Uber seeks further changes to taxi laws
Reforms do not address all concerns
WELLINGTON: Ridesharing giant Uber is seeking further changes to New Zealand laws for taxi services, saying reforms before Parliament do not go far enough.
The company is understood to be lobbying Transport Minister Simon Bridges to amend a law that would require it to collect logbooks from its drivers and present vehicles for inspection at short notice.
The clause is part of reforms that are expected to return to Parliament soon and will bring taxis, shuttles, private hire vehicles and dialadriver services into a single category.
The law changes already make significant concessions to companies like Uber, by making it easier for drivers to get the required background and compliance checks and by scrapping safety requirements such as intaxi cameras.
A parliamentary committee made further recommendations earlier this month.
An Uber spokesman said the company welcomed changes that would make it cheaper and quicker for drivers to get accreditation.
The spokesman also noted that not all Uber’s concerns had been addressed, and it would work with the Government to resolve them as soon as possible.
Uber said that, as it stood, the legislation failed to distinguish between traditional taxi companies, or ‘‘operators’’, and ‘‘facilitators’’ such as Uber, which simply matched up drivers with passengers.
It would require Uber to present vehicles for inspection ‘‘at a moment’s notice’’, despite the fact it did not own or operate the cars. It would also require Uber to keep fuel receipts and collect logbooks from its 4000 drivers, which it called ‘‘an unfeasible administrative burden’’.
The company’s concerns further highlight the Government’s difficulties in regulating new technologies, and the tension between new and old businesses.
The reforms have already angered traditional taxi companies because they remove requirements for drivers to pass area knowledge and English language tests.
Blue Bubble taxis, the country’s largest taxi group, said the changes also put passengers and drivers at risk by getting rid of a requirement for CCTV cameras in small passenger vehicles, an initiative that was introduced in 2011 after the deaths of two taxi drivers.
Blue Bubble chief executive Bob Wilkinson said there was nothing to stop unregistered drivers from fraudulently using a registered Uber driver’s account, and alleged this was already taking place. That was rejected by Uber yesterday.
The company said it now carried out random ID checks on its drivers, requiring them to send a ‘‘selfie’’ through the Uber app, which was compared with a file photo. If the photos did not match, the account was blocked while the company investigated.
The Government has said language and area knowledge tests have been made redundant by GPS technology. — NZME