Major reforms to Jersey's taxi industry

Major reforms to Jersey's taxi industry have been announced.

The Transport and Technical Services Minister Deputy Eddie Noel has unveiled plans which, by 2019, will see all taxis and cabs have to charge the same maximum prices, electronic payments in vehicles and better access for disabled islanders.

Firms will also be able to charge booking fees for pre-booked journeys.

Here is a breakdown of the changes:

The difference between cabs and taxis...

  • In future 'taxis' will be the name of vehicles that have the right wheelchair accessibility standards which means they will be able to access public ranks. 'Cabs' are licenced vehicles without wheelchair access, which won't be allowed to access the ranks.

  • Both taxis and cabs will be able to be booked in advance and be hailed if their lights are on.

  • They will both have the same tariff structure, with the TTS Minister setting a maximum tariff. They can charge less than that if they want though.

Better disabled access

  • From March 2016 all wheelchair accessible vehicles will have access to the rank and all taxis will have to be wheelchair accessible by 2019.

  • Taxi-cab drivers operating wheelchair access vehicles will have to have passed disability awareness training and be fit enough to use wheelchair loading equipment and help disabled passengers in and out of the car.

Tariffs will be simplied

  • A common core tariff will be introduced with a maximum fare.

  • This will include a standard rate and an enhanced rate (for late nights/early morning and bank/public holidays). This will be applied the same across the weekends.

  • No extra charges will be applied except for when more than four passengers are in a larger capacity vehicle.

  • There will be an optional booking fee for firms for advance bookings. This can be used for large vehicle requirements (except when it is for a wheelchair or disabled access). The booking fee must be made clear in advance and won't be paid if the taxi-cab doesn't arrive in time.

Here's Deputy Eddie Noel's view on the charges:

Branding to change

  • Taxis will have to have a black, silver or grey base colour, with a Jersey taxi brand mark on the bonnet. A taxi roof sign of a specified colour will be required to show it is available to be hailed.

  • Cabs will have to have notable but less stringent livery, without a set base colour. A roof sign of specified colour identifying the company's name will be required to show when it is available to be hailed.

Improving customer service standards

  • These include making sure drivers are fluent in English and have disability awareness and support training.

  • Vehicles will provide children's booster seats by March 2016.

  • There will be electronic payment systems in all vehicles by January 2018.

The changes will be phased in by 2019.