Taxi Driver Online

Shake-up of taxi licence regulations delayed until June


Plans for a single-tier taxi licensing system have receded once again after Environment Minister Mark H Durkan revealed it won't be introduced until next June.

The new system was originally supposed to start in 2013, then was deferred until September 2014, then January 2015, and now June 2015.

Addressing Stormont's environment committee, Mr Durkan insisted he would be pressing ahead with the single-tier system, abolishing the distinction between public and private hire taxis.

However, the committee voted not to give permission for him to go ahead with the regulations.

Committee chair Anna Lo said the majority of committee members, including DUP and Sinn Fein representatives, voted not to agree that the department could go ahead, although she personally opposed this motion as she was in favour of a single-tier system because it was best for customers.

"What the DUP and Sinn Fein want is to allow for exclusion zones in Belfast, where public hire taxis can have exclusion zones for themselves, but the minister said he is going ahead with a single-tier system.

"People want to see a single-tier system. The majority of large cities in the world just have taxis driving around so you can put up your hand and hail a taxi," she said.

"If we want to see ourselves as a major city for tourists we've got to upgrade our system."

She said it didn't necessarily mean that taxis would be flooding into bus lanes, as these are governed by DRD.

"I would not want to see taxis using bus lanes, but perhaps taxis could go in just for drop-off and pick-up of customers," she said.

Gerry Maxwell of the Belfast Public Hire Taxi Association said he was happy that the decision has been deferred again but disappointed that the minister was going ahead with plans for the single-tier system.

A DoE spokesperson said: "On June 19, 2014, in a written statement to the Assembly, the minister stated that, after hearing representations from all sections of the community and taxi industry, he intended to make regulations introducing a single-tier taxi licensing regime in Belfast, the same that applies in all other parts of the North.

"This move will facilitate fairer competition of taxiing in Belfast and provide consumers in Belfast with more choice, the type of choice that consumers in Enniskillen, Newry, Ballymena, Omagh and Derry already enjoy.

"The minister's position is one that is shared by the Consumer Council, Disability Action, the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee, Women's Aid, Victim Support, Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce and Visit Belfast. As the minister indicated to the committee today, the necessary regulations will be made in advance of the Christmas recess and will include an operational date of June 29, 2015."

source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/ ... 00262.html

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

Anger after Northern Ireland taxi shake-up hit by another delay


Anger has erupted after it emerged that long-awaited proposals to revamp Belfast's taxi network have been hit by yet another delay

A single-tier licensing system - which would make hailing a cab on the street easier and safer - was first mooted in 2008.

However, six years on it has still not been acted on.

The delay has been held up as another example of the stalemate at the heart of government in Northern Ireland.

Ukip MLA David McNarry said: "It is indicative of the problems we are seeing at Stormont.

"If the politicians cannot agree on a small issue like taxi licences then how can they convince anyone they can deal with major issues?

"It's another let-down by a stop-gap government which cannot make decisions."

The Taxi Act was aimed at revamping our outdated legislation on taxis, some of which goes back to the 1950s, and was passed in April 2008.

A key aspect is the creation of a single tier licensing system.

It would mean abolishing the distinction between public and private hire taxis.

Private Hire Cars will no longer have to be pre-booked. Instead, they will be able to pick up passengers from the streets - just like public taxis do.

The introduction of a single-tier licensing system would also allow drivers from outside Belfast to come into the city centre and work, meaning more taxis available at peak times.

The move is likely to force prices down because of the added competition.

The new system was originally supposed to start in 2013, then was deferred until September 2014, then January 2015, and now June 2015.

Addressing Stormont's environment committee, Environment Minister Mark H Durkan insisted he would be pressing ahead with the single-tier system.

However, the DUP and Sinn Fein are opposed to the plans and could block them with a rarely-used procedure called a prayer of annulment.

DUP MLA Peter Weir, who is a member of the Stormont environment committee, agreed the current system was not suitable.

"While a single tier may be the solution elsewhere, we are concerned that its application in Belfast city centre would damage real competition and be to the ultimate detriment of both customers and the industry as a whole," he said,

source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/ ... 02799.html

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

Those small issues affect peoples lives you f*ckwit

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