The taxi industry is calling for a crackdown on operators dropping the title of taxi to become "private hire" services in a bid to avoid tougher security laws next month.
From August 1, all taxis must have cameras installed and operators must run a 24-hour call centre as part of new
laws aimed at making the industry safer.
Masterton's sole taxi company, Masterton Radio Taxis, is installing its systems this week.
Manager Richard Lambert said cameras would be installed in each of their nine cabs, and an emergency alert device would be installed and connected to a call centre. "We will have the best cameras possible and we will be hooked up to a call centre in Wellington, so our drivers can push a button if they get into trouble and the emergency services will be called."
He said the cameras were a big expense for the company, costing about $2000 each, and the monthly cost of the monitoring was about the same. "It is a big expense but we are prepared to do it for the safety of our drivers."
Being the only taxi company in Wairarapa, the firm has no plans to become a private hire service.
"We believe in giving the public a service and, if that service isn't there, who are they going to call when they need to be dropped off at the hospital or something and picked up at 3am?"
Rideshop director David Lee installed cameras in his cabs last year but said his company was turned into a private hire company in 2005.
"We got away from taxis because it wasn't cost effective. We already have a few cameras installed for security but it's all been going through the system for a few years now, so it's nothing new to us."
Under operator licensing legislation, private hire cars must not be metered, instead carrying passengers at an agreed price, and they must be pre-booked.
