Longest serving Wakefield taxi driver collects his final fare

A taxi driver thought to be one of the longest serving in Wakefield has collected his final fare.

Granville Palfreyman from Crigglestone has covered hundreds of thousands of miles carrying passengers around the city for more than 27 years, but at the age of 67 has decided the time had come to apply the brakes to his working life.

He said: “You can only get one-year licenses when you get to 65 and the price had gone up this year so I decided it was time to finish.

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“I’m not missing it at the moment but it’s only been a few weeks - it’s been like a holiday!

“In the next month or so I think it will probably hit home.

“Every day was different in the job, you could be running around going to local supermarkets or hospitals, then the next day you could pick someone up from Westgate and they’d want driving to Newcastle.

“But the job has changed down the years, there’s a lot more drivers these days and it’s more difficult to make a living. I’m just going to relax now, maybe do a few odd jobs on the house and making the tea for my wife who is still working.”

From the Flanshaw estate originally, he was a delivery driver for Empire Stores before becoming a cab driver.

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He worked for Yellow Cabs, Hall Green Cars and Kettlethorpe Cars among others before his finishing at Asdale Cars.

Andy Crowther at Asdale Cars said: “He was always a driver you could rely on with a smile on his face and with a biscuit in one hand and a piece of cake in the other.

“We wish him all the best in his retirement.”

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