By 3 News ::
Wellington has one of the largest numbers of taxis per head of population in the world, and many believe the industry is out of control.
Courtenay Pl on Friday and Saturday nights is where people go to party, but it is not hard to leave – there are taxis everywhere. Wellington has between 1700 and 2000 taxis – roughly one taxi per between 160 people. Compare that with Sydney, where there is one cab for every 1400 people.
“When the deregulation occurred there were too few cabs and the service wasn’t good enough,” says driver John McDonald. “Now the pendulum has swung completely the other way where we have far too many cabs to contend with the available customers.”
Taxis were deregulated in New Zealand in 1989. Then there were 2500 cabs nationwide. Now there are more than 8000. There is no limit to the number of taxis allowed on the road, as long as they are properly licensed.
“It’s totally out of control now and something does need to be done,” says Mr McDonald. “It’s causing frustration for the council, and cab drivers have to make a living. They’ll do what it takes to put bread on the table.”
And it is that desperation for a fare which is concerning the council.
“We’ve had the situation of fisticuffs between taxi drivers, they get in people’s faces from a customer point of view,” says councillor Andy Foster.
Then there is a lack of taxi stands and illegal parking, a problem Mr Foster says will inevitably get worse.
“Winz is supporting people into taxi driving as a way of getting them off the dole,” he says.
The government says it has no plans to restrict the number of drivers allowed on the road. It says it is focussed on ensuring drivers are safe and properly licensed, and re-regulating the industry is not an option.
June 15, 2009 at 7:33 am
a letter received by drivers at wct from an owner, wct board approvedm the placement of 10-20 dnew cars in the fleet. some have asked for a special meeting about it to roll the board.