“We’ve seen this movie before — and rural communities were the ones left behind.”
• When Cornwall’s former borough councils scrapped zoning in 1997, rural taxi operators didn’t disappear — they moved.
• Freed from their local boundaries, many migrated to larger town centres within their old borough areas, chasing busier markets and more profitable fares.
The result? Rural areas were abandoned.
Outlying villages were left without regular taxi services — especially through the winter months, when public transport was already limited, or even non-existent.
“It took years to rebuild rural coverage — and even now that recovery is incomplete. Why would we repeat a proven mistake?”
The Economic Pull of Towns Is Unstoppable
• The Council may promise to “monitor the impact” — but no clipboard can stop basic economics.
• If fares are the same in Newquay and Truro, but Truro offers ten times the work, guess what?
→ The drivers follow the money — every time.
• Rural passengers will face higher fares just to match the new countywide tariff — but without the demand to support local services, drivers will still abandon them.
Urban Pricing Will Crush Rural Travel
• When urban fare scales like Caradon’s or North Cornwall’s are forced onto places like Penwith or Restormel:
- Residents pay more.
- Drivers earn less — stuck waiting for rare bookings.
- The result? Drivers leave rural areas anyway.
The “Maximum Fare” Excuse: A Dangerous Myth
• The Council will argue that “this is only the maximum fare that can be charged.”
• But it only takes one driver charging the maximum for the damage to be done.
- Rural passengers rarely have multiple taxis to choose from.
- Once one driver normalises the maximum fare, others inevitably follow.
- Public trust collapses, rural bookings fall even further, and service dries up.
“If your only available taxi costs double, it doesn’t matter if someone else might have been cheaper — you’re stranded either way.”
Zoning Was Created to Guarantee Local Service — and It Still Works
“Zoning wasn’t a gimmick — it was a guarantee.”
• Taxi zoning in Cornwall dates back many decades, originally created to ensure service provision within defined local areas — often aligned with old town or urban district boundaries.
• It meant taxi drivers served their own communities, not just the busiest or most profitable locations.
• This system wasn’t about red tape — it was about protecting local access and ensuring viable, sustainable coverage in rural and less dense areas.
“Zoning made sure no one was left behind — especially in the communities where no one else was going.”
• After the 1997 de-zoning failure, it became painfully clear why zoning mattered. Without it, rural areas were quickly abandoned as drivers chased urban demand.
• Zoning isn’t a handicap — it’s essential.
Final word:
Cornwall Council must commit to protecting the services that our residents rely on — not dismantling them just to save a few pounds. If Cornwall de-zones again, rural communities will lose again — but this time on a gargantuan, countywide scale. That’s not theory — it’s history.”