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A decision made 27 March 2012:

Decision Reference: MD-T-2012-0031
Decision Summary Title :	Taxi Regulatory Reform Green Paper		Date of Decision Summary:	20 March 2012
Decision Summary Author:	Director Traffic and Transport		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Taxi Regulatory Reform Green Paper		Date of Written Report:	20 March 2012
Written Report Author:	Director of Traffic and Transport		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Taxi Regulatory Reform - Jersey’s Sustainable Transport Policy
Decision(s): The Minister approved publication of the document entitled “Taxi Regulatory Reform” dated January 2012 for subsequent presentation to the States of Jersey as a Green Paper for public consultation (publication of document to be embargoed until 28 March 2012).
Reason(s) for Decision: The States’ Sustainable Transport Policy requires TTS to gather evidence and develop proposals by 2012 to provide a simplified taxi system which meets the growing needs of the public.
Resource Implications: As provided within the States’ Sustainable Transport Policy.
Action required: TTS to undertake a consultation to receive the view of the public, commerce and the public transport industry on the Green Paper proposals for the reform of taxi regulation. States Greffe to present to the States on 28 March 2012 in the form of an “R”. Publications Editor to be advised.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Taxi Regulatory Reform - Jersey's Sustainable Transport Policy - Presentation of 'Green Paper' to the States

Transport and Technical Services

Green Paper

Purpose and type of consultation To receive the views of the public, commerce and the public transport industry on proposal for the reform of taxi regulation

Closing date Thursday 28 June 2012

Summary

Transport and Technical Services (TTS) is reviewing the regulation of taxis. The report of the review is now available from SoJ Website Address. Various changes to improve the service provided are suggested in the report. We would like to know what you think about these suggestions.

Recent surveys have shown that not everyone understands the way that taxis work. So, the first thing is to explain the differences between the types of taxis operating in Jersey. The two main types of taxi licensed to operate in Jersey are controlled taxis and restricted taxis.

Controlled taxis (rank taxis)	Restricted taxis (company cabs)
Most of their work comes from picking people up at taxi ranks Can be hailed on the street Can be pre-booked Have yellow roof signs Fares are controlled by the Minister of TTS Most are operated by owner-drivers	Can be hailed on the street Most of their work comes from pre-booking Can only use taxi ranks at the airport or the harbours (when no controlled taxi is available) Have white roof signs Are attached to cab companies The cab companies determine their own fare scale

The numbers of taxis are determined by the Minister for TTS. There are currently about 150 controlled taxis and about 160 restricted taxis.

What are the issues?

Although the public is generally satisfied with vehicles and drivers, it is clear from surveys that there are issues to look at, the main ones are:

The two-tier taxi system is not well understood
Taxi pricing is not transparent
Fares may not be predictable in advance
Gaps in accessibility for disabled users
Slow take-up of the latest communication and payment technologies

Significant inefficiency when taxis travel empty or sit unused
Not enough taxis available to cover the night-time economy peak demand, for short journeys in rural areas, for big one-off events
Limiting the number of licences means that while entry into the industry is relatively straightforward, becoming a licence holder is a lengthy process – it currently takes around 5 years for a new entrant to get a Restricted Taxi licence and a further 12 years for a Controlled Taxi licence

What could the changes be?

The taxi review has come up with some proposals to improve the way taxis work. These are some of the suggestions:

Just one type of taxi

There could be only one type of taxi rather than the two types (Controlled and Restricted) we have at the moment. This would have the following advantages:

It would be clearer for the public to understand how taxis work because there would be only one set of rules
There would be only one set of maximum fare scales so people will have a better idea in advance of the most they should pay
With only one type, taxis could be required to use a standard colour or common livery, making them easy to identify

Quality rather than Quantity control

There could be a move away from quantity control to quality control This means the TTS Minister would not necessarily limit the number of taxis. Instead there would be stronger rules about the condition of vehicles and the quality of service provided. This could include:

Setting a maximum age limit for vehicles
Making sure there are enough taxis with easy access for wheelchairs / buggies
Requiring taxis to accept electronic payment (eg chip and pin card)
Requiring taxis to automatically print a receipt if a passenger wants one
Training drivers in passenger assistance and other relevant skills
Setting environmental standards for taxis

Stronger Controls for taxi companies

Controls could be strengthened to:

Ensure every company will pick-up / drop off anywhere in the Island
Ensure they would provide taxis 24/7
Ensure they would provide a particular type of vehicle, for example a wheelchair accessible vehicle, if this was requested

Maximum fares

Maximum fares for all taxis could be set by the TTS Minister. At the moment, the Minister sets the maximum fares for Controlled Taxis but not for Restricted

Taxis. Each restricted taxi company sets its own fares and they must display these in the taxi.

If there was one single maximum fare level set for all taxis, there could be different fare bands which would be higher at certain times. This means that the fare could be higher after a set time in the evening, 11pm for example.

In addition to fares, a small booking charge could be introduced for pre-booked taxis.

Other possible changes

All taxi meters would be calibrated and checked by the States (or someone working on their behalf)
Taxi drivers lose fares if they have to clean their taxis during a shift; to compensate them for this loss of income, a ‘soiling charge’ could be introduced ie if a passenger dirties a taxi, they should pay for it
Formal ‘taxi-sharing’ could be introduced to cope with peak demands

Summary

The review has come forward with changes that will help customers by:

Making the taxi system simpler and easier to understand
Making fare levels easier to understand
Improving the availability of taxis – in rural areas, at busy times, with accessibility for disabled people
Improving the quality of taxi services

The focus of these proposals is the improvement of the service to the public. To do this we need the public’s views.

Further information SoJ Website Address

Please send your comments to:

Director of Transport

Transport and Technical Services Department

South Hill

St Helier

JE4 8UY

How to contact us

Telephone (0)1453 448690

Email transport@gov.je

Fax (0)1534 445529

This consultation paper has been sent to the following individuals / organisations:

The Public Consultation Register

States’ Members

Scrutiny

Public Transport Industry Companies and Representative Groups

Taxi and Cab Drivers

Interested Industry Groups

Community Groups

Other NGO’s

Supporting documents attached

Taxi Regulator Reform Report Jan 2012