Guernsey Press

Taxi review can drive change

REGULATION of Guernsey’s taxi sector is based on a model which developed picking up islanders queueing at taxi ranks decades ago. It changed when the use of telephones became widespread, and involving companies taking and running centralised bookings.

Published

The advent of the mobile phone saw the system revert back to something similar to the rank-based model. But now, with more cars on the roads and far fewer tourists, the rank is no longer a gold mine. And with taxi driving barely making some a living for the hours they put in, change is needed.

The new report commissioned by the Environment & Infrastructure Committee is, as the committee wanted, ‘warts and all’. It probably doesn’t make very pleasant reading for taxi drivers, remarking on the ‘very low current credibility’ of the sector.

In a market almost entirely populated with single operators, and with its industry organisation apparently barely functioning, it’s understandable that there is no cohesion to ensure the island gets the service it needs.

Of course everyone wants a taxi immediately, when they need one. Even if that’s only once a year. Meanwhile taxi drivers will rely on their regular clients, their bread and butter, to help earn their living. That’s a model that islanders can largely tolerate.

But it’s not an optimum service, and the visitor, particularly, seems to suffer. This review needs to prompt change.