Vol. 467 No. 7
175 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment in view of the crisis in the taxi service at Christmas time and late night Friday and Saturdays whether he will consider amending the Soliciting Act to allow for the optional sharing of taxis, as in Paris for example; and whether it will be possible to do this by next Christmas. [14407/96]
The Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations 1963 provide that a taxi driver is prohibited from inviting or allowing any person to travel in the taxi without the consent of the person hiring the vehicle. This is an essential protection for passengers of taxis. The original hirer may, however, agree to sharing if she/he so wishes. I have no proposals to amend these provisions at this stage.
The Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 1995 provide that decisions in relation to the adequacy of taxi services in an area are a matter for local authorities. While I have no proposals to amend the 1995 regulations at this stage, I intend to review them in the light of experience of their operation.
