All taxi bases will become Open Taxi Ranks providing equal opportunity to all 8000 registered taxis start­ing Monday.

Minister For Commerce, Trade, Tourism And Trans­port Faiyaz Koya said over the past nine months, the Open Taxi Rank Technical Working Group (TWG) had been working on the transi­tion to the new system.

Open Taxi Rank TWG comprises the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Com­merce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, Ministry of Lo­cal Government, Office of the Solicitor-General, Land Transport Authority (LTA), Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) and Fiji Police Force.

“In the last National Budg­et we made it a priority to ensure reliability and access remains the foundation of Fiji’s transport system,” Mr Koya said.

“One of our commitments was specifically to create a level playing field for taxi operators.

“As we progress, we will increase the number of open ranks, as we identify more sites and spaces for operations in conjunction with Fiji Roads Authority (FRA).”

Consultation

“We have been doing this in consultation with the Taxi Industry Fiji-wide, in­cluding all the associations in the three divisions, to cap­ture the views and contribu­tions of all taxi operators and drivers,” Mr Koya said.

“The Open Taxi Rank Sys­tem will allow taxis to op­erate on a first in-first out basis. Similar to other coun­tries, the new system will lead to improved services and ease some financial burden on operators in the transport sector.

“We have designed this model to suit the Fijian transport sector so that we can maximise benefits for operators and consumers.

“The system will actually provide uniformity across the board for all taxis. It will also create greater opportu­nities for taxi operators to attract more business while reducing illegal opera­tions.”

Effective from April 25, 2022:

• All taxis are to operate under the Open Taxi Rank System Framework.

This means that taxis will operate on a First-In-First-Out basis or rotational basis at the ranks.

That is, the first taxi to ar­rive at any rank will be the first to take on passengers.

As and when taxis arrive at the ranks, they take pas­sengers, move out and then queue up after the last taxi on its return at any allocat­ed rank.

• Taxi operators will con­tinue to benefit from the waiver of taxi base and stand fee. In this Financial Year, a budget allocation of $2.5million is provided to pay base fees for taxis, mini­buses, carriers and buses for one year.

The Fijian Government will implement the Annual PSV Levy to replace base fees. The levy amount would be determined at a later date.

• All Taxi operators must continue to comply with all the necessary laws applica­ble to them.
• The Open Taxi Rank Sys­tem is only for Taxis. Other permit holders such as Li­cence Hire, Local Rental and Licence Carrier permit holders cannot use the allo­cated spaces.
• A Taxi must not be parked at the rank without a taxi driver. This means that a taxi driver must only enter the rank to provide service to the public and not run their personal errands by parking their vehicle in the rank.

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