Gibraltar's Ministry of Transport may suspend taxi licences where the service falls short, after customers could not get a taxi last weekend. Officials met the Gibraltar Taxi Association (GTA) committee on Monday and asked for an explanation, and for the failure to be put right at once. Government statement
Unanswered lines
The committee explained that, while it was introducing a new booking app, it had not transferred its phone lines to the new system before the weekend, so calls to the usual numbers went unanswered. The Ministry regards the missed transfer as an unacceptable and entirely avoidable failure of service. Residents and visitors, on that account, are entitled to a reliable taxi service at the frontier, at the airport and across town, at every hour of the day.
The committee has assured the Government that the fault is now fixed, and that the new GTA booking app will be offered to customers within the next week.
What is under consideration
The Ministry will watch those changes over the coming weeks, and is looking at every option for a service the public can rely on, through the committee's improvements or another solution. Measures under active consideration include the suspension of taxi licences where service requirements are not being met, and alternative or additional provision if problems persist. No decision has yet been taken, pending a review of the improvements the association has proposed.
Anyone who has trouble getting a taxi is asked to email the Ministry of Transport at mt@gibraltar.gov.gi with the date, time and location. Those reports will inform the review.
The Minister for Transport, Prof John Cortes, said: "I understand the frustration felt by customers who are repeatedly reporting problems obtaining taxis and last weekend's service outage was avoidable and unacceptable. The Government has been investing and working with the GTA to improve the service offering, because Gibraltar needs a taxi service that is there when people need it. We value the work of our taxi drivers and will continue to engage with the GTA Committee, but we must see tangible results. Services to the public must come first, and I am ready to look at every option to make sure that happens."