Following on from a worrying post on our Harrogate Mumbler Chat group, I’m pleased to let you know that Harrogate Borough Council have contacted Harrogate Mumbler because they take taxi safety extremely seriously and if drivers are overcharging customers or making women feel unsafe (or if anyone feels unsafe actually-not just women!) then they want to know about it, and they will take action. If it’s a serious incident, they will remove the taxi licence.
We all deserve to be safely taken home in a cab at the end of the night- it doesn’t matter who you are, what you’re wearing or whether you’ve been drinking (let’s be honest, if we haven’t been drinking then most of us wouldn’t be using a late-night cab after a mums night out!)
Harrogate Council want to know about all companies & incidents, however to take proper action they need to be able to identify the driver. Therefore, if you can, either take a pic of the Harrogate taxi licence number or the car reg number (if it’s off the rank). If you haven’t got any of this information but you still want to report an issue, then even the details from your card payment may help identify the driver. Try to get in the habit of discretely taking a quick pic of the cab licence number or registration plate before you get in.
If you’ve booked your taxi from a firm, you could let the council know details of the location & time of pick up. All of this will help the enforcement officers identify a specific driver. You should then report the incident using the link below and the council have assured me that they will investigate.
All information about Harrogate Taxi Licensing is here: harrogate.gov.uk/taxis email full details of any incidents or complaints to: taxi@harrogate.gov.uk
Remember ONLY cabs with a “Taxi” sign on the roof are allowed to pick you up (unbooked) on the street or from a taxi rank. These vehicles are known as Taxis or Hackney Carriages (to give them their proper title) Do not try to flag down a cab that doesn’t have an illuminated taxi roof sign- these are “Private Hire Vehicles.” Private Hire Vehicles or “minicabs” are NOT allowed to pick you up if you try & flag them down, they must be pre-booked. It is an offence for them to pick you up without a booking and they probably won’t be insured to do so and without the proper licensing- they could even be operating illegally.
See below for the original post on Harrogate Mumbler chat group in Summer 2022 which triggered us to contact Harrogate Borough council licensing department about this issue:
“Heads up to those who casually jump in a taxi outside of McDonalds on Cambridge road, please go to the taxi offices instead or order in advance. I’ve been one of those who just wants to get home as quickly as possible and been targeted. A couple of years ago I had a guy drive me past my street and out towards Knaresborough because he “liked talking to me” a 5 min drop off turned out to be 25mins. I managed to convince him into taking me home.
At the weekend I had a overly polite man, who when I scanned my Google pay and left the taxi had charged me £125.40 instead of £12. He knew what he was doing. A friend of mine had a similar situation with a man asking who was waiting for her at home.
All of these incidents were from taxis on the street outside McDonalds. When I lived in London I was extra cautious unfortunately i felt a bit too comfortable in Harrogate and let my safety slip. Just a post to remind people to be safe, pre book, take a photo of the number plate/ text a friend when you are home! Safety is so important.”
Thread Replies:
My husband got a taxi from outside McDonald’s the other week and when he looked at his bank a few days later they had taken double payment.I’ve had issues with them before. One driver once said to me – it’s girls like you that get us taxi drivers into trouble wearing things like that. I didn’t even think what I was wearing was revealing! I’ve also had one try and follow me into my house”
