It can be argued that the introduction of a legal power and perhaps additional regulations for taxis for municipalities to also set additional quality requirements for the order market is not obvious. Moreover, such regulation is not expected to be effective. After all, the additional quality requirements that municipalities can impose with local taxi regulations are aimed at the specific characteristics of the entry-level market. The Minister writes this to the House in her explanation of the taxi policy and regulations for the taxi market.

Nine municipalities currently use this authority. According to van Nieuwenhuizen, this does not mean that there is an unfair playing field within these municipalities. After all, the same additional municipal rules apply to all providers on the start-up market in the relevant municipality, just as the same national rules apply to all providers on the order market in the municipality.

regulations for the boarding and ordering market

In a letter, FNV argues for the equalization of this part of the taxi regulations, by extending the authority of the municipalities to impose additional quality requirements to the order market.

In general, I consider it important to avoid unnecessary regulation. So equalizing should not be an end in itself. This is all the more in view of the role that ordered transport can play in Mobility-as-a-Service. In the interest of the traveler, developments on the supply side must be prevented from being limited by more regulation than is justified by the public interest. " Cora van Nieuwenhuizen - Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management.

Extending the power to local regulation is only relevant if it is clear that there are quality problems on the order market and that they cannot be solved within the existing (legal) frameworks. The Minister has not yet discovered such problems for which this is the case. Available figures indicate rather that the quality on the order market is valued higher than that on the start-up market, also in municipalities that have imposed additional quality requirements on the start-up market.

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roof light will not lead to quality in the ordering market

After all, the additional quality requirements that municipalities can impose with a local taxi regulation are focused on the specific characteristics of the entry-level market.

“The municipality is authorized to set requirements for the recognisability of taxi vehicles. In practice, a skylight is then made compulsory, making the entrepreneur and the driver recognizable to the traveler. The traveler can use this for a subsequent taxi ride to assess whether he or she gets into a taxi from this entrepreneur again and, in the event of a complaint, knows who the driver in question was. This is based on a quality incentive. ”, Illustrates the Minister.

By definition, the passenger knows on the order market from which carrier the taxi ride has been requested. After all, this was contacted via telephone, website or app. A mandatory roof light in the taxi regulations for the order market will therefore not lead to additional quality incentives.

enforcement and sanctions in practice

Minister van Nieuwenhuizen believes that the regulatory framework should not lead to unjustified differences in enforcement or sanctioning. In other words, there should be no differences in this which are not justified by the specificities of the markets.

KNV en FNV indicate that the entry-level market is more heavily enforced than in the order market. In the nine municipalities that have imposed additional quality requirements, the municipality maintains these requirements on the start-up market. It is logical and justified that more enforcement takes place on balance, since taxis operating in these municipalities on the boarding market must not only meet the national requirements, but also the local additional requirements. Moreover, this also means that enforcement will continue to apply to providers that are active in the entry-level market without meeting these local requirements.

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Because the other regulations that taxis must comply with do not distinguish between the start-up market and the ordering market, there is no basis on the basis of this regulation to enforce more heavily on the start-up market. It is up to the respective enforcement authorities (such as the police, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), the Tax Authorities and the SZW Inspectorate) to determine the enforcement effort based on their own considerations.

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Minister of Nieuwenhuizen
Taxi Sign On Roof Of Car
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