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IRU Policies and

Taxi Regulation in Finland28th March 2013 Moscow

Nina Nizovsky

The Finnish Taxi Owners´ Federation

IRU Taxi Group

IRU Policies on the Social Role of Taxis

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IRU Taxis and Hire Cars with Driver Group

• Working Group in the IRU

• Represents the interests of the taxi sector

• Vis-a-vis national and international decision-makers

• To promote and develop taxi transport for the good of the industry and of the customers

• 15 member states

• Meetings 2 times / year

• Ad hoc Working groups and projects

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The Taxi Group monitors and intervenes• Exchanges experiences and best practices

• Innovative new solutions for taxi transport, diversification of services

• Traffic safety and security of taxi drivers

• Iniatives to EU bodies

• Industry-friendly social rules i.e. working time rules

• Development of new markets and special services

• Taxi fares

• New and cleaner vehicles

• New technologies , Apps, Smart phones, cahless payment, cameras

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The Taxi Group promotes• The quality of the taxi market and taxi services

• Access to Profession rules

• Recognition of taxis as a means of collective / public transport

• The EU public-private High Level Group recognises now also taxis as a key part of the public passanger mobility chain

• Doubling the use of collective passanger transport including taxis

• The image of taxis

• Taxis are the most flexible mode of public transport

• Taxi – Anytime! Anywhere!

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Public Regulation of Taxi Services in Finland

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Taxi regulation in Finland• 10.500 taxis / 9.500 license-holders

• Ca. 15.000 drivers

• 55 million passengers and 830 million kilometres / year

• Total turnover 1 billion euros

• 55 % of taxis in cities, 45 % in rural areas

• 40 % privately paid trips

• 40 % publicly financed

• 20 % business trips

Taxi drivers requirements

• Permanent driving licence

• Mandatory vocational training of 30 hours

• Retraining 7 hours every 5 years

• Age under 70 years,

• Criminal record check

• Medical certificate

• Local area knowledge

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Access to Profession / Taxi License• Experience as a taxi driver / in Helsinki up to 9 years / less

in the country-side

• Certain solvency criteria, no formal guarantees required

• Good repute / criminal check

• 120 hours mandatory training in an authorised

collage / or specific higher education plus exam

• Examination demonstrating professional competence

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Taxi regulation in Finland• The taxi industry is regulated by Taxi law

• The law is enforced by Ministry of Transport and Communication

• There are certain quality demands for all drivers and operators

• License system is based on regional quotas, which are decided yearly by State Provincial Offices

• These authorities also issue licenses

• On the road checks on licenses, vehicles and working hours are made by police

• Suomen Taksiliitto, The Finnish Taxi Owners´ Federation interacts with the decision-makers

• Almost 90 % of operators are members

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Taxi licensing system • One license / car

• No restrictions on amount of licenses / operator / normally 1 - 2

• Licenses are issued according to seniority among qualified applicants

• From 2013 licenses are issued every 3 years to existing operators

• Licenses are valid permanently

• But there is a criminal record check and financial check yearly

• Licenses are not transferable, except for 330 companies in Helsinki, which can be bought and sold until 2017

• Only tax is paid for the licence

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Other regulations• Registering taximeters are mandatory

• The taxi sign is mandatory

• Credit cards, smart cards, Taxi cards accepted

• Safety cameras in approx. 40 % of taxis

• Maximum fares for street customers based on the law and checked once / year

• 40 major dispatching centres

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