Taxi drivers are threatening to strike over plans to remove schedule two from the Road Transport Act 2001, enabling the provisions of the act to become fully operational

TAXI drivers are considering industrial action in response to expectations that Tynwald will delimit taxi numbers and open up the service Island-wide.
This month, Transport Minister David Anderson will seek Tynwald's support to remove schedule two from the Road Transport Act 2001, enabling the provisions of the act to become fully operational.

The act brought in all-Island licensing and moved any limitation on the number of ply-for-hire taxis.

Ply-for-hire taxis get their trade from ranks or can be flagged down.

However, when the Roads Transport Act 2001 was passed it was recognised there ought to be a transition period prior to its provisions being introduced, so schedule two was brought in.

This schedule, in direct conflict with the act, required a limit on the number of ply-for-hire licences and applied a district/zoning system for these taxis.

Tynwald voted for schedule two to remain in place for five years to April 2007, and also voted to extend that period again until 2008.

The Department of Transport says it is 'duty bound' to bring the matter back to Tynwald.

But Douglas and East district taxi drivers Barry Murphy and William O'Neill argue its removal would be wrong and that scrapping schedule two will cause concern for taxi drivers over their continued ability to earn a living.

They said 'industrial action' would follow, which could involve a withdrawal of taxi services for up to a week.

There are 643 licensed taxi drivers and 343 taxis on the roads. Of that number of taxis, 116 are licensed to the Douglas and East region.
Last week, there were 56 applications for ply-for-hire licences before the licensing body.

THE TAXI DRIVERS' VIEWPOINT

TAXI driver Barry Murphy said those operating taxis were presently earning a living, but the business 'quite simply is not there' for further taxis operators. If it was, it would have been apparent from the Unmet Needs Survey in 2006, he said.

Mr Murphy believes the taxi service is at about 90 per cent best efficiency.

He also said it is 'right' to have operating zones/districts.

'An all-Island system will be a far inferior system,' he said.

The change, he said, would mean fewer taxis operating outside of Douglas, with the majority seeking ply-for-hire in the capital, where, he claimed, business was slow without the infrastructure to support a buoyant nightlife.

'Unlimited taxis, minus no people – equals negative equity,' he said.
The resolution, he said, would be to keep the four ply-for-hire licensed zones and have offices in each.

'Get taxi operators in, find out what is going on. Have your surveys in each individual area. If more licences are needed issue the licenses, if no licenses are needed don't issue them,' he said.

'The all-Island system will not work, it will never work, because there are no guarantees of taxis anywhere in the Isle of Man. (There is] not even a guarantee, really, of a taxi in Douglas, but we all know taxis will be full in Douglas. But, certainly not going to be a guarantee of a taxi anywhere else,' said Mr Murphy.

'Regards the delimitation issue, it would be a crime to introduce…because the Unmet Needs Survey carried out in 2006 clearly said that taxi drivers have guaranteed to pay higher fees regards their licence plates to pay for any on-going surveys that need to be carried out.

'All we want is fairness. The government will possibly let the public believe we are just looking for everything for ourselves. We are just looking to earn a living,' he said.

Taxi driver William O'Neill, who has a wife and five-year-old daughter as well as a mortgage, believes removal of schedule two will cause him financial difficulty.

'(We're] not just the only ones (affected],' he said.

Mr O'Neill said 90 per cent of licences in Douglas being operated were business that have been bought.

'I think RTLC and government are trying to put a stop to the selling of taxi businesses and that is what they're concerned about and that is why trying to delimit numbers to essentially make licences worthless,' he said.

Schedule two ensures there must be an unmet need criteria for a licence to be issued.

The 2006 Unmet Needs Survey found there was no need for more taxis, he said. In fact, the Island was one of the best served districts, he said.

Mr O'Neill also argued it was never guaranteed that Tynwald would remove schedule two, but it was only ever a 'possibility'.

THE DEPARTMENT of Transport is 'duty bound' to bring Schedule Two back before Tynwald.

Highways director Bruce Hannay said there were a number of 'quite involved' discussions with the taxi trade, and other relevant parties, leading to the Road Transport Act 2001.

The act, which was passed by Tynwald, brought in all-Island licensing and it 'takes away the artificial restriction on numbers for ply-for-hire taxis', said Mr Hannay.

'The DoT is duty bound to bring it back to Tynwald,' said Mr Hannay.
'The transitional arrangements of schedule two cannot go on for ever. Tynwald will decide on whether to remove schedule two.'

Transport Minister David Anderson will ask Tynwald this month that the transitional provisions of schedule two end and the provisions in the act become fully operational.

Mr Hannay stressed the all-Island licensing and the delimitation were two separate issues.

As taxi drivers currently are operating in zones – North West, Douglas and East, Malew and South – it means that when a driver takes someone to the airport, they cannot bring someone else back because it is not their operating district.

'This was determined not to be in the public interest, as if nothing else it has an effect on the fare,' said Mr Hannay.

Delimitation, he said, would allow the RTLC – the independent body charged with licensing public passenger vehicles – to concentrate on quality of licences issued.

Mr Hannay admitted if Schedule Two is dropped: 'There will be an initial fluctuation of taxis, but think it will settle down. The taxis business will be able to react quicker to changes in demand.'

Asked about the Unmet Needs Survey 2006, he said: 'A survey only has a limited life. To be dependent completely on having surveys is not a way to set up legislation.'

He added that anyone who has bought a taxi operator's licence since 2004 has had it explained to them that Schedule Two will be removed.

Asked if the department agreed the move to all-Island taxis would have a detrimental impact in obtaining a taxi outside of Douglas, Mr Hannay said: 'We don't accept that. If there is a demand for taxis, say in the north, someone will set up to meet that demand.'

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