Enforcement leads to drop in incidents involving foreign taxis

Enforcement action against foreign-registered taxis operating unlawfully in Gibraltar has led to a marked fall in reported incidents, with 10 fixed penalty notices issued to date, the Gibraltar Government said.

The Ministry of Transport and the Royal Gibraltar Police have been carrying out sustained enforcement against foreign-registered taxis found carrying passengers into Gibraltar in breach of public service vehicle licensing requirements.

Under the Transport Act 1998 and the Transport Regulations 2000, only vehicles licensed by the Transport Commission may carry passengers for hire or reward within Gibraltar.

Foreign-registered taxis and private hire vehicles are not licensed to provide those services in Gibraltar.

The Government said many other drivers had also been instructed to leave Gibraltar as part of the enforcement action.

It said the treaty did not allow services to be transferred across the frontier and added that this would be enforced across all services, not just taxis.

As a result of the measures, Uber no longer offers trips terminating in Gibraltar, the Government said.

The platform’s geolocation system now ends permitted trips at the border, meaning passengers cannot arrange a ride into Gibraltar and drivers cannot accept or complete fares into Gibraltar.

Passengers travelling from Spain are instead directed to complete their journey on foot through the frontier and use a licensed Gibraltar taxi or bus service on arrival.

The Ministry of Transport said there had been a significant reduction in reports of foreign taxis entering Gibraltar and picking up passengers since the measures were introduced.

Enforcement and monitoring at the frontier will continue.

Members of the public and licensed drivers have been encouraged to report suspected unlawful operations to the RGP or the Ministry of Transport.