Public Transport Act 2016
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Amendment of Taxi Regulation Act 2013 | ||
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2. The Taxi Regulation Act 2013 is amended— | ||
(a) in section 2— | ||
(i) by substituting for the definition of “dispatch operator” the following: | ||
“ ‘dispatch operator’ means a person who provides for reward— | ||
(a) a booking service for an intending passenger to contact him or her to arrange for the hire of, and carriage of the intending passenger in, a small public service vehicle operated or driven by another person (other than an employee of the first-mentioned person), or | ||
(b) a service allowing an intending passenger to arrange the hire of a small public service vehicle, | ||
but does not include a person employed by the first-mentioned person to take or manage the taking of bookings in the course of that service or a person marshalling in a public place (within the meaning of the Act of 1961) the services of small public service vehicles; | ||
‘driving licence’ means a driving licence (within the meaning of the Act of 1961) which is for the time being in force;”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) by inserting after the definition of “licence” the following: | ||
“ ‘licence to drive a small public service vehicle’ means a licence to drive a small public service vehicle for the carriage of persons for reward;”, | ||
(b) in section 3(1), by deleting “made under this Act” after “made under section 6 or 24”, | ||
(c) in section 7(2) — | ||
(i) by substituting for paragraph (c) the following: | ||
“(c) the requirement for a person to hold a licence to operate as a dispatch operator;”, | ||
(ii) by inserting after paragraph (f) the following: | ||
“(fa) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence that he or she has not been convicted of any of the offences referred to in section 30(3) or the Schedule; | ||
(fb) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence to drive a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence that— | ||
(i) his or her health or mobility does not affect, to a material extent or to the extent specified in the regulations, his or her ability to drive a small public service vehicle, and | ||
(ii) he or she holds a driving licence permitting him or her to drive the vehicle, accompanied by details of the licence and any penalty points endorsed on the entry in the licence record (within the meaning of section 1 of the Road Traffic Act 2002 ) relating to him or her; | ||
(fc) the requirement that an application for a licence in respect of a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written declaration by the applicant for the licence as to the roadworthiness of the vehicle and the compliance with vehicle standards specified in SPSV regulations; | ||
(fd) the requirement that an application for the grant of a licence to drive a small public service vehicle be accompanied by a written undertaking by the applicant for the licence not to drive or ply for hire in a small public service vehicle in contravention of SPSV regulations made in respect of any matter provided for— | ||
(i) under section 20(1)(a)(xii) in respect of the regulation of the period of time that a driver of a small public service vehicle may drive the vehicle, or | ||
(ii) under section 20(1)(a)(xiia) in relation to intervals of rest between commencing driving the vehicle and having ceased driving another vehicle in the course of other employment; | ||
(fe) in the case of a licence in respect of a small public service vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage of a person with a disability using a wheelchair so that the person may be carried in the vehicle while seated in the wheelchair, the requirement that an application for the grant of the licence be accompanied by a written undertaking by the applicant to give, as far as is possible, priority to the carriage of a person with a physical or sensory disability which affects the mobility of the person and to ensure that the driver of such a vehicle gives reasonable assistance to these persons in entering and alighting from the vehicle;”, | ||
and | ||
(iii) in paragraph (l), by substituting “granted” for “issued”, | ||
(d) in section 8(1) (b), by substituting “an application” for “application”, | ||
(e) in section 9— | ||
(i) in subsection (1), by substituting “licensing regulations” for “the regulations”, | ||
(ii) by inserting after subsection (8) the following: | ||
“(8A) The licensing authority may only grant a licence to drive a small public service vehicle to an individual who holds a driving licence to drive such a vehicle.”, | ||
and | ||
(iii) by substituting for subsection (14) the following: | ||
“(14) The holder of a licence shall, during the period of validity of the licence, hold a tax clearance certificate issued to such holder for the time being in force. | ||
(14A) Where the holder of a licence for the time being in force surrenders the licence to the Authority, the licence stands revoked upon its surrender.”, | ||
(f) in section 10(2) (e), by substituting “, any person who has control” for “any person who has control”, | ||
(g) in section 12— | ||
(i) in subsection (2) (d) (i), by substituting “or the terms” for “the terms”, and | ||
(ii) by substituting for subsection (3) the following: | ||
“(3) Where the licensing authority in determining whether to revoke a licence under this section is satisfied that the holder of the licence— | ||
(a) has contravened the obligations applicable to such licence holder (whether or not the holder has been convicted of an offence in relation to the contravention), including the provisions of this Act, any regulations made thereunder or the terms or conditions of the licence, or | ||
(b) has— | ||
(i) failed or refused to provide information required by this Act, regulations under this Act or the terms or conditions of the licence, or | ||
(ii) supplied information that was false or misleading in a material particular which he or she knew or ought reasonably to have known to be so, | ||
but decides not to revoke the licence, it may, if it is satisfied it is appropriate to do so— | ||
(i) suspend the licence for a period not exceeding 3 months, or | ||
(ii) issue by notice to the holder of the licence a reprimand, warning, caution or advice.”, | ||
(h) in section 13, by inserting after subsection (14) the following: | ||
“(15) Where the Authority proposes to refuse to grant, or to revoke or suspend, a licence in respect of a small public service vehicle as a result of the vehicle not meeting a standard required of a small public service vehicle under SPSV regulations, this section does not apply in respect of the refusal, revocation or suspension, as the case may be.”, | ||
(i) in section 15, by substituting for subsections (2) and (3) the following: | ||
“(2) In the event of the death of the holder of a licence, his or her nominated representative may, within 9 months of the death of the holder, make an application to the Authority for the grant of a licence of the same category. | ||
(3) The provisions of this Act apply to an application made under this section.”, | ||
(j) in section 17— | ||
(i) in subsection (1) — | ||
(I) in paragraph (i), by substituting “after the receipt” for “upon the receipt” and “after the expiry” for “of the expiry”, and | ||
(II) in paragraph (ii), by substituting “upon the expiry” for “the expiry”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) in subsection (3), by substituting “after the change, details of the new address” for “of the change, the new address”, | ||
(k) in section 18— | ||
(i) in subsection (3), by substituting for paragraphs (a) and (b) the following: | ||
“(a) the name of the holder; | ||
(b) the address and any change of address of the holder;”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) in subsection (4), by substituting “including the name of the person” for “including the name and address of the person”, | ||
(l) in section 19(2), by substituting for paragraph (h) the following: | ||
“(h) to promote access to, the availability and affordability of, and priority in booking or hiring of, small public service vehicles by persons with disabilities;”, | ||
(m) in section 20(1)(a) — | ||
(i) in subparagraph (x), by substituting “on the driver” for “on the driver of”, | ||
(ii) by substituting for subparagraph (xii) the following: | ||
“(xii) the regulation of the period of time that a driver may drive the vehicle; | ||
(xiia) the requirement that intervals of rest be taken by a driver of the vehicle between the driver commencing driving the vehicle and ceasing to drive another vehicle in the course of his or her other employment;”, | ||
(n) in section 20(1)(j) — | ||
(i) by inserting after subparagraph (iv) the following: | ||
“(iva) the loading, unloading and carriage of the luggage of a passenger;”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (vi) the following: | ||
“(via) methods of payment of fares;”, | ||
(o) in section 22 by substituting for subsections (3), (4) and (5) the following: | ||
“(3) A person shall not ply or stand for hire with a mechanically propelled vehicle to which this section applies in a public place unless— | ||
(a) the vehicle is a taxi in respect of which there is a licence in force for that purpose, and | ||
(b) the person holds a licence to drive a taxi and to ply or stand for hire with a taxi in that public place. | ||
(4) A person who contravenes— | ||
(a) subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (2), or | ||
(b) paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3), | ||
commits an offence and, if that person is not the owner of the vehicle, such owner commits an offence, in respect of each such contravention and each is liable in respect of each such contravention on summary conviction to a class A fine. | ||
(5) Where a person is required under licensing regulations to hold a licence to act as a dispatch operator, the person shall not act as a dispatch operator, unless the person holds a licence to act in that regard.”, | ||
(p) in section 25— | ||
(i) by substituting for subsection (3) the following: | ||
“(3) The driver of a taxi shall not stand for hire with a taxi at an appointed stand in an area in which the driver is not licensed under section 9 to so stand.”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) in subsection (12)(b), by substituting “Iris Oifigiúil,” for “Iris Oifigiúil”, | ||
(q) in section 27(2), by substituting “subsection (1)” for “this section”, | ||
(r) in section 28(1), by inserting “information,” after “identification,”, | ||
(s) in section 30— | ||
(i) in subsection (1), by substituting for the definition of “appropriate court” the following: | ||
“ ‘appropriate court’ means— | ||
(a) in relation to a conviction— | ||
(i) on indictment for a specified offence other than an offence referred to in subparagraph (ii), the Circuit Court, and | ||
(ii) for the offence of murder, manslaughter or rape, the Central Criminal Court, | ||
and | ||
(b) in the case of an offence referred to in subsection (3), the Circuit Court;”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) in subsection (3) — | ||
(I) by substituting “for the period of any disqualification for driving a mechanically propelled vehicle imposed on conviction” for “for the period of any disqualification”, | ||
(II) in paragraph (i), by substituting “paragraph (a) or a conviction for a corresponding offence” for “paragraph (a) ”, and | ||
(III) in paragraph (ii), by substituting “paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e) or a conviction for a corresponding offence,” for “paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e) ”, | ||
(t) in section 34, by inserting “to drive a small public service vehicle” after “holder of a licence”, | ||
(u) in section 35(1), by substituting for paragraph (a) the following: | ||
“(a) section 37 of the Act of 2010 as specified in a notice under section 35 of that Act in respect of a fixed charge offence referred to in paragraph (c) (inserted by section 77(1)(b)) of section 34 of the Act of 2010, | ||
(aa) section 103 of the Act of 1961 as specified in a notice under that section in respect of a fixed charge offence referred to in section 77(2) of this Act, or”, | ||
(v) in section 36— | ||
(i) by substituting for paragraph (a) the following: | ||
“(a) shall cause the demerits to be removed from the entry at the end of that period, and”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) in paragraph (b), by substituting for subparagraph (i) the following: | ||
“(i) of the ending of the period and its date, and”, | ||
(w) in section 39— | ||
(i) in subsection (1), by substituting “section 37” for “section 36”, and | ||
(ii) in subsection (5)(a)(iii), by substituting “section 37” for “section 38”, | ||
(x) in section 42, by substituting “to that land or those premises” for “to those premises”, | ||
(y) in section 49, by deleting subsection (7), and | ||
(z) in section 57(9), by substituting “section 53” for “section 54”. |