Minister Ranne on taxis: “Sector problems have been taken seriously – preparations are progressing rapidly”

The Ministry of Transport and Communications already began preparing measures to rectify anomalies and increase confidence in the entire taxi sector in summer 2023. The ministry will circulate a memorandum in May calling for opinions on measures to reform regulations.

“The preparation of taxi regulation amendments is progressing rapidly according to an agreed timetable. We shall circulate a long list of measures in spring, seeking comments from industry professionals and other stakeholders. Our goal is to restore trust in the taxi sector. Consumers must have confidence in the safety of their taxi ride,” says Lulu Ranne, Minister of Transport and Communications.

“The taxi sector must enable honest professionals to operate safely, with a lower threshold for penalising rule breakers more severely,”  Minister Ranne insists.

The aim is to introduce a package of several measures amending the taxi regulations of the Act on Transport Services. Preliminary preparation of the amendments has examined ways of improving ex-ante enforcement, for example by assessing a tightening of requirements for admission into the sector, an increase in driver training, and the importance of language skills.

The preparatory work has also assessed various ways of increasing cooperation between public authorities in supervising the taxi sector. All of the means raised in the preliminary preparation and their impacts will be assessed in greater detail as preparations progress. 

“Changes to the law are being prepared in a spirit of good cooperation with sector operators. There are many professional drivers in the taxi sector who provide excellent service to their customers. We shall ensure that everyone plays by the same rules in future,” Minister Ranne insists.

Taxi regulations will initially be rectified with individual amendments in order to bring about visible results at the earliest possible stage. Certain issues will require longer and more extensive preparation, which can be conducted as a later time. The taxi market will be closely monitored after implementing the amendments that are currently being prepared.

Next steps

The memorandum on measures required to reform taxi regulations will be circulated for comment in spring 2024.

A draft government proposal for amending legislation will be circulated for comment in autumn 2024, with the final proposal submitted to Parliament in the spring session of 2025.

Inquiries:

Requests to interview Minister Lulu Ranne:
Tuomas Sorsa, Special Adviser to the Minister, tuomas.sorsa(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 29 534 2012

Emil Asp, Director of Unit, emil.asp(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 29 534 2498