Progress in preparatory work on taxi regulation: Regulation project begins

Progress in preparatory work on taxi regulation: Regulation project begins

Lulu Ranne, Minister for Transport, Communications and the Interior. (Image: Ministry of Transport and Communications)

On 3 October 2024, the Ministry of Transport and Communications has set forth a regulation project to change the taxi service regulation in the Act on Transport Services. The government proposal is due to be submitted to Parliament during the autumn session of 2025.

"Our government has a significant focus on facilitating everyday lives and the safety thereof. That is what this legislative project is also aiming for. The objective is to make Finland's taxis safe once more and restore trust in the taxi industry," says Lulu Ranne, Minister for Transport, Communications and the Interior.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's government programme outlined a regulation project focusing on taxi services. The project's goals are to bolster consumer trust in taxi services, improve the availability of taxis, consider different user groups across the nation, as well as enhance the supervision of taxi services and combat the grey economy.

The purpose of this new change project of the taxi regulation is to improve the expertise of taxi drivers and the safety of the industry through tighter conditions for taxi licenses and with better supervision during taxi driver training and examination processes. Future taxi drivers would be required to complete mandatory driver training. Passing this training would require a level of competence in Finnish or Swedish. A larger variety of criminal activity would also be a barrier to acquiring a taxi permit.

Changes to the taxi regulation are also an attempt to combat the grey economy, make taxis easier to identify, and improve transparency in ride prices. The regulation project will continue the preparatory work on remaining open proposals in the memorandum regarding coloured license plates and mandatory taximeters.

A comprehensive assessment of the possible legislative impacts will be carried out during the preparatory work. Among other things, the impact assessment will pay attention to taxi availability, entry into the industry, and particularly platform economy operators.

Preliminary preparations took place before the start of the regulation project. A memorandum was written during the preliminary preparations, which addresses the current status of the legislation, the needed changes, while drafting preliminary legislative proposals.

Stakeholders were asked to comment on the memorandum during 24 May - 21 June 2024. A total of approx. 100 statements were received. Based on the feedback, there was widespread support for the proposed changes of the memorandum. Preparatory work will continue based on the proposals of the memorandum and stakeholder feedback.

What's next?

Preparatory work for taxi legislation will continue as a part of official duties. A draft of the government proposal will be submitted for comments during spring 2025. The completed government proposal will be submitted to Parliament in the autumn session of 2025.

Inquiries:

Sissi Kohtala, Senior Specialist, sissi.kohtala(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 295 342 208

Elina Immonen, Director of Unit, elina.immonen(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 295 432 159

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