Response to the Department for the Environment on Taxi Operator Licensing in Northern Ireland. By the Consumer Council

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1 Response to the Department for the Environment on Taxi Operator Licensing in Northern Ireland By the Consumer Council January 2011

2 The Consumer Council welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Department of the Environment (DoE) consultation on Taxi Operator Licensing in Northern Ireland. The Consumer Council was established in 1985 with a statutory remit to protect and promote the interests of all passengers travelling to, from or within Northern Ireland. The Consumer Council campaigns for better public transport for Northern Ireland passengers and handles complaints from passengers travelling by bus, train, air and sea. We help individual passengers with their complaints and also work with companies at a policy level to improve systems and procedures. Our aim is to give consumers a voice and to make it heard and we believe that Northern Ireland should have a transport network that provides adequate accessible transport services for all consumers irrespective of age, income, disability, location or any other factor. The Consumer Council holds operators to account to ensure public transport services deliver for passengers. We have established relationships with all the main transport providers and Government transport policy divisions in Northern Ireland. The Consumer Council recognises the important role that taxis play in providing transport and has been involved in the review of the taxi industry since 2002 which lead to the development of the Taxis Act. We strongly support the objectives of the Taxis Act to raise service standards within the industry, deter unlicensed taxiing and to improve consumer protection, safety and accessibility. Consultation Period The Consumer Council believes that good legislation and policy relies on proper consultation and conscientious consideration of responses. Government departments must consider any governance issues affecting their stakeholders and adapt how they consult to suit stakeholders needs. For example, community groups have governance in-built in their meetings where discussion and approval must take place. Tight timescales can make it

3 impossible for them to arrange for detailed discussions and approval to comply with governance requirements. The Consumer Council also believes that consultation should either be avoided or extended over any holiday period to allow all stakeholders to formulate a considered response 1. Due to the release of this consultation during the Christmas holiday, the Consumer Council requests that DoE extend the deadline beyond the minimum 8 week timescale which is proposed to allow for all interested stakeholders to meaningfully contribute. Operator Licensing The Consumer Council supports the proposed requirement for all taxi operators to hold a Taxi Operator Licence. We support the requirements that taxi operators must supply all appropriate paperwork in the application process, be considered fit and appropriate to hold a licence and that a Taxi Operator Licence should be valid for a maximum of five years. The Consumer Council supports the proposals for an initial period of transitional arrangements to allow for the introduction of the requirements. This will be important to allow for the introduction of operator licensing without unduly impacting on passengers or the taxi industry. DoE must ensure that they have sufficient resources and trained staff available to provide assistance to all applicants during this period and on an ongoing basis to allow for a smooth transition to the new arrangements and deal with enquiries in a timely manner. The introduction of operator licensing and the transitional period should be timed to avoid falling during a holiday period. The introduction of operator licensing must be promoted to the industry and passengers well in advance and include clear information on how to obtain assistance in the application process. 1 Consumer Council Response to the Cabinet Office on Effective Consultation, September 2007

4 Requirement that all drivers and vehicles associated with an Operator Licence should be properly licensed The Consumer Council supports the requirement for taxi operators to ensure that all drivers and vehicles associated with their operators licence are properly licensed to help to improve safety for passengers and reduce the level of taxis operating illegally. This requirement will provide a further level of checks on drivers and vehicles in addition to current Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) enforcement measures. This further level of checks must be in addition to effective and robust enforcement. The results of a 2008 survey by DVA 2 where both the taxi and driver were assess for compliance found that 23.3% had an offence which warranted further action. These offences included defective tyres, steering and lights in some cabs, invalid insurance and invalid taxi driver licences, which highlights the need for improved enforcement measures and checks on drivers and vehicles. Proposal that drivers may only work for one Licensed Operator at any one time The Consumer Council has previously stated in consultation responses to DoE and presentations to the Committee for the Environment that consideration must be given to the needs of sole operators, particularly in rural areas. For example, due to levels of demand a driver may undertake contract work with one company during week days whilst also operating for a separate company at weekends. The Committee for the Environment Report on the Taxis Bill 3 states that as a result of the initial consultation in 2005, the 2 Minister welcomes taxi compliance levels, 10 April 2009, 3

5 Department had changed a number of its proposals and as a result there would be provision for exceptions to the general rule that drivers could only be affiliated to one operator as this could be restrictive especially in rural areas. Given this statement the Consumer Council questions why DoE are now proposing that it will be an offence to be named on more than one licence at any one time and request the Department indicate their reasoning for this. Conditions of licences The Consumer Council supports the proposals for conditions of licences which will help to ensure passengers can have confidence that that they can access information on fares, avoid overcharging on a regulated fare and that publicly accessible facilities are covered by public liability insurance. The Consumer Council supports the proposal that DoE have the power to suspend, revoke or curtail an Operators Licence where it is no longer satisfied that the licensed operator holder is fit to hold the licence or that the operator has failed to comply with the conditions of the licence to ensure passenger safety. Contents and display of licences The requirement to display a copy of the licence at every operating centre will provide passengers with the facility to check that the operator they are using is properly licensed. The Consumer Council supports this requirement and believe that the information contained on the licence should presented in a manner can be clearly understand by passengers. The Consumer Council supports the development of a publicly accessible register of licensed taxi operators as this information will support efforts to tackle illegal taxi operators in Northern Ireland.

6 Information and Publications The Consumer Council supports the proposals for information on licences and would welcome the opportunity to work with DoE on the development of information for passengers to inform them of the new Taxi Operator Licensing Regulations. Requirement to maintain records relating to bookings, drivers, vehicles, complaints and lost property To ensure accountability for passengers, the Consumer Council supports the requirement for operators to maintain records relating to bookings, vehicles, complaints and lost property. It is also recognised that this could have a significant impact on smaller operators. The Department should ensure that the views of the taxi industry are considered in relation to this to develop a requirement for operators to maintain an appropriate level of records to ensure passengers are protected whilst not excessively burdening operators. Fees In setting fees, DoE must clearly demonstrate that the level of charging accurately reflects the cost to administer and process applications to make evident that charges are fair and justified. The Consumer Council welcomes the proposals for a reduced fee for the granting of a Small Operator Licence to reduce the impact on smaller operators. Enforcement It is not clear from the consultation whether extra resources will be made available to cover this additional element of enforcement responsibilities. Robust and sufficiently resourced enforcement will be required to ensure that the proposals deliver benefits for passengers and the Consumer Council would request clarification of whether additional enforcement resources are to be made available to meet these additional demands.