More of us may well be watching the pennies and planning to stay in on New Year’s Eve than in previous years. But it is unlikely that the credit crunch and general financial gloom will put a stop to people wanting to see out the old and welcome in the new.

So whether at home with family and friends or in a bar or club, there can be little doubt that the demand for taxis to ferry all these revellers around is still likely to be high. How welcome, then, to hear that Bradford cabbies are not raising their prices on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The drivers are entitled to charge one-and-a-half times the normal fare on these nights. But rather than make a financial killing, they are foregoing the extra profits in recognition that times, for most of us, are difficult at present. And an intended annual price rise planned for January has also been put back until September.

Driving a taxi involves a lot of hard work and unsocial hours, yet the rewards are not huge, which makes these gestures all the more laudable. They should also encourage more revellers to leave their own cars at home, and so cut the risks of people getting behind the wheel while over the limit.

It would be nice to think that these acts of goodwill will set the tone for the night. An enjoyable and safe New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, for revellers and all those working, would get 2009 off to a splendid start.