Taxi and Cab CO2 emissions (FOI)

Request

I refer to a previous Freedom of Information response published on 22 May 2020 at the following link:

Taxi CO2 emissions (FOI)

This confirms that Vehicles exceeding the CO2 Emissions requirement "have been permitted to operate "as Purple Plate Taxis but that "DVS do not have any formal documentation evidencing this decision".

Given that the CO2 Emissions requirement is contained within the Motor Traffic (Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness)) (Jersey) Order 2003 (Article 31) please advise whether this was a Decision made by the Minister, The Inspector of Motor Traffic or a Traffic Officer at DVS.

In the absence of a formally documented decision by the Minister please advise under what authority the decision was made, as neither the above 2003 Order or the 1935 Motor Traffic Law provides for any person (other than a Minister by formal documented decision) to ignore, add to or vary either a Ministerial Order, a Ministerial Decision.

Response

An amendment to the 2003 Order was made following the signing of Ministerial Decision MD-T-2015-0079 on 23 September 2015. This decision can be viewed at the link below:

MD-T-2015-0079

The Decision approved the taxi-cab regulation reform programme.

The amendment, Motor Traffic (Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness)) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Order 2016, was not linked to Article 46 (4) of the original 1935 Motor Traffic Law which allows the Minister to create a punishable offence.

The 2003 Order is only part of the Taxi Reform Programme and must be viewed in conjunction with the programme itself. Paragraph 4.10 of the programme states “this suggests that a regulatory approach that seeks for steady medium-term improvements in environmental performance would be more appropriate than a requirement for significant change in the short-term’’

Whilst regulatory action could be taken against taxi drivers who are not compliant with the 2003 Order, this would not support the recommendation approved by the Minister that ‘a regulatory approach that seeks for steady medium-term improvements in environmental performance’ should be adopted.

The omission of any offence being included in the 2003 Order supports this approach until such a time as the Taxi Reform Programme has concluded.

Links to law and orders:
Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law 1935

Motor Traffic (Public Service Vehicles (conditions of Fitness)) (Jersey) Order 2003

Motor Traffic (Public Service Vehicles (conditions of Fitness)) (Amendment No.2) (Jersey) Order 2016