Taxi Driver Online

Taxi market must be liberalised


Rank taxi and private cab fares in Jersey are significantly higher than in the UK. Now the competition regulator says the restriction on the number of taxis and cabs should be scrapped.

The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) report found that most rank taxi fares in Jersey are significantly higher than in the UK or the Isle of Man, although on a par with Guernsey. The JCRA found that:

The cost of a five mile journey by rank taxi is approximately 13% higher in Jersey than the UK national average;

The cost of private hire taxis is nearly 30% more than the rank taxi equivalent;

Between May 2006 and June 2010, fares for both rank and private hire taxis on average have increased by nearly 22% for daytime journeys and 17% for night-time journeys, compared to an increase in Jerseys overall RPI of roughly 13.5% over the same period.

The study concluded that the current system of taxi regulation in Jersey is not working in consumers best interests. To address this, the JCRA is recommending that the Transport and Technical Services Department (TTS) implement a number of changes to the way taxis are regulated in Jersey. These include:
The lifting of the restriction on the number of rank and private-hire taxi cabs;

Retaining certain rules and standards to satisfy legitimate public policy objectives, such as passenger safety;

Greater transparency on how rank taxi fares are determined by the Minister for Transport and Technical Services and on how the fare structures of individual private hire taxi companies are set; and

Maintaining government-controlled maximum fares for rank taxis to protect consumers.

'The taxi service in Jersey is an important part of the Island's transport infrastructure and working efficiently it should assist a wider transport policy. Ensuring it works well for consumers is therefore important,' said John Curran, Executive Director of the JCRA. 'We believe the current system of restricting the number of taxis is not in consumers best interests. Based on the evidence available from elsewhere, we believe that the further liberalisation of the market would be a positive step for consumers and should be actively considered by TTS. TTS has provided valuable assistance in the preparation of this report and we trust this will be of benefit to the Department in its consideration of the matter.

The full report on the taxi market in Jersey is available at www.jcra.je

TTS Minister Mike Jackson says the JCRA findings will be considered in the development of his future taxi policy.

The Minister agrees that the Island's taxi system has changed little in decades and with advances in technology and increased demand, modernisation is now overdue. The Ministers Sustainable Transport Policy, which has just been approved by the States, sets out his intention to review taxi regulation in order to provide a better and simpler service for the travelling public.

To decide exactly what changes are needed, the Minister has consulted with the industry and TTS is in the process of gathering evidence to assess the issues and the implications of the options for change, including a Taxi Quality Survey, which is being carried out at busy locations and taxi ranks such as the Airport and Weighbridge in the lead up to the busy Christmas period. The report provided by the JCRA will also be influential in informing the process.


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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

have you seen the cost of a ferry from the mainland to the channel islands?....

Everything is more expensive there so the fact that the taxis cost more is no surprise

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!