www.taksiliitto.fi
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
www.taksiliitto.fi
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
www.taksiliitto.fi
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
www.taksiliitto.fi
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!
www.taksiliitto.fi
Public Regulation of Taxi Services in Finland
www.taksiliitto.fi
www.taksiliitto.fi
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
www.taksiliitto.fi
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
www.taksiliitto.fi
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
www.taksiliitto.fi
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