NEW TAXI LICENCES

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29858, 26 June 1962, Page 12

NEW TAXI LICENCES

25 Issued For Christchurch Twenity-five new taxi licences have been granted by the Christchurch Metropolitan Licensing Authority as a result of applications made to it in February of last year and subsequent inquiries. Fifteen of the licences are granted immediately, and the others will be allocated six months after the issue of the authority’s reserved decision, which was dated last Friday. In its decision, the authority said counsel for applicants for new licences had submitted that there was a need for an additional 26 to 30 licences as a result of the increase in population in the metropolitan area since the last issue of licences, and the inadequacy of the existing service to cater for the demand.

Counsel for the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Taxi Proprietors’ Federation had conceded that the industry could absorb 10 or 12 new licences. “On the evidence before it, supported by the results of an inquiry instituted by the authority subsequent to the hearing, the authority is of the opinion that the issue of an additional 25 licences would be in the public interest and that they could be economically absorbed into the industry,” the decision said. The first 15 new licences have been granted to the following applicants.—Louis J Anderson. Ernest W. Armstrong, William Britten. James Burrows. John W D. Fisher, Anthony H Gould, Ivor A. McKenzie. Victor M. Mattar, Lawrence Mawson, Kenneth G. W Pash. Edgar A. Piesse Hector E. Price, Albert B. C. Seelen. Ronald A. Taylor and Robert W. Townley. The authority directed that the liceijcees should join either the Blue Star or Gold Band taxi organisations to obtain telephone and other facilities for the service.