Almost one in 10 taxis stopped during a weekend drink-drive blitz in Auckland had to be taken off the road because of serious defects.
Senior Sergeant Pete Kaveney said police applauded drinkers who did the right thing by getting a ride home in a taxi or with someonewho was sober.
But he said some taxi operators were showing a complete disregard for the safety of the people they were carrying.
About a third of 7729 vehicles stopped during the anti-drink-drive campaign targeting major roads into central Auckland were commercial vehicles.
Of those, Land Transport New Zealand inspectors conducted minor visual examinations of 573 taxis.
A total of 289, or roughly half, failed to comply with regulations because of minor defects.
"But alarmingly, 52 were written off the road for serious safety defects," Mr Kaveney said.
Passengers were entitled to know they were travelling in a safe vehicle.
"When you get into a taxi, you enter into a contract to get somewhere, and get somewhere safely."
Meanwhile, the cost of setting up a taxi company and driving a cab has leaped after Land Transport implemented new rules and fees yesterday.
The agency's national manager (commercial road transport), John Doesburg, said the changes would allow for more effective monitoring of operators.
"It will create a fairer system which benefits responsible operators."
The changes, announced in July, affect licence holders in the passenger service, goods service, vehicle recovery and rental vehicle industries.
The application fee for a new transport service licence (TSL) rises from $30 to $440, while the application fee togain status as a new approved taxi organisation increases from $30 to $3678.
The annual licensing fee for each vehicle operated under a TSL increases from $24 to $55.
