MANAGER
But not everything was good before the taxi reform.
MANY DRIVING ILLEGALLY: One in four of the checked taxis in a major operation in October was immediately banned from use, many due to serious violations of laws and regulations. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
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Manager: This is an editorial from Dagbladet, and expresses the newspaper’s views. Dagbladet’s political editor is responsible for the editorial.
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Rotten conditions in the taxi industry was unveiled in a large-scale operation in October. The police, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, the Tax Administration, the Juster Administration and the counties of Oslo and Viken joined forces to check all cars and drivers at a number of taxi ranks. One in four of the inspected cars was immediately banned from use, many due to serious violations of laws and regulations.
That time we wrote that this was not surprising. The release of the taxi industry has led to such a large number of drivers that the demand is not large enough to feed them all. The competition has led to more working hours for drivers and a greater risk of tax evasion. Now the Government Støre will take action, and in a press release Monday morning Minister of Transport and Communications Jon-Ivar Nygård announces that they will soon send a proposal out for consultation. The government will stop the release of the industry introduced by the previous government and send out proposals such as new requirements for competence, bank guarantee, ceiling light and registration of the vehicle as a taxi.
Grip days
Something has to be done with the taxi industry. In one year, the previous government’s deregulation has resulted in more than 4,000 new taxi licenses. Although the liberalization of the taxi reform only included the 33 largest municipalities in Norway, it has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of cars: 45 per cent on a national basis and 69 per cent only in Oslo. The number in itself means that taxis today have to wait much longer for trips and stand much still, with correspondingly less income for the drivers. And without it giving correspondingly lower prices for passengers.
The action in October revealed that one in four taxis was driving illegally. In addition to this, there are the cars that do not have lights on the roof at the stops, but drive in the so-called gray market – with various apps and without roof parameters. Here there is reason to believe that the condition is even worse.
Can move on
But not everything was good either before the taxi reform. The taxi industry is a complicated area, with complex challenges with different solutions. As the report «Taxi regulation in Norwegian cities – challenges and alternatives» from the Department of Transport Economics in 2019 shows: There is no ideal regulation that can easily solve the different needs for street traffic, the order market and contract driving at the same time.
The report nevertheless has a clear conclusion: A release of number regulation, taximeter obligation and central affiliation – which was introduced by the Solberg Government after this report was written – is the worst solution of several possible. Now a thorough process is needed to find the best solution for the future.
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