Wednesday 05 August 2015
Media Enquiry from Guernsey Press:
I am following up on a letter sent to you by Chamber relating to concerns about connectivity relating to taxis.
I was hoping to get a comment from the Department about how many taxi plates there are in Guernsey and what could be done to improve local taxi services?
One concern raised was about the last of taxi drivers at the airport, but also the distance from the ferry terminal to the nearest taxi rank.
Is there any way to department can address these problems.
Environment Department Response:
The Integrated Transport Strategy approved by the States in 2014 included a workstream to investigate possible improvement to Taxi provision in Guernsey. The report also commented on the possibility of a buy back and rent out scheme for taxi plates. With the absence of funding to date work has not commenced on this workstream other than to carry out some minor research into the history of taxi plate allocation and to examine how other authorities assess and evaluate the adequacy or otherwise of taxi provision.
The Environment Department notes that the Chamber of Commerce is calling for a CICRA review of the taxi industry and the Department has discussed with CICRA its position in that respect. Independent reviews of the Taxi industry have previously been carried out in Guernsey by Halcrow and such reviews typically include surveys to establish perception and reality in respect of unmet taxi demand and or unmet taxi supply. The reviews then examine the effectiveness of the legislation and policies in regulating the demand and supply thus ensuring an effective market place. Further discussion and consideration is required but it may well be beneficial for any review CICRA might undertake to be carried out in the light of initial findings by a specialist industry advisor such as Halcrow.
Importantly it should be noted that the Environment Department was aware of the need for and committed to delivering a review of the taxi industry in advance of any call from Chamber and so Chamber can rest assured that such a review will be carried out in accordance with the States resolutions.
Contact Information:
Steve Smith, Chief Officer
Environment Department
Tel: 717200
