Oct 17 - Poor Taxi Service “Unacceptable” Says Chamber
The Chamber of Commerce says it is heartened that the Gibraltar Taxi Association agrees with the Chamber’s comments on the poor state of the City Taxi Service when interviewed by GBC. The Chamber says that recognition of the situation is the first step in trying to resolve it.
A statement continued: “The Chamber is grateful for the offer from the GTA to spend a day with their drivers to see the problems which they encounter. Nevertheless, the offer misses the central point which is the lack of availability and the inconsistent and poor reliability of the City Taxi Service.
“There may indeed, at certain times, be traffic congestion or delays when the runway barrier is down, but the numerous complaints the Chamber has received over many years and most recently are not about this. They are about lack of availability of the City Taxi Service when it is needed at various points around Gibraltar whether at the frontier, at the airport or in town. There are either no taxis at the ranks or they are often not available when a taxi is ordered by ‘phone, at whatever time of the day or night. This is unacceptable to a jurisdiction promoting itself as a modern city which seeks to attract business and tourism from around the world. First impressions count and the first impression to many of our visitors is a third rate taxi service.
“The GTA assured the public three years ago that the £300,000 of taxpayer’s money being loaned to the GTA to install new meters in each taxi would ensure that taxis could be despatched efficiently around Gibraltar for the new City Service. This, they said at the time, would resolve the issue about availability of the City Service. The government said at the time that the new system would be reviewed after 3 months to see if further changes were necessary.
“The GTA got the money, they got the new meters, but the public did not get the service.
“The number of visitors to Gibraltar, both tourists and businesspeople, has increased enormously since the frontier re-opened fully in 1985. In contrast, the number of taxi licences has remained virtually static since the frontier re-opened. The fact remains that despite repeated assurances over the years by the GTA that the City Service would improve, to date, the City Taxi Service is not working. The public recognises it, even the GTA recognises it. Proper reliable alternatives must now be considered.”
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