Taxi Regulation Act 2013

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, commencement and collective citation

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Taxi Regulation Act 2013.

(2) This Act comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions.

(3) The Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2011 and Part 11 may be cited together as the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2013.

2. Definitions

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1961” means Road Traffic Act 1961;

“Act of 2003” means Taxi Regulation Act 2003;

“Act of 2008” means Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008;

“Act of 2009” means Public Transport Regulation Act 2009;

“Act of 2010” means Road Traffic Act 2010;

“Advisory Committee” means the committee known, in the English language, as the Advisory Committee on Small Public Service Vehicles or, in the Irish language, An Coiste Comhairleach um Beagfheithiclí Seirbhíse Poiblí;

“appointed stand” means a stand appointed by bye-laws made under section 25(1);

“assessment regulations” means regulations made under section 8(1);

“Authority” means National Transport Authority;

“authorised person” means—

(a) a person appointed by the Authority to be an authorised person under section 40, or

(b) a member of the Garda Síochána;

“change in control”, in relation to a company, has the meaning assigned to it in section 16(4);

“code of practice” means a code of practice established or adopted under section 21;

“company” means a company formed and registered under the Companies Acts;

F1[“dispatch operator”means a person who provides for reward—

(a) a booking service for an intending passenger to contact him or her to arrange for the hire of, and carriage of the intending passenger in, a small public service vehicle operated or driven by another person (other than an employee of the first-mentioned person), or

(b) a service allowing an intending passenger to arrange the hire of a small public service vehicle,

but does not include a person employed by the first-mentioned person to take or manage the taking of bookings in the course of that service or a person marshalling in a public place (within the meaning of the Act of 1961) the services of small public service vehicles;

“driving licence”means a driving licence (within the meaning of the Act of 1961) which is for the time being in force;]

“Garda Commissioner” means Commissioner of the Garda Síochána;

“grant” in relation to a licence, includes the renewal or continuance in force of the licence;

“licence” means a licence provided for under licensing regulations and granted under section 9 ;

F2[“licence to drive a small public service vehicle”means a licence to drive a small public service vehicle for the carriage of persons for reward;]

“licensing authority” means a licensing authority under section 6;

“licensing regulations” means regulations made under section 7;

“local authority” means a county council, a city council or a town council (within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2001) other than the council of a town mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 6 to that Act;

“mechanically propelled vehicle” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Act of 1961;

“Minister” means Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport;

“regulations” means regulations made under this Act;

“service agreement” has the meaning assigned to it by section 62;

“shadow director” means in relation to a company, a person who is not a director, manager or secretary of the company, but by reason of any shareholdings, understanding or arrangement is entitled to any profit or gain from the company or controls the activities of any small public service vehicles operated by the company;

“small public service vehicle” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 of the Act of 1961;

“SPSV” means small public service vehicle;

“SPSV regulations” means regulations made under section 20;

“taxi” means a street service vehicle (within the meaning of section 3 of the Act of 1961);

“website”, in relation to the Authority, means a website maintained by the Authority on the internet.

3. Regulations and orders

3. (1) Every regulation made under this Act and order made under section 6 or 24 F3[…], shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation or order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the regulation or order is laid before it, the regulation or order is annulled, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under it.

(2) Where the Authority proposes to make regulations under this Act, it shall—

(a) publish on its website a draft of the proposed regulations stating that representations may be made in writing to the Authority not later than 21 days (or such further period as the Authority allows) from the date of publication, and

(b) consider any representations made to it,

and may make the regulations with or without any modification.

(3) Where regulations are made under section 7, 8, 13(13) or 20 or an order is made under section 24, the Authority shall publish notice of their making and the regulations or order or a description of them and reference to their statutory instrument numbers on its website.

(4) The validity of any instruments made under this Act shall not be affected by any non-compliance with subsection (2) or (3).

4. Repeals

4. The following are repealed:—

(a) section 84 of the Road Traffic Act 1961;

(b) section 15 of the Road Traffic Act 2002;

(c) the Taxi Regulation Act 2003;

(d) section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 2004;

(e) section 21 of the Road Traffic Act 2006;

(f) section 13 of the Roads Act 2007;

(g) Part 1 of Schedule 1, and Schedule 2, to the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009.

5. Expenses

5. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to the extent sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 Small Public Service Vehicle Licensing

6. Licensing authority

6. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Authority is the licensing authority for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Garda Síochána shall be the licensing authority to grant licences to drive small public service vehicles until such time as an order is made under subsection (3).

(3) The Minister may make an order specifying a date from which the Garda Síochána shall cease to be the licensing authority to grant licences to drive small public service vehicles for the purposes of this Act.

(4) An order under subsection (3) may include transitional provisions, including provision as respects the person who shall determine any licensing applications made before the order takes effect and which have not been determined when the order takes effect.

7. Licensing regulations

7. (1) The Authority may make regulations (“licensing regulations”) in relation to the licensing of—

(a) small public service vehicles,

(b) drivers of small public service vehicles, and

(c) services involving small public service vehicles (including dispatch operators).

(2) Regulations under this section may in particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) provide for all or any of the following:

(a) the requirement for a licence to be held in respect of a mechanically propelled vehicle in order for it to be used as a small public service vehicle for the carriage of persons for reward;

(b) the requirement for a person to hold a licence in order to drive a small public service vehicle for the carriage of persons for reward;

F4[(c) the requirement for a person to hold a licence to operate as a dispatch operator;]

(d) the terms and conditions relating to the grant of a licence;

(e) the manner and form of an application for the grant of, or change to, a licence (including prescribing the period within which an application for the renewal of a licence shall be made before the expiry of the licence);

(f) the information and documentation to accompany an application, including in the case of an application for a licence for a small public service vehicle information in respect of—

(i) the age, make and details of the vehicle,

(ii) the inspection and certification of its roadworthiness,

(iii) the insurance of the vehicle, and

(iv) its compliance with vehicle standards requirements under SPSV regulations;

F5[(fa) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence that he or she has not been convicted of any of the offences referred to insection 30(3)or the Schedule;

(fb) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence to drive a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence that—

(i) his or her health or mobility does not affect, to a material extent or to the extent specified in the regulations, his or her ability to drive a small public service vehicle, and

(ii) he or she holds a driving licence permitting him or her to drive the vehicle, accompanied by details of the licence and any penalty points endorsed on the entry in the licence record (within the meaning ofsection 1of theRoad Traffic Act 2002) relating to him or her;

(fc) the requirement that an application for a licence in respect of a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence as to the roadworthiness of the vehicle and the compliance with vehicle standards specified in SPSV regulations;

(fd) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence to drive a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written undertaking by the applicant for the licence not to drive or ply for hire in a small public service vehicle in contravention of SPSV regulations made in respect of any matter provided for—

(i) undersection 20(1)(a)(xii)in respect of the regulation of the period of time that a driver of a small public service vehicle may drive the vehicle, or

(ii) undersection 20(1)(a)(xiia)in relation to intervals of rest between commencing driving the vehicle and having ceased driving another vehicle in the course of other employment;

(fe) in the case of a licence in respect of a small public service vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage of a person with a disability using a wheelchair so that the person may be carried in the vehicle while seated in the wheelchair, the requirement that an application for the grant of the licence be accompanied by a written undertaking by the applicant to give, as far as is possible, priority to the carriage of a person with a physical or sensory disability which affects the mobility of the person and to ensure that the driver of such a vehicle gives reasonable assistance to these persons in entering and alighting from the vehicle;]

(g) the fees to be charged in respect of applications for licences and other matters relating to licences;

(h) the format and content of a licence;

(i) the period of validity of a licence;

(j) in the case of the renewal of a licence, the period within which an application for the renewal of the licence has to be made before the expiry of the existing licence;

(k) information to be given to the licensing authority by the licence holder during the validity of the licence or upon its expiration, revocation or suspension;

(l) in the case of a licence F6[granted] to the driver of a taxi, a restriction on the area in which the driver may, with the taxi, stand at an appointed stand or ply for hire;

(m) in the case of a licence for a small public service vehicle, the requirements regarding—

(i) the ownership or possession of the vehicle,

(ii) the rental of the vehicle, and

(iii) any equipment associated with the vehicle;

(n) in the case of an application for a licence, or a licence held, by a company, the requirement to provide to the Authority details of any director, shadow director, manager, secretary, member entered in the register of the company, other officer or employee of the company, any person who has control of the company or any person purporting to act in that capacity;

(o) prohibitions, restrictions and conditions relating to the renting or leasing of a small public service vehicle or equipment associated with it from the person who holds the licence relating to the vehicle;

(p) matters which are supplementary, ancillary or incidental to the foregoing.

(3) Any regulation made under this section relating to the licensing of drivers of small public service vehicles shall be made only after consultation with the Garda Commissioner and the Advisory Committee.

(4) The Authority, in making regulations under this section, may set different requirements and conditions—

(a) in relation to the licensing of different categories or classes—

(i) of small public service vehicles,

(ii) of drivers of small public service vehicles, and

(iii) of licences referred to in subsection (2)(c),

(b) for different circumstances, and

(c) for different areas of the State.

(5) A licence holder who fails to give information required to a licensing authority under licensing regulations or gives such information knowing it to be false or misleading commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class C fine.

(6) A person shall not rent or lease to or from another, or operate, a vehicle or equipment associated with it contrary to any prohibition, restriction or condition regarding such in licensing regulations.

(7) A person who contravenes subsection (6) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.

8. Assessment of licence applicants and notification of health issues

8. (1) The Authority may by regulations (“assessment regulations”) establish requirements and conditions for the purpose of the assessment of applicants for the grant of licences, including requirements and conditions in respect of—

(a) an assessment to be carried out by the Garda Commissioner, or by another person on behalf of the Authority, of the suitability of a person to hold a licence,

(b) the knowledge of the geography, routes, place names and other matters relevant to the provision of service by a small public service vehicle in an area in respect of which a person makes F7[an application] for the grant of a licence,

(c) the knowledge of and ability to meet the needs of people with disabilities including mobility and sensory difficulties to a standard determined by the Authority in consultation with the National Disability Authority,

(d) knowledge of, and ability to meet, the small public service vehicle transport needs of consumers, and

(e) knowledge of the regulations, standards and requirements relating to the licensing, driving and operation of small public service vehicles, and the general law relating to road traffic.

(2) The Authority may, for the purpose of assessing applications for the grant of a licence, authorise or approve persons to determine whether a person who wishes to apply for the grant of a licence complies with or has reached an acceptable level of competence in respect of each or any of the standards established under subsection (1).

(3) The standards set in any regulations made under section 34 of the Act of 2003 in respect of the matters referred to in subsection (1) which are in force, immediately before the commencement of this section, continue in force and may be amended or revoked under this section.

(4) The Authority may, at any time during the validity of a licence, request the Garda Commissioner to carry out an assessment of the suitability of a person to hold the licence.

(5) For the purposes of the licensing authority assessing the physical or mental capacity of a person to hold a licence to drive a small public service vehicle, the applicant for or the holder of such a licence shall disclose to the licensing authority any illness or physical incapacity he or she may have that could affect the person’s ability to safely drive a small public service vehicle.

(6) The licensing authority may, for the purposes of subsection (5), require further information (including medical assessment) from the applicant for, or the holder of, a licence, as the case may be.

(7) The Authority, after consultation with the Road Safety Authority, may issue guidelines for the purpose of ensuring compliance with subsection (5).

(8) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (5) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.

9. Grant and renewal of licence

9. (1) The licensing authority may, upon application to it and in accordance with this section and the F8[licensing regulations] grant to the applicant a licence.

(2) An application for the grant of a licence shall be in such form and accompanied by the appropriate fee and such information and documentation as the licensing authority determines.

(3) The licensing authority shall refuse an application for the grant of a licence where the application is not accompanied by the appropriate fee.

(4) The licensing authority may refuse an application for the grant of a licence where the applicant fails to provide to the licensing authority information or documentation required by this Act or regulations made thereunder.

(5) The licensing authority shall not grant a licence where certification required by assessment regulations is not produced with the application for the grant of a licence.

(6) A person who in an application for the grant of a licence gives information or documentation knowing it to be false or misleading commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class C fine.

(7) Every licence, unless it has been revoked or suspended in accordance with this Act, section 34 of the Act of 2003 or section 82 of the Act of 1961, may be renewed by the licensing authority under this section.