Since the Solberg government implemented the free release of the taxi industry in 2020 and the number of taxi licenses more than doubled, many have complained about unscrupulous operators and poor conditions. The Støre government responds with several measures. Among other things, all taxi owners must now provide a guarantee from a bank or insurance company of NOK 57,000 in order to obtain a licence. Owners with several licenses must provide a guarantee of NOK 28,000 per additional license. More than 4,000 taxi drivers across the country have now been notified of license revocation because they do not meet the guarantee requirement, writes Dagens Næringsliv. In Oslo alone, 1,825 taxi owners lack a guarantee. In Akershus, this applies to 1,162 drivers. This is 44 per cent of all licenses in the two counties. The NHO organization Abelia, which represents several new players such as Bolt, Uber and Yango, believes that the restrictions from the state will only make taxis more expensive for customers. CRITICAL: Nils-Ola Widme of the NHO organization Abelia believes the austerity measures will only make it more expensive for most people to take a taxi. Photo: Ilja C. Hendel / Abelia – This is a great pity. The new taxi distribution solutions need more taxis, more drivers, says business policy director Nils-Ola Widme to news. – Making regulations that shut cars and drivers out of the market makes it more difficult to establish modern taxi solutions, and it becomes more expensive for customers to drive a taxi. The drivers now have three weeks to get the warranty in order. If not, they will be deprived of their license to drive a taxi. – Too many taxis The Norwegian Taxi Association, which organizes approximately 3,000 drivers across the country, is, on the other hand, satisfied that there may be fewer taxis on the streets. – In Oslo today, there is an abundance of taxis. It doesn’t matter much if 2,000 are lost, says chairman Øystein Trevland. WANTS ORDER: Chairman of the Norwegian Taxi Association, Øystein Trevland, wants to clean up the taxi industry in Norway Photo: Norwegian Taxi Association The number of cars that actually disappear is probably lower than 4,000. Some owners arrange the guarantee when they receive notice, and some licenses are not in operation with a car on the road. Trevland believes that the requirement anyway contributes to weeding out unscrupulous players, and benefits both drivers and customers. – There are too many taxis today and not enough customers for them. Many stand still and wait for customers for a long time. That’s why some of them charge very high prices when they finally get a trip, says the union leader. In addition to the guarantee requirement, he is pleased that the Storting has decided that all drivers must once again be linked to a taxi centre. The centers must set the prices for all their drivers, so that the prices will be more predictable. – We hope this will make the industry more serious, says Trevland. Expensive? Widme in Abelia believes that the government’s austerity measures primarily serve the large, established taxi centers and protect them against competition from new players. – Providing a guarantee is a big cost for small license holders. So many of those who could drive a taxi in Norwegian cities and towns are gone, says Widme. It meets resistance from Jarle Kanaris, general manager of Bytaxi AS, which operates in and around Oslo. He believes the guarantee requirement is only a problem for unscrupulous operators. – A license guarantee costs NOK 200 a month, so Widme’s concerns are unfounded, Kanaris writes to news. He rejects that the costs of license guarantees can contribute to higher prices for customers.
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Half of the taxis in Oslo may disappear – Greater Oslo
