Helsinki police checked 43 taxis on Friday 6 November with the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom), Lupa- ja valvontavirasto, the Tax Administration and the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard. Faults were found in 20 of the 43. Officers issued 10 fines and imposed traffic penalty fees.
Cars were picked out of the traffic and from taxi ranks. The figures come from the police release, published the next day. Traficom's notice of the same check gives the date and the total of 43 taxis.
What officers recorded
The faults that came up most often were in the information a passenger should be able to see, in driving logs, and in operating papers that were not produced at once.
The driver's name was not on view in 13 taxis. The operator's name and contact details were missing in 13. Fare information was missing in five. In seven taxis the driver could not produce the document for taxi work straight away. A driving log was missing or incomplete in 14.
Officers met 14 employed drivers, and 13 of those logs had a fault. An employed driver has to keep a log, including the start and end of the working day and rest times.
One driver had no permit to drive a taxi. Two vehicles were not registered for licensed passenger transport. Every taxi that was checked still held a valid operating licence.
The vehicles
Most of the vehicles were in good condition and roadworthy. Senior Constable Ilari Vilen of Helsinki Police wrote in the release:
"Several traffic penalty fees were imposed for a missing taxi lamp, which has not come up before on this scale.
"The tyres on a few taxis were completely unsuitable for professional passenger transport.
"This is licensed professional transport, and the skill and the condition of the equipment have to be at a professional level."
What a passenger should be able to see
Traficom specialist Tiina-Liisa Ruotsalainen set out the rule for operators:
"A taxi passenger has a right to clear information on which company is providing the service and who is driving.
"This is not a new requirement. It is a basic obligation of running a taxi business, and meeting it ought to be a matter of course.
"This check again found faults in how that information is displayed. Even a single fault can be a reason to look more widely at the operator's work."
The other agencies on the stop
Labour inspectors looked at working time, pay, annual leave, occupational health care, and whether drivers had been told what to do if they are threatened with violence. The Tax Administration took information from the check to see whether any tax duty had been neglected.