City to crack down on rogue taxi drivers

Unruly late-night scenes at downtown Auckland taxi stands have sparked plans for a permit scheme to restore some semblance of order before the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Auckland City's transport committee has endorsed in principle - subject to consulting the taxi industry - a regime designed to exert peer pressure on rogue drivers. "We have an important time ahead of us in terms of demonstrating what kind of city we are," parking services acting group manager Rick Bidgood told the committee.

The scheme, backed by a parking advisory board including transport industry representatives, will target inner-city trouble spots before possibly being rolled out to areas such as Ponsonby Rd and Eden Park.

Violations by individual drivers such as double-parking at council-owned stands will bring down demerit points on their companies or cooperatives, which will have permits suspended if they accrue too many black marks.

That means all of their drivers will be banned from using the stands until their permits are restored, a system which has been pioneered at Auckland Airport.

A staff report to the transport committee complained of dangerous parking by taxis both at central city stands and at major event venues such as Eden Park and Mt Smart Stadium.

It said the emergence of a significant number of substandard operators since industry deregulation in 1989 had led to about 500 complaints a year to the city council about driver behaviour.

Such operators, unable to compete for the lucrative telephone despatch market, concentrated on taxi stands and on-street parking spaces "where there is less opportunity for consumers, particularly tourists, to exercise discretion on quality of service and safety".

Parking board member Steve Bonnici, who is managing director of Urgent Couriers, said the scheme would rely on peer pressure to bring offenders into line.

"Let's call it the taxi bad boys' scheme" he told the committee.

"If one rogue operator racks up a lot of points, the whole organisation loses its use of the stands."

Mr Bonnici's board had approved the scheme following residents' complaints about driver behaviour and after indications of support from major taxi companies.

Mr Bidgood said the worst spots were Quay St, the Viaduct Harbour, Customs St and behind Chancery Lane, where taxis jostled for custom from patrons leaving nightclubs.

Infringement notices were failing to deter some "fly-by-night" operators, prompting complaints about noise and double-parking.

Mr Bidgood said some Auckland cabs were in very poor condition compared with fleets in Australian cities, where industry standards were highly regulated and drivers tended to be "a lot more professional."

He believed the new permit scheme could be extended to give the city council more control over taxis at major events, such as big games at Eden Park, and matched by an increase in the number of central Auckland ranks from the existing 24.

One-way corridors could be set up for the exclusive use of taxi organisations with permits.

The transport committee gave approval to develop the proposal further before reporting back for final approval, but decided that an initial annual permit fee of $75.50 plus GST for each taxi should be reviewed after the first year.

Taxi Federation executive director Tim Reddish, whose organisation represents 45 per cent of the industry, said that although he had yet to receive details of the scheme he was very supportive of it in principle "because it is the only way of ensuring we get some quality and good behaviour".