Good news in a City of Cape Town weekly newsletter is the development of a by-law intended to regulate the metered taxi industry in Cape Town, which has got out of hand in the operation of its service.

The City’s by-law is intended to regulate fares, ‘pick-up conditions’, safety, vehicle standards, and to set minimum service standards, intended to be implemented over the next three years.  In developing the new strategy, the City of Cape Town consulted with the Western Cape Metered Taxi Council, and did a comparative study of international best practice in cities such as New York, Dublin, Sydney, and Nairobi.

The City had set a moratorium on issuing new taxi licences until yesterday, and now all new applications will be evaluated against the new metered taxi strategy.   Included in the strategy is addressing the following concerns regarding the industry:

• electronic hailing (e-hailing)
• the quality of vehicles
• poorly trained drivers
• relatively high tariffs that are unrelated to the quality of service rendered
• the lack of services outside the Cape Town central business district (CBD)
• the lack of universal accessibility for passengers with special needs
• inadequate regulation and law enforcement

City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Transport Councillor Brett Herron said that workshops held with taxi operators earlier this year highlighted challenges for the industry, including competition from illegal operators, constraints for new operators to enter the market, e-hailing, and a limit on the number of operating licences.

Uber is clearly a threat to the industry (e-hailing) , and the City has announced that ‘a specific by-law will be developed to govern electronic payments with debit or credit card, and e-hailing – the use of an e-hailing application to book a metered taxi and other modes of public transport such as charter and tourist services’, but has not said what the measures will be.  Uber has received resistance to its service from the existing taxi operators in many countries.  In Germany, for example, Uber was stopped from operating for a week through a court application brought by a taxi association, but this was subsequently overturned. 

Taxis will no longer be restricted to specific routes, or within a specific radius, as has been the case up to now.  The City is confident that the new strategy for the metered taxi industry will enhance taxi operators income, and will boost the economy of Cape Town and create more jobs.  

The key elements of the Cape Town metered taxi industry strategy include:

• ‘a maximum fare/km will be specified, with a minimum charge for short distances and a waiting time charge
• the fare for a journey will be regardless of the number of passengers, intermediate stops, time travelled or luggage
• flat fares will be introduced for trips from the airport to main destinations in the city
• a roof sign will be on display at all times when the vehicle is being used as a metered taxi
• approved rates will be displayed on the vehicle and sealed in the meter
• the maximum age of vehicles will be restricted to eight years as opposed to the current 12-year renewal requirement
• operators will be incentivised to provide wheelchair-accessible taxis
• any booking fee payable by the taxi operator to a third party, e.g. e-hailing, will be regulated
• knowledge, ability and customer care tests for drivers will be introduced
• a formal complaint system will be established for passengers to report bad service
• investigations will be launched (as required) into operators’ performance which may lead to the suspension of a licence
• rank operators will be allowed to pick up passengers at any formal municipal rank within the city
• base operators will be allowed to pick up passengers throughout the city, but not at municipal ranks
• temporary ranks will be created at hot spots where there is a high demand for metered taxi services at a specific time of day/night
• a metered taxi charter will be developed‘.

The strategy and by-law are expected to be completed in the current financial year, piloted in the 2015/16 financial year, and implemented thereafter.

It is concerning that the City’s statement in regard to metered taxis has not involved the Tourism industry, and does not refer to Tourism at all!   In Camps Bay we observe the dreadful driving habits of the taxi drivers, making U-turns at the Bay Hotel instead of driving around the block, blocking all (single-lane) traffic in both directions. They take up all available parking bays on the beachfront, despite the bays not being reserved for taxis. They drive too fast, cut in front of other cars, and have no regard for traffic rules, creating a dreadful image of our industry of lawlessness for the tourism industry in Cape Town!  There are no traffic cops to regulate these transgressions in Camps Bay, and in other areas of Cape Town!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Tel (021) 433-2100, Twitter:@WhaleCottage Facebook:  click here