The cost of driving a taxi in St Albans is set to increase for some cabbies after councillors approved a raft of fee changes.

It will be more expensive for drivers to get or renew a vehicle licence or to change their number plate or vehicle owner.

Currently, it costs £253 to get a licence for a new vehicle – but that cost will increase by eleven per cent to £281.19. Similarly, the cost of applying to change number plate details registered with the council will rise from £45 to £84.21, an increase of 89 per cent.

However, some costs will be cut after the changes come into effect on November 1. The cost of getting a new taxi driver’s licence, for example, will fall from £481 to £405.57, and renewing one will cost £380.05 rather than the current £468.

Daniel Pattenden, an environmental health manager, told councillors on St Albans City & District Council’s licensing and regulatory committee on Tuesday (October 22) that the authority must charge fees to recover its costs.

He explained that the fees, usually reviewed annually, had not been updated since 2022 due to elections held in 2023. 

Mr Pattenden said that the fees had been changed. Previously, central costs—such as for IT, utilities bills, and human resources—had been divided among all licence holders.

Now, those costs have been added to the hourly rate for council officers’ time, and the fees paid by cabbies have changed accordingly. 

The council estimates, for example, that its officers have to spend around five hours on each application for a new taxi driver licence – costing it around £405, which will now be the cost of an application.

Mr Pattenden said it would mean charges are applied in a “fairer” way.

“Applicants will only pay central charges against the time it takes to deal with their application,” he added.

A five-week consultation on the changes was held earlier this year, but no responses were received. The proposals were unanimously approved by councillors without any questions or debate.