First appearing in Paris, France back in 2001, motorcycle taxis have gained a lot of popularity because they offered a swift service cars could not, were fun and obviously more convenient on fair weather days.
However, even after the strict regulations which came in 2009-2010, car taxi operators were not taking good on them, and managed to impose a law making it illegal to display "Taxi" on the... taxi bikes.
The reasons were multiple, with not having a fare meter and not paying for a taxi license being just the most important ones. Motorcycle taxis were not allowed to wait for walk-by customers and waving them on the road was also forbidden: they were to be reserved in advance, only.
Even more, the bikes still must be less than 3 years old, with operators holding a bike license for more than 5 years. To get a taxi license, the rider was also supposed not to have been responsible for an accident during the last 5 years. Failing to comply with these rules could mean one year in prison for the operator and €150,000 (more than $200,000) in fines. And then, no more “taxi” displayed on the bikes... as silly as it gets.
After a long battle, the motorcycle taxi operators have managed to convince the FNTDR (the French organization controlling the industry) to judge a new ruling, reinstating the use of Taxi stickers on the bikes. Finally, we get some normality in this field, too, and hopefully car taxi operators will understand that the motorcycle taxis have their role and place in the industry as well.
The reasons were multiple, with not having a fare meter and not paying for a taxi license being just the most important ones. Motorcycle taxis were not allowed to wait for walk-by customers and waving them on the road was also forbidden: they were to be reserved in advance, only.
Even more, the bikes still must be less than 3 years old, with operators holding a bike license for more than 5 years. To get a taxi license, the rider was also supposed not to have been responsible for an accident during the last 5 years. Failing to comply with these rules could mean one year in prison for the operator and €150,000 (more than $200,000) in fines. And then, no more “taxi” displayed on the bikes... as silly as it gets.
After a long battle, the motorcycle taxi operators have managed to convince the FNTDR (the French organization controlling the industry) to judge a new ruling, reinstating the use of Taxi stickers on the bikes. Finally, we get some normality in this field, too, and hopefully car taxi operators will understand that the motorcycle taxis have their role and place in the industry as well.
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