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Lockdown restrictions have put paid to nights out and parties in Doncaster over Christmas and New Year – but taxi fares are rising during 2020’s festive season as drivers will still be on the roads catering for passengers who need to get around.

Alpha Mini Cabs, Doncaster’s biggest private hire firm with more than 200 vehicles, will be charging time and a half on certain days over the holiday period.

Customers are being told the higher prices apply from 6pm on December 24 until 6am on December 27, then from the evening of December 31 and into New Year’s Day.

Absolute Cabs, another of the town’s largest private hire companies, will be charging time and a quarter from 6pm on December 24, then all day on December 25 and 26, before normal fares resume early on December 27.

A dispatcher in Absolute Cabs' control room.

Time and a quarter applies again at Absolute from 6pm on December 31 and throughout January 1. Normal prices then return early on January 2.

Journeys in hackney carriages – black cabs, which can only be hailed on the street – will cost more over Christmas, too.

There is an additional £3.70 charge for trips between 6pm on December 24 and 6am on December 27, then from 6pm on December 31 to 6am on January 2.

Uber, meanwhile, has been rolling out its ‘upfront pricing’ policy in the UK, where customers and drivers know the exact cost of a trip before it is confirmed. However, this will still be subject to ‘dynamic pricing’ – a new version of the ride-hailing service’s surge pricing system – when demand is high.

Taxi fares will rise over Christmas and New Year.

To make up for income lost because of the pandemic, drivers are eligible for £500 support grants from Doncaster Council if they are licensed by the authority and operate in South Yorkshire.

The unified five-day Christmas bubble plans have been scrapped by the Government due to increased coronavirus infection rates and fears over a new Covid mutation, with rules now varying across the UK.

In Doncaster, where Tier 3 restrictions are in place, up to three households can meet indoors on Christmas Day. This cannot include anyone from a Tier 4 zone.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.

This is how much taxi fares are going up in Doncaster over Christmas and New Year

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.