INFORMATIONS DISMISSED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 22 December 1938, Page 3

INFORMATIONS DISMISSED

CHARGES AGAINST TAXICAB j DRIVERS FAULT IN REGULATIONS ! I United Frees Asociali«»nl AUCKLAND. 21st December. A reserved decision was given by Mr F. H. Levien. S.M., in the Magistrates’. Court on the recent prosecution of four Auckland taxicab drivers charged with carrying passengers from a ship in use chiefly for the transport of tourists on cruising tours to a place outside a radius of 75 miles from Auckland without a licence under the Transport Act. The informations were dismissed. The point in dispute was whether defendants. who picked up carloads of passengers from the Orcades on 28th | October, charging £l2 a car to go to Arapuni, should have had permits from the Transport Department. The magistrate said there was no i evidence to show that the Orcades was | used solely as a cruise ship, nor that the taxis provided a passenger seri vice solely for tourists on cruise ships. Where a regulation or bylaw infringed on the rights of the public to use the i King's highway, he said, it should be perfectly clear and unequivocal. The j Gazette notice relating to the carriage of passengers from cruise ships would really preclude any vehicle, whether | carrying such passengers or any others. ! from carrying them for a distance ex- ; ceeding 75 miles from the post office. In future all ships carrying passengers to New Zealand will be classed as j tourist vessels and it will be necessary for taxi drivers intending to carry pasj sengers long distances from the city ! on sight-seeing tours to obtain special licences from the Transport DepartI ment. Advice to this effect was received to-day by No. 1 Licensing Auth- ! orily. Mr E. J. Phelan, from the Min- ; ister of Transport, Mr Semple. "A Gazette notice is to be issued to clarify the position and correct the present fault in the regulations affecting the matter,” said Mr Phelan. "We do not wish to be prosecuting taxi drivers who have seen fit in the past to take the law into their own hands. They must understand that they will be covered by the regulations in future and must obtain licences to operate beyond the city limits.” It was also pointed out that the regulation would operate immediately to j coves the arrival of three cruise ships j at Auckland within the next 10 days. I