TAXI drivers will have to pay an extra £50 to stay on the roads of Torfaen from April, with the cost of licences to rise to £365.

The charge will apply at the same rate to existing drivers, if their licence is due for renewal, and new drivers.

However some other charges are being reduced and the borough council has also agreed lower fees for wheelchair accessible vehicles.

New applicants wishing to license their vehicle as a taxi will have to pay £240 from April, which is £6 less than the current fee, though the council will offer those capable of carrying passengers in their wheelchairs an £80 discount.

Renewal applications will be £203 for vehicles that less than eight years old, which is also £6 less than the existing fee, and the £80 discount will also be offered and will also apply to electric vehicles.

The charge for older vehicles will however increase from £276 to £286, with a £70 reduction for wheelchair accessible and electric vehicles.

The licence for private hire operators is to increase by £32 for renewals, and new application, to £742.

Claire Howells, the council’s head of licensing, said the fees had been put out for consultation until January 18 and a letter, or email, sent to all existing licence holders and the council hadn’t received any responses on the proposed charges.

The council’s most up-to-date information is that there are 57 licensed hackney carriage vehicles, those who can be hailed on the street, and 113 private hire vehicles, with licences for both lasting a year.

There are also 174 drivers licensed, with a licence lasting for three years, and 19 private hire operators and their licences are valid for five years but Ms Howells told the council’s licensing committee the numbers can change on a daily basis as new drivers may register or licences are cancelled.

The fees are intended to represent the cost to the council of delivering the licensing service, but Torfaen says as a small authority, with a lower level of applications, its fees are higher than some neighbouring councils.

The fee for a taxi driver’s licence in 2022/23 in other Gwent authorities were £251 and £239 for a renewal in Blaenau Gwent; £253 and £213 (renewal) in Caerphilly; £249 in Newport and £291 or £196 (renewal) in Monmouthshire.

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