The Government is working to regulate taxi base fees, with no base letters to be issued until the framework is finalised and gazetted, Parliament heard on Friday.
Minister for Transport Ro Filipe Tuisawau said the regulation of base fees was still being formulated to prevent excessive charges by base owners.
“The management or the regulation of base fees is currently being formulated. So, no one should be issuing base letters now, because the base needs to be gazetted… before they can issue base letters,” he said.
He warned against arbitrary pricing.
“We do not want base owners charging, maybe $10,000 a year or something, which is really exorbitant,” Mr Tuisawau said.
The Minister added that a formula was being developed to ensure fees remain reasonable and aligned with the average income of taxi operators.
“There is a formula there, which ends up with a reasonable amount in terms of the average income that a taxi can earn,” he said.
Mr Tuisawau also addressed concerns about operators struggling to secure base letters under the current system.
“The Ministry of Transport acknowledges the concern raised regarding taxi operators who may experience difficulty in securing base letters under the current base allocation framework,” he said.
He confirmed that existing laws already provide a transition period, with all taxi operators required to secure an approved base or stand within their designated area by September 30, 2027.
In the meantime, the Ministry and the Land Transport Authority are urging operators not to delay.
“We strongly urge all taxi operators to engage early with their municipal or local government, private taxi base providers to secure an approved base or stand as soon as practicable, rather than waiting until the expiry of the transitional deadline,” he said.
