Concern Over “Inroads" Into Taxi Business

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31770, 29 August 1968, Page 20

Concern Over “Inroads" Into Taxi Business

(N Z. Press Association) WANGANUI, Aug. 28. The New Zealand Taxi Proprietors’ Federation will tell the Commissioner of Transport of its concern at the growing number of “courtesy cars” and chauf-feur-driven rental cars in New Zealand. Federation members agreed at the "annual meeting in Wanganui today to object to what they consider are private cars carrying out taxi business. Canterbury delegates tabled a remit calling for the commissioner’s attention to be drawn to inroads being made into the taxi industry. In a long debate, delegates said some tourist agencies and bigger hotels in tl\e major cities were providing “courtesy cars” to carry guests or tourists to airports and other such places. They said there was no apparent charge for these services, but they felt sure that the capital and maintenance costs of the cars were included in hotel tariffs and. “various charges” paid by tourists.

Delegates also discussed the availability of chauffer-driven rental cars for tourist parties. They considered it was not a legal function of a rentalcar licensee to provide a

driver. Some delegates said they had suspicions that some licensees even drove the cars themselves.