Richard Darbéra CNRS, Latts Scientific director of IVM's Taxi Project Taxicab regulation and urban residents' perception of taxi services: a survey in eight cities Richard Darbéra CNRS, Latts Scientific director of IVM's Taxi Project

The survey A survey among the residents of New York and seven major European cities: Paris, London, Berlin, Lisbon, Dublin, Amsterdam and Stockholm. 42 questions including two open questions 3200 interviews, 400 in each city Stratified sample: 300 users (had taken a taxi in the past year) 100 non-users Age, gender, city/suburb

The supply regulation of taxi services Taxis' number capped Regulated fares PHVs allowed New York Yes Paris No Lisbon London Berlin Dublin Stockholm X Amsterdam

The open questions Question 25: “What are all the measures that the authorities should put into place so that taxis may be a means of transport that better meets your needs?” Question 27: “Thinking again about your taxi trips in another town in your country or abroad, what are all the aspects that you appreciated and that you would like to find during your next taxi trips in your town?”. 4700 answers resulting in 7500 opinions

Respondents/contacts Responses/respondents Q25: What should be done Respondents/contacts Responses/respondents Paris 63% 1,9 London 71% 1,8 New York 64% Amsterdam 66% Lisbon 77% Berlin 57% 1,5 Dublin 72% 2,2 Stockholm 50% 1,7

Q27: What should be copied Respondents/contacts Responses/respondents Paris 79% 1,5 London 83% 1,4 New York 67% Amsterdam 88% Lisbon 1,3 Berlin 78% 1,2 Dublin 93% 1,6 Stockholm 89%

The method 7500 opinions distributed in 9 broad themes better vehicles, better drivers, better service, lower fares, better traffic conditions, more taxis, subsidies to users, tax waivers to operators, others … divided in up to 9 sub-themes. For instance, the sub-themes for “better vehicles” were: electric car, hybrid cars, non-polluting car, comfortable, air conditioning, physical separation driver / customer, larger taxis (minibus type), single colour (more visible taxis), and better signage for empty taxis.

Vehicles are better abroad Better vehicles Want better vehicles Vehicles are better abroad Paris 11% 13% London 9% 10% New York 12% Amsterdam 8% 3% Lisbon 15% Berlin Dublin 24% 25% Stockholm 19% 4%

Better vehicles But what is meant by better vehicles is quite different: Dubliners want taxis to be more comfortable (9%) or larger, and more visible with single colour (6%) … and appreciate these features when abroad Swedes want non-polluting cars (13%), and some of them specify electric vehicles Berliners also want larger taxis i.e. minibus type (6%) New Yorkers want Hybrid Cars.

Drivers are better abroad Better drivers Want better drivers Drivers are better abroad Paris 16% 40% London 24% 31% New York 46% Amsterdam 75% 38% Lisbon 34% 37% Berlin 15% 28% Dublin 36% 39% Stockholm 30% 32%

Better drivers Residents Amsterdam complain about Refusal to accept short rides (5%) Dishonesty (19%) Poor knowledge of the city whereabouts (13%) Reckless driving (8%) Neither polite nor friendly (9%) Lacking professionalism (14%) Residents Paris complain about Refusal to accept short rides (6%) … and find drivers abroad much kinder (27%) ! Residents New York complain about drivers who do not speak English correctly (5%)

Lower fares Want lower fares Fares are lower abroad Paris 62% 28% London 71% 36% New York 40% 14% Amsterdam 68% 55% Lisbon 13% Berlin 56% 23% Dublin 57% 43% Stockholm 41% 34%

Lower fares Residents in Stockholm and New York complain much less than others New York taxis are the cheapest in the world! Fixed rates for a set of distances wanted in London, Amsterdam and Dublin Parisians want Subscription (season) cards probably meaning carte orange (5%) and subsidies to riders (6%) Tax waivers for taxis operators wanted in Stockholm (16%) and Lisbon (15%) ?!

Want better availability More taxis abroad Paris 33% 19% London 21% 9% New York 23% 5% Amsterdam 6% Lisbon 3% Berlin 4% 1% Dublin 25% 10% Stockholm 7%

Better availability per 1000 population Taxis Taxis & PHVs Drivers Dublin 10,6 11,2 17,3 Stockholm 6,8 17,0 New York 1,6 6,3 11,1 London 3,2 8,5 8,6 Berlin 2,0 2,3 4,7 Amsterdam 2,4 3,3 Lisbon 2,2 Paris 2,6 2,8

Anything else? 16% New Yorkers have no special request Residents in Berlin and Lisbon see no difference with other countries (35%) Residents in Stockholm think taxis are best at home (9%) Regulation vs deregulation is not an issue Stockholm ≠ Amsterdam London ≠ Dublin ≠ Berlin Paris ≠ Lisbon The issue is in the details of the regulation

Conclusion Although their treatment is more cumbersome, open questions are an indispensable complement to surveys on taxi use. Multiple-choice questions allow to draw statistics on trip frequencies, trip purpose, travel habits and preferences and even on the image of the taxi among all the other means of transport Open questions let respondents vent their opinions, their grievances and their expectations about the taxi services they are delivered. As such, they give policy makers as well as taxi operators valuable feedback information.

Further research Taxis in rural areas and small towns France, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden .

French taxis’ turnover depending on location Rural Towns Suburbs Large cities Subsidized medical trips 80-90% 10-40% 5% School transport 10-15% 10% 0% Handicapped and elderly ? Public transport complement Taxi (telephone & ranks) 50-90% 90%

Taxis in rural areas & small towns Particular attention will be given to: How governments and social services contract taxis to provide mobility services to certain categories of the population. We will assess the share of these markets in total turnover of the taxis and will explore how taxis may organize to respond to calls for bids.

Taxis in rural areas & small towns If you want to help: Please give me your business card so I can: Send you the data we have already collected Send you a short questionnaire Come and visit you to present our provisional results and ask more questions . Thank you