Politicians urged to consider public safety ahead of vote

Politicians urged to consider public safety ahead of vote

Ahead of the Land Transport Amendment Bill being considered by Parliament this evening, Blue Bubble urges politicians to consider public and driver safety when it votes on watered down safety provisions.

“While the taxi industry welcomes change, now is not the time to step back from safety,” says Blue Bubble Chief Executive Bob Wilkinson.

“We disagree with the argument from other companies that technology ensures a safe method of transport through the verification of the identity of both drivers and passengers. It has been our argument that an app only provides details of two mobile phones, with no guarantees as to who is actually using the phone.

“The recent media attention on Uber, and how they broke the rules for operating on the Apple platform, shows that they are more than aware of the issue. In fact, they took active measures to mitigate the risk of stolen and fraudulent phone use resulting in threats of removal from the Apple App store.

“Scant regard for the rules should not be tolerated in New Zealand. The laws are put in place to ensure the public’s safety. We, along with New Zealanders, expect that the rules are enforced.

“We strongly advocate for security cameras to remain mandatory in small passenger service vehicles given the proven safety benefits cameras can bring. It is simply incorrect to say that technology replaces the need of security cameras. It is simple. Cameras save lives and should be in all Passenger Service vehicles, with very limited exemptions such as wedding cars and limousines.

“We are also disappointed that there is no requirement for clear signage on vehicles. It beggars belief that the public cannot identify the car they get into, and there are consequences for The Police and their ability to enforce the legislation and carry out investigations.

“The recent media coverage about the Uber drive who drove from Auckland to Wellington dangerously exceeding his work time hours reinforces our concerns with the removal from legislation of the requirement to pass the NZQA Unit Standard to ‘Demonstrate knowledge of fatigue management, work time and driver logbook requirements’. This understanding is important for the safety of both passengers and other road users.

“Members of Parliament must stand up for passenger and driver safety, and pass fair legislation to provide certainty for the industry. The last thing we want to see is a loss of public confidence in the small passenger services industry.

ends

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