Issuing of taxi plates (FOI)

Request

A

What is the position of Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVS) with regards to the number of taxi plates in circulation (adequate / too few / too many?)

B

If inadequate, what actions are DVS taking to remedy this?

C

Please provide copies of all data along with corresponding analysis which lead to the position in (A) being taken, including but not limited to: unmet demand surveys, public forums and comparisons with similar jurisdictions.

D

Please provide copies of all correspondence between DVS and recognised booking entities or taxi associations pertaining to the number of plates in circulation.

E

Please provide a breakdown of ages of taxi drivers, in the following categories: 21 to 30, 31 to 40, 41 to 50, 51 to 60, 61 to 70, 70+

F

What is DVS doing to increase the number of younger drivers entering the industry?

G

How many individuals are currently on the waiting list for a taxi plate?

Response

A and B

DVS consider the number of taxi plates in circulation as adequate at this time.

C

This information is contained within the Taxi Reform Programme Report and appendices and the Taxi Reform Regulation review. This information is therefore exempt under Article 23 (Accessible by Other Means) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as it is already available to view on the Consultation pages on www.gov.je using the following links:

The future of taxis - public consultation

Taxi regulation review

D

Whilst DVS have been in contact with taxi associations and companies to discuss a variety of matters there has not been any specific discussion / correspondence solely relating to the number of plates in circulation.

We estimate to review all correspondence, meeting notes and so on, between ourselves and taxi associations in order to find and extract information relating solely to the number of taxi plates in circulation would exceed the 12.5 hour working hours allowed for responding to Freedom of Information requests. This information is therefore exempt in accordance with Regulation 2 (1) of the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014. This part of your request, therefore, will not be processed further.

E

Because of the way our records are structured we have only been able to provide a breakdown of the age categories set out below for plate and licence holders.

Please note that 40 of the licences are issued to taxi companies and are not linked to specific individuals, therefore, we are unable to provide the ages for these.

F

DVS has modernised the entry requirements and is working with taxi companies to encourage new drivers into the industry. The reform programme is structured in way that makes the taxi profession attractive to younger people.

G

There are 118 individuals on the waiting list as at 24 June 2019.

Articles applied

Article 23 Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

Article 16 A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations.

Regulation 2 (1) of the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 allows an authority to refuse a request for information where the estimated cost of dealing with the request would exceed the specified amount of the cost limit of £500. This is the estimated cost of one person spending 12.5 working hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.