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DAIL DEBATE
Taxi Regulation Bill 2003 Second Stage
DÁIL ÉIREANN
Mr. Kelleher: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue, which has been under discussion for a long time. There are various aspects of the debate, from the perspectives of taxi drivers, the public and politicians, in terms of the former shortage of taxis and, since deregulation, the changes which the industry has undergone. The vast majority of those who use taxis welcome the decision of the courts with regard to deregulation. Even those in the industry recognised there was a shortage of taxis. A mechanism was in place at the time, with a forum involving taxi drivers, to increase the number of cars available to the public. However, the High Court decision changed the situation and deregulation was forced upon us. The Government had to implement policies to take account of the court ruling in the matter. We now have a Bill before the House to address that issue and to bring about a regulatory system to ensure the availability of a quality taxi service to the public and to visitors from abroad. The main purpose of the Bill can be summarised as follows. It includes provision for the establishment of a commission for taxi regulation and a new code for the regulation of small public service vehicles and their drivers. It is vital to have public confidence in taxi operators. As well as requiring cars to be licensed, drivers must also be licensed to operate public service vehicles. Recently, there has been evidence, whether anecdotal or otherwise, to suggest that certain elements now operating in the taxi industry are not desirable as taxi drivers. The facts are well established in that regard. I expect that, when the regulator is established and the new system put in place, it will instil confidence in taxi operators. A previous speaker referred to issues of criminality. Parents need to have profound faith in the character of taxi drivers where their children are brought by taxi to hospital, to school or home from night clubs. The issue of criminality is important. It was stated earlier that once a person has served time for a crime that such an offence should no longer be taken into account. However, I would be concerned if crimes such as a conviction for paedophilia, sex abuse or violent crime were overlooked in analysing the character of an operator. I hope they would be taken into account as there have been such cases in recent times. Taxi drivers who take pride in their business and in the way they work with the public are concerned because they are all tarred with the same brush. From that point of view, it is important that the regulator and those who would be involved in deciding whether a person is of reputable character and a suitable candidate to be awarded a licence to operate a taxi will be stringent in their consideration and will take into account some forms of crime. It may not be necessary to take other forms of crime into account, but I would have a major concern about allowing a person who had been convicted of paedophilia, sex abuse and violent physical assaults to interact with the public under a licensing system operated by the State. There has been a sharp decline in the quality of taxis available to the public in recent times. I recently queued at a taxi rank where the first taxi in line was a Mercedes and the one behind it had just about passed the MOT. It was neither hygienic nor was it outwardly well maintained. The same fare is charged by taxi drivers, irrespective of whether a taxi driver makes a genuine commitment and investment in his or her business or makes no effort to even maintain the inward and outward appearance of the vehicle. I had to travel in that second taxi. This is an important issue not only for our indigenous population but also for our tourists. We must be conscious that a tourist's first port of call and interaction is often with a bus operator or a taxi driver. We must ensure that taxis are of a high standard. If we increase standards to ensure there is a better quality taxi service, we will have to take into account that such upgrading will cost people money. They may have to trade up and purchase a better type of car. That should be taken into account and the regulations should be introduced over a phased period. We should not be afraid to tackle this issue to ensure quality public service vehicles are available to provide a service for our people and tourists. Many tourists coming into the country through Dublin Airport, Cork Airport and elsewhere may not only request a taxi to bring them to a city centre but to bring them to the country and they may be in a taxi for a long time. As Deputy Coveney said, the quality of some of the taxis is nothing short of appalling. This issue must be addressed but in a manner that will allow taxi drivers to trade up their vehicles over a period. On the issue of colour standardisation, I have travelled to a number of countries where taxis have been a mix of colours. I visited Chile recently where the taxis are brown and yellow. I would prefer if taxis were a standard colour rather than a mix of colours such as light and navy blue. We should opt for a standardised colour, whether it be white or blue. If taxis are a mix of colours, it is difficult for operators to trade them in. If one sells a taxi that is colour co-ordinated, it will stand out as a car that was a former taxi. Such colour-co-ordination devalues a car. Therefore, it is less likely that taxi drivers and operators would be encouraged to trade up on a frequent basis. In Holland , Spain and elsewhere many taxis are white. I do not know whether that is due to standardisation or to a voluntary decision by the companies operating there. We should opt for that type of system. In that way, if a taxi operator wants to sell a taxi, he or she would not find it difficult. Once the signage is removed, such a car would blend in with other cars and would not stick out as having been a former taxi. The Minister referred to this issue previously. I am sure that following consultation with all involved in the industry, a standard single colour for taxis could be agreed. One sees the yellow cab in New York , the black taxi in London and I would not see anything wrong with taxis here being plain white. The standardisation of taxis is fundamental. It would enable the public to easily identify white taxis, for example, that display a taxi sign on top and, more important, people would be confident that when they hail a taxi, they would travel in a car that is safe and comfortable. Taxis are public service vehicles and members of the public are entitled to travel in comfort given that they pay to do so. On the issue of hardship cases following deregulation, I welcome the establishment of the hardship panel to assess and address what is painfully obvious. Certain people who lost large sums of money are genuine hardship cases. If there is a change in Government policy or a change in policy decided by a court, that must be accepted as part of the cut and thrust of business life. However, some people such as widows of taxi drivers would have had an income under the cosying system that was in place at the time but that is no longer available. I am hopeful that the hardship panel will come forward with a mechanism to address genuine hardship cases. There are also people who had numerous plates and used them for speculative purposes without even operating them. They were cosying them out under what was basically a rental system. One cannot expect a Government to compensate everybody involved in the industry in such circumstances. It was said earlier that a PR spin was put on the fact that Fine Gael put forward views similar to what is proposed in this Bill. That party also suggested that, if returned to office, it would compensate taxi drivers and it supported the idea of a hardship board, which would examine submissions from individuals irrespective of whether they had a genuine hardship case or had suffered a large financial loss due to deregulation following a court decision. The issue of taxi ranks is an important one and local authorities will have to address the putting in place of a proper system. There are differences between the movement of people in the day time and at night time, foot flows and so on. For many years, people have said that one of the reasons there is public disorder in city centres at night is because there are not sufficient taxis to take people home. The taxi population has trebled to almost 12,000, yet we still have public order problems in the city centre. Therefore, there is not a direct corollary between the two. However, efforts should be made by local authorities to carry out a survey whereby they would know where people gather, particularly on leaving night-clubs and large late-night pubs, in order that a proper taxi rank system could be available. Without a proper system in place, people walk ahead of people queuing at a rank in an effort to hail the next taxi that comes along. That leads to aggravation and annoyance and can lead to some public order and assault offences. If a genuine ranking system were put in place, people would know that the next taxi would stop at the rank and not further up the road, which encourages a migratory path of people running ahead of each other trying to hail the next taxi coming down the road. It would also make it easier for the Garda Síochána to monitor large numbers of people in a confined area, which might assist in a small way in addressing some of the public order problems that are painfully evident in our cities and towns during weekend nights. The principal function of the commission for taxi regulation will be the development and maintenance of a regulatory framework for the control and operation of all small public service vehicles and their drivers. The driver is the most important person at the end of the day. It may be necessary to institute a system in which a course must be taken before one is licensed or perhaps an interview would be sufficient. Some type of course or exam on presentation, mannerisms and so on would be a positive step towards ensuring that the people who are at the coalface, interacting with people on a regular basis, are of good character and can present a positive image of themselves and of Ireland , particularly when they are in contact with tourists. Since our airports are not yet connected to cities by major public infrastructural developments such as a metro or bus lanes, taking people to and from airports is a significant part of the taxi business. I hope the issue of hardship cases is urgently addressed. The situation has been going on for some time and I have made representations to the appeals board on behalf of various people. There are certainly people in difficulties at present. Section 43 provides that a person shall not use a mechanically propelled vehicle in a public place for the carriage of persons for reward unless both the vehicle and its driver are licensed under this Bill. I did refer to that before but it is an important section. There is not much point in having a licensed vehicle if the person inside is unlicensed or in having standardisation in one area while those operating in the area are not standardised. This section is welcome. I compliment the Minister and the Minister of State on the Bill. I am confident that it will make a significant impact on the quality of service available to the public. I am sure that the whole taxi regulation system will become very efficient and build up expertise so that it is able to change and move forward and address problems we have not foreseen in the Bill. The introduction of a tax clearance requirement for the granting or renewal of all licences is also a welcome development. It is important that we send out signals when setting up new licensing systems that people should not be working on the black market, in the taxi business or elsewhere. The tax clearance certificate sends out a signal that the regulator and, more importantly, the Government are genuinely committed to ensuring that the people we have driving taxis are of a character that is acceptable to the public. I have only referred to taxis so far, but hackneys and limousines and their drivers are put in the same category in the Bill, which is welcome. In some parts of the country, hackneys are more in use due to the lack of a large population base. Particularly in rural Ireland , hackneys are a valuable part of the public transport system. Reference was already made by Deputy Coveney to people, particularly the elderly, who have free travel but may be miles from the nearest public transport system. This is unfair on elderly people, particularly those who may be living on their own in remote areas. The costs of getting from one's home to the nearest port of call for public transport can be prohibitive. I do not know how this can be addressed fully, but there should be a system involving, for example, payment of a token to the company, which would be reimbursed afterwards through the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government or some other billing system. With the technology that is there I am sure something like this could be done. I urge as many people as possible within the taxi business to ensure that their cars are equipped to transport people with disabilities. Obviously, there will have to be a certain number of cars that are compatible with wheelchair access, but it is important that we do not just have that number of cars and no more. There should be more than are required so that people with disabilities are not waiting longer than necessary - if they book a taxi, it should turn up. That is another important point - if a taxi is booked but does not turn up, there should be some mechanism in place whereby that taxi is penalised. In the past it has been the case that one books a taxi to turn up at 4 p.m., but then is starts raining so there is a larger demand for taxis and one is still standing there at 4.15 p.m. If one rings the company one is told it will be along soon, but it never arrives. It should be the case that if I report that, the taxi driver will be called to account. It is a public service vehicle. If a CIE bus does not turn up an explanation must be supplied; it should be likewise for taxis. I wish the Bill a speedy passage through Committee Stage, during which time there will be more debate. Over the next number of years I am confident that we will see a fine, standardised taxi system in place which is accessible to everybody.
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