(See Land Transport Rule: Operator Licensing 2017)
This rule sets out requirements for obtaining and retaining a licence to operate a passenger, rental, vehicle recovery or goods service vehicle. Also requirements that apply to transport service drivers, ‘dial-a-driver’ service drivers, hirers of rental service vehicles and approved taxi organisations.
Note: Both of these pages will also provide links to the consultation material – such as summary of submissions and FAQs (questions and answers) – for each version and amendment.
Questions and answers are provided to accompany a new rule or amendment when they are signed. These and other consultation documents on this page have not been updated to take into account any later rule amendments and are retained for historic interest only.
Land Transport Rule: Operator Licensing Amendment 2008 (the Operator Licensing Amendment Rule or 'the amendment Rule') aims to ensure that holders of a Transport Services Licence (TSL) are able to be identified accurately and more readily, and to improve the operation of the system for licensing transport service operators, set up under the Land Transport Act 1998 (the Land Transport Act).
This is the first time that Land Transport Rule: Operator Licensing 2007 (the Operator Licensing Rule) has been amended.
Five changes have been made in the amendment to the Operator Licensing Rule.
This requires the use of transport service licence labels (TSL labels) in almost all vehicles used in a transport service. This will show the licensee's name, their transport service licence number, and their licence type. The TSL card will be required to be displayed on the vehicle, usually in the front windscreen, just like a vehicle's licence label. This will replace the need to display a licensee's transport service licence on their vehicle and in the case of trucks, coaches and buses, the additional need to display the operator's name and business address.
This redefines some of the operating areas in which a taxi operator with the relevant Area Knowledge Certificate (AKC) may legally accept fares and on which they will be tested.
This provides a mechanism for the NZ Transport Agency to exempt an applicant from the need to hold a Certificate of Knowledge Law and Practice (CKLP) for an approved taxi organisation (ATO), in some specified circumstances.
Special interest vehicles are vehicles which are less than 20 years old and which have not previously been able to be registered for use on New Zealand roads, as it cannot be shown they have been constructed to an approved frontal impact standard. Under a recent change to Land Transport Rule: Frontal Impact 2001 (the Frontal Impact Rule), a maximum of 200 of these vehicles per annum are able to be registered and used on our roads. One of the conditions of this approval is that the vehicle cannot be used in a transport service.
This is because it is considered inappropriate to exposure transport service users to travel in such vehicles when they would generally be unaware of the fact that these vehicles do not meet all the safety standards which other vehicle of their age must meet. This amendment inserts the same prohibition as provided for in the Frontal Impact Rule.
This allows enforcement officers to require someone to cease a taxi service if they are not, at the time, a member of an ATO.
The Land Transport Act provides for the Minister of Transport to make Land Transport Rules that govern (among other things) the licensing of transport services, operators and drivers, and the land transport documents to be held in respect of them. Section 158(b) of the Land Transport Act provides that rules may be made on a variety of matters in respect of the regulation of transport services.
The provisions relating to taxi organisations having to belong to an ATO and the new AKC requirements will come into force on a date to be specified in the New Zealand Gazette. This will allow these provisions to come into effect sooner than the other provisions, which will come into force on 1 August 2009.
A copy of the final amendment Rule can be purchased from selected bookshops that sell legislation or direct from the Rule printers and distributors, Wickliffe Limited, telephone (06) 358 8231. The Rule, together with information material, is also available on the website in the Resources & manuals section.
Further information about the amendment Rule can be obtained by calling the NZ Transport Agency Contact Centre on freephone 0800 699 000.
Land Transport Rule: Operator Safety Rating 2008 (the OSR Rule) allows safety ratings to be determined and published. The TSL card provisions support the OSR Rule by helping to ensure that operators are able to be correctly identified, and that any information used to assign an operator's safety rating is therefore accurately recorded against the correct operator.
In the yellow (public consultation) draft of the OSR Rule, which was released in 2007, the concept of a TSL card was initially consulted on. Submitters were generally supportive of the proposal and noted that it would assist enforcement officers to identify unlicensed operators and assist in having them removed from service. It was also noted that this would help ensure information relating to the correct operator was collected.
The yellow draft (public consultation) draft of the amendment Rule was released for public comment on 8 February 2008. In addition, it was made available to about 700 organisations and individuals who had registered their interest. Its release was also published in the New Zealand Herald, Waikato Times, Dominion Post, Christchurch Press and Otago Daily Times newspapers on 13 February 2008 and in the New Zealand Gazette on 14 February 2008. The draft, together with Questions and Answers, was also made available on the then, Land Transport NZ website.
Fifteen submitters commented on the Amendment Rule. There was strong support for the introduction of the TSL card. No significant amendments were made to the Amendment Rule as a result of the submissions.
When the Amendment Rule comes into effect, almost all vehicles used under a transport service licence will be required to display a TSL card. The following vehicles will be exempt: small passenger service vehicles used in a private hire service, trailers and rental vehicles (other than those rented out to be used in a transport service, such as a large truck).
The public consultation draft of the OSR Rule proposed that the card be made of a similar material to that used in a drivers licence. However, further work identified that a card made of a similar material to a vehicle's licensing label will be more robust and much cheaper to produce. In addition, as originally proposed the material used in driver licences, are an unknown quality in terms of being exposed for long periods to sunlight, which will be the case when they are displayed in the windows of commercial vehicles. Additionally, because the driver licence cards are much thicker and heavier than the material of the licensing label, the postage costs for large number of labels will be much cheaper. For these reasons, it has been decided that the TSL label will be in the same format as a vehicle's licensing label.
If a transport service vehicle is currently required to display TSL details on a vehicle's exterior, then there will be a requirement to display a TSL card.
The TSL card will have to be displayed in the vehicle's windscreen, in a similar position to a vehicle's licensing label. There will be special provisions made for trucks, to allow the TSL card to be displayed in the side window. This recognises that trucks currently need to display a number of Road User Licences.
Common industry practices include the widespread use of vehicles that may be owned by one transport service operator while operated at times by another transport service operator. This means that the TSL information displayed on the door of the vehicle does not necessarily reflect the operator who is responsible for the use of a vehicle at any particular time.
The TSL card will provide a more efficient way to link event data for a vehicle to the operator who was responsible for the use of a vehicle at the time. This is because that operator would be required to display their TSL card on the particular vehicle that they were operating.
NZ Police and NZ Transport Agency compliance staff will be able to link event data for a vehicle to the operator who is responsible for its use. This will support the introduction of the operator rating system, where the information collected from operators will be used to assign a rating to them based on their safety risk.
Event data is the term for any official record made of a dealing with a vehicle. This includes the result of any Certificate of Fitness (CoF) inspection or any roadside vehicle inspection, a fleet audit or any infringement. Only safety-related data will be used for assigning safety ratings under the operator rating system.
Until August 2009, when the Amendment Rule comes into force, the Operator Licensing Rule requires vehicles used in the following services to display a TSL number on the outside of the vehicle:
Note that trailers used in the above services will be exempt from TSL card requirements. However, events relating to trailers in terms of TSL requirements will be attributed to the TSL holder responsible for the prime mover (i.e. the vehicle providing motive power).
In addition, until August 2009, all goods service vehicles, and vehicles used in a vehicle recovery service or a large passenger service are required to display the operator's name and business location.
The TSL cards will have no expiry date but will be need to be replaced as and when required to ensure that the details remain fully legible when displayed. Operators will have the choice of having labels issued annually, or waiting until a label needs to be replaced to ensure it is fully legible.
All operators will receive an initial issue of TSL cards based on the TSL holder's operational requirements. Operators may order further cards as their requirements change.
Currently, the operators of vehicles used in 'private hire' and 'other services' are not required to display their TSL number on the outside of their vehicles. They are, however, required to carry evidence of their TSL number and other details of their services in their vehicles and produce it on demand and without delay to an enforcement officer. In the public consultation draft of the OSR Rule, submitters' comments were sought on the desirability of requiring vehicles used in these services to display a TSL card. Industry did not indicate support for this proposal. The then, Land Transport NZ discussed this with the Ministry of Transport and it was considered that there was not enough evidence of an issue to justify extending this requirement.
There will not be a general requirement for rental vehicles to display a TSL card. When a vehicle is used in a rental service, there is a requirement to complete a rental agreement, which includes the rental operator's TSL number, and for the hirer to produce this agreement on demand to an enforcement officer.
However, if the rental vehicle is to be used in another transport service (e.g. a truck used in a goods service – or a bus or van used in a passenger service) there will be a requirement to display the TSL card of the transport service operator who is at that time using the vehicle. In this instance, a rental service operator would be well-advised to check that the correct TSL card is displayed at the time the hire commences. This could save time later on, as event data is captured against the vehicle while it is rented out.
The key details which will be included on the label are:
The features of a card will include:
Other security features may be built into the card in the future.
Until August 2009, there is a requirement to complete a certificate of responsibility (CoR) when a vehicle is used in a transport service by a person other than the owner. Often many vehicle owners overlook this obligation and are not obtaining a CoR when allowing the use of a vehicle by another operator. The TSL card will supersede the CoR requirement, as the TSL card will show who, for the time being, is responsible for operating the vehicle. It will therefore be optional to obtain a CoR.
The purpose of the TSL number is to enable enforcement and compliance staff to identify the correct operator. Because the TSL card will provide this information, the requirement to display the TSL number on the outside of the vehicle will be removed. If an operator had their TSL number on their door they will not have to remove the number, but will be free to do so if they wish.
The Operator Licensing Rule currently requires goods service vehicles and large passenger service vehicles to display the name and business location of the licence holder. These requirements will be removed when the Amendment Rule comes into force for the following reasons:
Note that operators using vehicles in these services will still have the option of displaying these details and they will not have to remove existing details, but will be free to do so if they wish.
Yes, it was not proposed to remove organisational signage requirements for taxi and shuttle services as it is important that customers are able to accurately identify these services. However, the display of a TSL number on the outside of the vehicle will no longer be required.
Yes, it was not proposed to remove this requirement for vehicle recovery services as it is important that they are able to be identified from a distance, particularly in emergency situations. However, the display of a TSL number on the outside of the vehicle will no longer be required.
All the provisions in the Amendment Rule relating to the display of a TSL card will come into force approximately ten months after the Rule is signed by the Minister.
Indicative costs are about 20 cents per TSL card. Because a TSL card is not subject to an expiry date, cards will be expected to be expected to be replaced as and when required to ensure that the details are fully legible when displayed. TSL cards will be provided within the existing TSL fee's cost structure. Operators will not initially have additional costs imposed upon them for this, but the ongoing costs of providing TSL cards or labels will be recovered through future reviews of the TSL fees as part of the operator rating system project.
The benefits of the TSL card will include:
Four infringement offences are required in relation to the provisions for TSL cards.
This amendment is intended to provide better alignment of the tests for AKCs with the areas in which taxi drivers are permitted to operate so they reflect the actual areas within which drivers work.
The Operator Licensing Rule provides that taxi drivers in major urban and tourist areas must hold an appropriate AKC. Schedule 4 of the Rule provides that a taxi cannot accept a hire from any of the local boundaries specified in Schedule 4 unless the driver holds an AKC for that area. However, these local boundaries, as previously defined, did not necessarily reflect the areas that the drivers work in and need to be familiar with.
In some instances the local boundaries were too narrow and excluded areas that need to be included. For example, Hamilton airport was outside the previous AKC boundary and was in the Waipa District. This meant that a taxi operator accepting a fare at Hamilton airport was not required to have an AKC for the Hamilton metropolitan area.
Conversely, in some instances the local boundaries were too wide and included outlying areas which do not necessarily reflect a driver's normal area of operation. For example, the Dunedin AKC boundary was defined as an extremely large area that included Middlemarch and Milton.
The NZ Transport Agency's view is that the areas covered by a particular AKC should reasonably reflect the areas in which a taxi driver would typically be operating. This makes them more relevant.
The NZ Transport Agency has taken an approach that takes into account the specific circumstances of the various areas for which an AKC is required, namely:
AKC requirements align more closely reflect the areas that passengers have a reasonable expectation the driver should know. This will help provide passengers with confidence that a driver is able to safely and efficiently navigate to the destination.
It should also make the AKC assessments more relevant for drivers.
The Operator Licensing Rule requires that a person in control of an ATO holds a CKLP. There are some circumstances where it is appropriate to waive this requirement (for example, the limited nature of the service in a small town).
This subclause incorrectly established an exemption – the exemption should have been from the need for an ATO to hold a CKLP, and not from the requirement to be an ATO.
The subclause was amended to provide that the Agency may waive the requirement for a person in control of an ATO to hold a CKLP (as opposed to waiving the requirement to be an ATO), and to outline the limits on the Agency in exercising that power.
The purpose of the amendment is to reduce the risk of fatalities or injuries to transport users from crashes involving those vehicles which are potentially not safe.
The Frontal Impact Rule was amended to allow 200 “special interest vehicles” to enter the fleet without having to comply with an approved frontal impact standard. Previously, these vehicles would have been unable to operate on the roads.
Special interest vehicles are those vehicles that are less than 20 years old, and can not show compliance with a frontal impact standard and which the Agency considers considers:
The following vehicles will not be affected by the proposed change (i.e. they will not need a special interest vehicle permit).
An amendment was made to prohibit the use of special interest vehicles in a transport service.
To reinforce one of the conditions under which these vehicles are approved for use in New Zealand. This was in order to help reduce the risk of fatalities or injuries to transport service users, from vehicles that are not certified as frontal-impact compliant.
The Operator Licensing Rule did not give explicit effect to the principle stated in section 30 P(4) of the Land Transport Act, which prohibits the operation of a taxi service unless the licence holder belongs to an ATO.
The inclusion of this provision in the Amendment Rule will allow enforcement officers to require a person to cease operating a taxi service if they are not a member of an ATO.
Final 25 September 2008
Page created: 29 September 2008
