across the Bay in just three months is a great result.”

Leader of the opposition Dave Thomas (Conservative, Preston) is also in favour of the scheme. He said: “I’m surprised the numbers weren’t a lot greater to be honest.

“There is a need for more taxi drivers. I thought those 50 spaces would have been swamped immediately. Clearly, that’s not been the case but there’s still time for people to get involved.

“There’s a lot of jobs available in the industry. The sooner they can be filled, the better for everybody.”