29 September 2015
The Minister for Transport and Technical Services has announced plans for changes to the taxi industry in Jersey.
Changes, which focus on improving customer services, will start to be implemented next year and continue in phases through to 2019. The changes follow a thorough review of the taxi-cab service, which included the Minister and Assistant Minister meeting with drivers and visiting the taxi ranks in the evenings.
The main changes for customers will be:
- a simpler fare structure that the public can easily understand
- for all taxi-cabs to accept electronic payments
- for all taxi-cabs to be bookable (a booking fee can be charged)
- for all taxis (public rank) to be wheelchair accessible
- for all taxi-cabs to carry a child’s booster seat
- for all taxi-cabs to have identifiable branding, with those cars using the ranks also being a common colour or colours
- for drivers to undergo regular customer service and disability awareness training and medicals
These changes, as well as other regulatory changes, will take time to implement and for the drivers to accommodate, which is why the programme runs through until 2019.
Transport and Technical Services Minister, Deputy Eddie Noel, said "These plans have taken longer to develop than I would have liked, but I thought it was important that I personally got to know the taxi industry as changes can affect people’s livelihoods. Currently, standards of customer service and condition and facilities in vehicles vary. We have taken account of the feedback from consultation and industry best practice and arrived at a suite of changes that we believe will much improve taxi service for the customer."
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