Why Cornwall Needs Its Taxi Zones

From the council’s point of view, keeping the existing taxi zones is actually cheaper and easier than removing them, because zones act as a built-in, self-enforcing control system.

Removing them would mean Cornwall Council takes on more responsibility, but with less money and fewer enforcement tools, which is a recipe for chaos.

Here’s why keeping zones works in the council’s favour, even if they don’t have the budget to actively police them.

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1. Zones Are a Cheap Form of Regulation

Right now, zones work like a decentralized enforcement system.
They limit driver behavior by default, without the council having to constantly intervene.

Zones vs. No Zones

With Zones	Without Zones
✓ Drivers legally restricted to certain areas by licensing boundaries.	✗ Drivers free to work anywhere.
✓ Fares and rules set per zone, reflecting local needs.	✗ One county-wide set of rules needed, harder to tailor to local conditions.
✓ Council only needs to enforce boundary breaches occasionally.	✗ Council must actively track service gaps across the entire county.
✓ Rural areas automatically get some coverage because local drivers can’t migrate to urban hotspots.	✗ Rural areas lose coverage completely as drivers cluster around larger towns.

Bottom line:
Zones cost very little to maintain — paid for through license fees.
Once removed, Cornwall would need active monitoring and taxpayer funded incentives, which are much more expensive.

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2. Zones Stop “Cream-Skimming” Automatically

Without zones, drivers naturally chase the most profitable work, such as:

• City areas like Truro,

• Tourist-heavy towns like St Ives or Falmouth,

• Truro nightlife at weekends.

This leaves low-profit areas — like rural villages or out-of-season coastal towns — abandoned unless the council:

• Pays subsidies,

• Forces service obligations, or

• Contracts operators directly.

With zones in place:

• Drivers can’t abandon their local patch entirely, because they’re restricted by license.

• Rural passengers get at least some access to taxis without the council lifting a finger.

Zones essentially lock in a level of rural service for free.

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3. Removing Zones = More Work for the Council

When zones go, someone has to manage the whole county as one open market — and that “someone” would be Cornwall Council.

With zones, much of this happens naturally because drivers are tied to their area, and fares are locally based.
Without zones, it all falls on the council — and that costs money they don’t have.

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4. Public Complaints Would Explode

Right now, if someone in a village complains about poor taxi service, the council can say:

“That’s a local issue — speak to the drivers or firms in your zone.”

After de-zoning, there’s no such deflection:

• The public will expect Cornwall Council to take responsibility for service gaps.

• Complaints could flood in about:

  • Zero access to rural taxi services,

  • Much Higher rural fares due to one-size-fits-all,

  • No taxis during winter or late at night.

The council would need staff and resources to handle these complaints — which they don’t have.

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5. Zones Help Protect Council Revenue

Licensing fees are a key income source for Cornwall’s taxi regulation budget.

With zones:

• Cross border issues can be solved by dual licensing.

• Dual licensing generates an additional and vital revenue stream, which helps council cash flow.

Without zones:

• A single county-wide license fee would be chargeable.

• With the loss of dual licensing, revenue drops, leaving the council even less able to enforce rules.

Zones with dual licensing solves problems with extra revenue.

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6. Removing Zones Creates Legal and Practical Chaos

Without zones, several thorny issues arise:

Why De-zoning Is Difficult

Problem	Why It’s Difficult Without Zones
Fare setting	Cornwall would need one single fare table for urban, rural, and tourist areas — hard to balance.
Disputes between drivers	No clear “home area” means rank wars and queue-jumping.
Loss of Rural Services	Multiple operators competing aggressively in larger urban centres.
Increased Crime	Encourages people to drink & drive, with no access to safe regulated transport .
Legal appeals	Leaves the council wide open to Judicial Revue , increasing costs.

Zones, by their nature, protect residents and minimise these disputes, reducing council workload.

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Why Cornwall Might Still Remove Zones

So if zones are cheaper and easier to manage, why even consider removing them?
There are a few political and administrative pressures at play:

Reasons for Removing Zones vs. Reality

Reason	Reality Check
Desire to “simplify” the system	Simplification for the council, chaos for rural communities and drivers.
Pressure from Exploitative Ooperators	Profit-driven taxi firms often lobby for de-zoning to gain unrestricted access to lucrative areas.
Perceived “fairness”	Politicians think one county-wide rule is fairer, but it ignores geographic and economic differences.
Aligning with national deregulation trends	Central government tends to favor open competition over local control.

These motivations are political, not practical, and may ignore the financial reality.

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What Happens if Zones Are Removed Anyway

If Cornwall goes ahead with de-zoning despite the risks:

• Short term (first 6–12 months):

  • Urban/tourist areas see a flood of taxis chasing high fares.

  • Rural areas notice a sudden drop in service.

  • Public complaints spike dramatically.

• Medium term (1–2 years):

  • Council realizes they can’t manage rural gaps.

  • A few high-profile bad cases (like hospital patients missing appointments) hit the news.

  • Emergency subsidies or rural contracts are hastily created — costing far more than keeping zones ever did.

• Long term (2+ years):

  • Cornwall may end up reintroducing zones or zone-like rules under a new name.

This is exactly what happened in other UK councils that tried full de-zoning, such as parts of Wales and Northern England — initial deregulation followed by partial re-regulation once the problems became clear.

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Summary: Why It’s in the Council’s Best Interest to Keep Zones

Impact of Keeping vs. Removing Taxi Zones

Factor	Keeping Zones	Removing Zones
Cost to council	✓ Low	✗ High
Rural coverage	✓ Naturally preserved	✗ Likely collapses
Complaints	✓ Localized, manageable	✗ County-wide surge
Enforcement burden	✓ Minimal	✗ Heavy
Council revenue stability	✓ Strong	✗ Risk of decline
Political fallout	✓ Mostly contained	✗ County-wide backlash

Zones aren’t perfect, but they work as a free, passive system of control.
If Cornwall removes them, they’ll be forced into active management, which costs far more and exposes them to political risk they can’t afford.