boring non story really planned hike in taxi licence fees in Wrexham could be dropped amid concerns over the financial impact on drivers.
Councillors agreed to proposals to increase charges for black cab and private hire vehicle licences in January last year.
The move would have seen fees for new hackney carriage licences go up from £168 to £243, while renewals would have risen from the same amount to £234.
Meanwhile, private vehicle operators would have had to fork out £238 for a licence instead of £186, with renewals rising to £230.
However, the introduction of the changes was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Members of Wrexham Council’s licensing committee are now being asked not to implement the news fees in light of the impact of the pandemic.
In response to a consultation held in March last year, one taxi company owner warned the uplift could lead to drivers leaving the industry.
The unnamed individual said: “I operate and own nine hackney vehicles along with 78 private hire vehicles and this increase is going to have a massive impact on my company.
“There will be no way of offloading these costs onto the drivers or the general public.
“If we were to try and offload the costs due to these new fees being implemented, I can see drivers leaving this industry, which at the moment is a very hard industry to keep afloat in Wrexham.
“Trying to recruit new drivers is also a massive hurdle and this will only make things worse.”
The council had also intended to introduce a £20 administrative fee to cover the cost of replacement vehicle plates or registering a change of address.
The local authority said it had missed out on approximately £30,000 through not increasing charges as planned.
But chief planning and regulatory officer Lawrence Isted said in a report said pushing ahead would have put more pressure on taxi drivers.
He said: “In the ordinary course of events the consultation responses would have been considered following the close of the consultation at the end of March 2020.
“If confirmed, the fee increases would have been implemented from around the beginning of July 2020.
“However, the pandemic has had a very significant adverse financial impact on the taxi trade and any increase in vehicle fees would have imposed further financial pressure.”
The assessment which led to the previous licence fee proposals was carried out nearly two years ago.
Mr Isted said a fresh review would need to be carried out to ensure full costs can be recovered in future.
The recommendations will be considered by licensing committee members when they meet today (December 20, 2021).
Any further planned changes to licence charges will be presented to the committee following next year’s local elections in May.so get themselves re-elected then whack the trade 
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