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A decision made 28 January 2010 regarding: Taxicab licence holders - minimum mileage requirement.

Decision Reference: MD-T-2010-0005
Decision Summary Title :	Mileage Requirement for Taxicab Licence Holders		Date of Decision Summary:	21 January 2010
Decision Summary Author:	Head of DVS & Inspector of Motor Traffic		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Mileage Requirement for Taxicab Licence Holders		Date of Written Report:	21 January 2010
Written Report Author:	Head of DVS & Inspector of Motor Traffic		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Mileage Requirement for Taxicab Licence Holders
Decision(s): The Assistant Minister approved the minimum mileage requirements to be attached as a condition of taxicab licences.
Reason(s) for Decision: To apply a more responsive measure of level of service to be provided by licence holders.
Resource Implications: None
Action required: Head of Driver and Vehicle Standards to :- write to all licence holders notifying them of the approved minimum mileage requirements; apply the appropriate revised condition to relevant licences; and take other appropriate steps where a licence holder fails to meet the condition.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Taxicab licence holders - minimum mileage requirement

TRANSPORT & TECHNICAL SERVICES

MILEAGE REQUIREMENT FOR TAXI-CAB LICENCE HOLDERS

PURPOSE

To establish the minimum mileage condition of licence to be applied to controlled and restricted taxi-cab licences.

BACKGROUND

Currently, each taxi-cab licence issued is subject to conditions which the licensee must meet “to ensure the proper operation of the vehicle and the public service to be provided by the vehicle”. The only condition applied to licences that is readily measurable is a minimum mileage requirement.

While there will be a higher mileage set for vehicles that are double-shifted (the vehicle operates throughout the day with more than one driver), in recent years the minimum mileage set for licence holders has been 20,000 miles per year.

Representations have been made that the current minimum mileage requirement is excessive in the current economic climate.

DISCUSSION

A note providing relevant information on mileages returned by licence holders and factors that influence the amount of taxi use was provided previously.

The evidence is inconclusive. There is little change in the number of visitors to the Island, albeit the recent global economic downturn may have been a significant factor in the past months for which information is not available. Public demand may have reduced due to people not going out as much or when they do, driving themselves or using the bus. Taxi fares have increased at a higher rate than inflation but there is no solid evidence that licence holders have reduced hours of operation or maintained income levels.

While there are occasional complaints about queues at the Airport and Weighbridge and the lack of service to house calls, the Department receives few complaints about the level of service provided by taxi-cabs.

There appears to be a consensus that licence holders who have reached retirement age should be treated differently from those that are below retirement age. Dealing with licence holders who are under 65, the basic options are:-

Maintain the current condition of licence (20,000 miles per year);
Amend the condition of licence;
Remove the condition of licence;
Replace the condition of licence

The best option would be (d) as a better measure of demand, level of service, hours of operation and other performance indicators would be obtained by interrogating the taxi meter. However, this will require investment and additional officer time to monitor. A more practical option in present circumstances is (b), by using a simple formula based on the average return (accepting that the average return reflects the amount of demand / work available). Adopting this approach would leave a standard condition that allows the minimum mileage to fluctuate with demand / average mileage. A further parameter in the formula could be deducting 3000 miles to account for those licence holders who declare that the vehicle is not used for personal journeys.

Assuming a driver 65+ wishes to work part-time, setting a minimum level of service is too prescriptive. It is proposed that licence holders over 65 have no minimum requirement. However, to ensure that a continuous full-time service is provided, a full-time licence should be issued for every two part-time licence holders 65 and over that return mileages of less than 50 percent of the average overall mileage. For the current average overall mileage of 20,600, seven “part-time retired” licences would produce returns below 10,300 meaning three full-time controlled licences would be issued.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Assistant Minister is recommended to agree the following:-

Set the minimum mileage to be achieved by those licence holders under 65 years old at 75 percent of the overall average mileage recorded in the previous year for that class of licence. (For a controlled taxicab licence holder who declares the licensed vehicle is not used for personal journeys, the minimum mileage to be achieved in the coming year would be 12,500 miles; it would be 15,500 for licensed vehicles used for personal journeys).

Licence holders who are 65 and older should apply for a part time retired licence. No minimum mileage would be set but for every two such licensed vehicles that return mileages below 50 percent of the overall average mileage, a full-time taxi-cab licence should be issued.

Any licence holder who double shifts his / her vehicle by employing an additional driver should continue to have the minimum mileage set according to the manner of operation. However, the licence holder will operate the vehicle personally, on a full-time basis with the minimum mileage to be done personally by the licence holder calculated on the same basis as a licence holder under 65 years old.

The overall average mileage will be assessed from records twice a year and the taxi-cab organisations advised accordingly.

This policy should be reviewed on a regular basis to gauge its effectiveness.

REASON(S) FOR DECISION

To apply a more responsive measure of level of service to be provided by licence holders.

ACTION REQUIRED

Head of Driver and Vehicle Standards will:-

write to all licence holders notifying them of the approved minimum mileage requirements;
apply the appropriate revised condition to relevant licences; and
take other appropriate steps where a licence holder fails to meet the condition.

Written by:	Head of Driver and Vehicle Standards

Approved by:	Acting Director of Transport