The cost of catching a taxi in Craven is set to rise for the first time in a decade.

Craven District Council’s licensing committee has approved a 33 per cent rise on fares after the last increase was introduced in 2012.

The rise will come into force from 25 May and means the cost of a two mile trip will go up from £5.30 to around £7.

It follows warnings from taxi drivers who said they have been “on their knees” during the Covid pandemic and struggled to earn more than the minimum wage due to high fuel and parts costs.

But one driver told a council meeting on Thursday that fares shouldn’t go up by too much in order to keep customers interested.

He said: “I think a 50 per cent price rise is maybe a little bit too much.

“We don’t want to be in a position where we are losing trade. A price rise of a third on the original tariff would be more realistic and help us to retain some of the customers we already have.”

Councillor Simon Myers, chairman of the licensing committee, said: “A 50 per cent rise I think would make you the most expensive taxi drivers in North Yorkshire, which may not be the publicity you want.”