Media statement | 1 October 2007

Changes in commercial transport take effect today

New rules and fees for the commercial transport sector take effect today (1 October).

The changes were announced in July and affect the passenger service, goods service, vehicle recovery and rental vehicle industries licence holders.

Land Transport NZ National Manager Commercial Road Transport John Doesburg said the changes will enable Land Transport NZ to more effectively monitor the performance of operators.

‘It will create a fairer system which benefits responsible operators,’ said Mr Doesburg. 

From today (1 October) there will no longer be a distinction made between working hours and on-duty driving hours – all hours spent working will be counted as work time hours, and must be recorded in a log book.

There is also a new schedule of fees for commercial transport operators. The new fees were developed with the commercial transport industry, following the first major review of the transport service licence fee structure in more than 17 years, said Mr Doesburg.

The annual licensing fee for each vehicle operated under a Transport Service Licence (TSL) increases from $24 to $55. The application fee for a new TSL rises from $30 to $440, while the application fee to gain status as a new Approved Taxi Organisation (AT0) increases from $30 to $3678.

Land Transport NZ has produced two booklets for operators – ‘Hire Standards’ outlines the changes for taxi, shuttle, dial-a-driver and private hire services. ‘Work time and logbooks’ details  the new requirements for commercial drivers. Both booklets are free and are available from the Land Transport NZ website or by calling the call centre on 0800 699 000.

For more information about the changes that come into effect on 1 October see: Law changes affecting commercial operators and drivers.

For more information
Alison Welch
Acting Media Manager
Land Transport New Zealand
Ph: 04 931 8829 or 027 243 6970