Taxi-drivers disappointed

Press, 22 February 1989, Page 9

Taxi-drivers disappointed

The Taxi Proprietors’ Federation is disappointed the Christchurch City Council will not formally support the campaign against taxi deregulation. The federation’s president, a Greymouth taxi driver, Mr Bob Turnbull, said he was disappointed that his organisation had been labelled a pressure group and sad that the council did not care about the services which ratepayers received. "The council was not being asked to judge an economic theory but something which puts lives at risk. The record

of taxi deregulation is quite clear. It has failed everywhere it has been tried. That is fact, not theory. Deregulation increases risks to public safety and destroys standards of service.” Mr Turnbull added: “Reduced fares was the early catch-cry of those who promoted taxi deregulation. All the evidence points to fares rising not dropping and this seems to have been accepted even by the politicians in Wellington.” The council had overlooked safety and service, Mr Turnbull said.