Taxi fares into Wakefield city centre for just £1

Wakefield Hackney Carriage Association wants to introduce a Pound Back into Town scheme, which could help boost trade for drivers.

Under the scheme, hackney carriage drivers could be flagged down on their way back to the ranks in the city centre.

The passengers would then be charged £1 per person for the journey.

And all journeys except for those back to the taxi rank would be charged as normal.

The Pound Back into Town scheme has already proved successful in Bradford, Barnsley and Wycombe.

Wakefield Council’s licensing committee will decide if the hackney carriages participating in the scheme will be allowed to display the Pound Back into Town logo in their vehicles at a meeting on Friday.

The logo says “flag me down for £1 per person into town”.

The scheme hopes to increase city centre footfall and combat the “dead mileage” of journeys for drivers back to the taxi ranks.

The council report said: “Vehicles that are in the scheme, having dropped off a fare, can be flagged down on their return journey to the rank.

“Passengers would be charged just a pound for their journey back into town.

“The journey would end at the rank where the vehicle normally works from. If passengers wanted a different destination they would pay the normal fare.”

Wakefield Council controls hackney carriage fares by a tariff and a meter.

It is an offence to charge more than a metered fare journey but there is nothing to prevent any driver charging less.