£200 worth of free training offered in bid to recruit more York taxi drivers

York City Council has secured Government funding to help prevent violence against women and girls and to recruit more licensed taxi drivers for the city.

The funding includes £200 worth of free training each for the first 50 applicants before 31 March.

The funding has been made available to ensure enough licensed taxi services are available in the city. This comes as numbers of drivers have dropped during the pandemic and concerns have been raised about safe travel being available.

The council is therefore supporting York’s taxi trade by urging more people to consider the flexibility that driving offers in terms of working hours and earning potential, and to become a driver.

A condition for the funding is that the free training and follow up test on local knowledge must be booked before this financial year’s end on 31 March. Applicants who can do this will also have the fee for the required Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check paid by the council if it’s completed before 31 March too.

Whether driving self-employed in a Hackney cab or working for one of York’s licensed private hire operators, the requirements are a valid car driver’s licence with no more than seven points on it, no history of serious offending and a desire to help people travel safely. Drivers can licence their own vehicle or they can contact local operators to see what help is available to drive one of their vehicles.

Cllr Andy D’Agorne, Executive Member for Transport, said: "York’s licensed taxi drivers make an important contribution to the city by supporting people to make safe travel choices.

"The job offers many benefits including flexibility and considerable earning potential. So if you are a great driver, want to work the hours you choose, be your own boss and make good money, please get in touch!

“Among the £200 worth of free training we offered ahead of the Government’s deadline of 31 March, are incentives including grants of up to £3,000 to buy hybrid taxis and funding to support running costs of fully electric taxis.”