TAXI firms in West Devon have reacted angrily to the increase by almost a third of the cost of hackney carriage and private hire licenses.

West Devon taxi operators say the increase in fees will make it harder to attract part-time drivers.

West Devon Borough Council carried out consultations with taxi bosses and drivers on the proposed increases which they say was needed to make up a £3,000 shortfall in the taxi-licensing budget.

The increase of almost a third in the existing fees for all categories of licence was approved by the council?s environment and health committee, last Tuesday, and will take effect from April 1.

Richard Nally, owner of Jay Cars, who spoke to councillors at the meeting, said the increase presented problems for taxi firms.

?It?s very difficult to get part-time drivers, especially at weekends.

?If you want to be a taxi driver, you have got to have a police check, a medical and on top of that you have now got to give more money to the borough council.

?It?s an awful lot of money if you are going to be full-time, let alone part-time? he said.

The borough council received a number of responses from taxi firms opposed to the increases when they carried out a consultation exercise last month.

Angry taxi firms said licences had been increased by 15 per cent in 2000, and the driver?s licence, which now costs £65, had more than doubled in the last four years.

They said that an increase in licenses would hit people in isolated rural areas who rely on taxi and private hire services to get around and also to get home safely at night.

At a meeting last December, the council?s environment and health committee resolved that a £3,000 saving needed to be made from the cost of taxi licensing to make the service self-financing and this

reduction could only be covered by an increase in fees.

The borough council said the reduction was needed to secure a balanced budget for the next financial year.

The environment and health committee made small reductions to the originally proposed fees.

Hackney carriage vehicle licences are set to rise from £80 up to £105.

Private hire vehicle licences will increase from £75 to £95, and private hire operator licences will increase from £70 to £90.

The cost of a taxi driver?s licence will go up by £15 to £65, and the transfer fee has risen by 25 per cent up to £50.