Law changed as taxi driver loses permit over traffic offence

A taxi driver who was prevented from renewing his operating licence over a €100 fine has lost his appeal to an administrative review tribunal, but got the law changed.

Joe Cassar, who has been a taxi driver for over 40 years, had received a letter from the Transport Authority informing him that his identity tag could not be renewed because of a conviction for a traffic offence in April 2016.

The driver had been fined €100 after running a red light while ferrying some tourists who were late for their flight home.

With his passengers in a panic because they were late for their flight Cassar was stuck in rush hour traffic on the way to the airport from Xemxija. The taxi driver had not stopped when the lights turned red and earned himself a ticket.

But after being prosecuted and fined by a Magistrates’ Court, the driver risked losing his livelihood when Transport Malta declared that his tag, essential for anyone providing a taxi service, could not be renewed.

An appeal from the Transport Authority’s decision was filed before an Administrative Review Tribunal chaired by magistrate Charmaine Galea.

The court said it was “perplexed” at how the onus on having a good police conduct was different when one applied for a tag as a new applicant and renewing it. The law as it stood presented “a great discrepancy”, the Tribunal observed when passing judgment.

Even a simple contravention, like failure to affix one’s licence on the driver’s windscreen, could result in a non-renewal of the tag.

The Tribunal’s said it could not arbitrarily decide on a humanitarian or empathetic basis as the law was clear and the Transport Authority had interpreted the law correctly, the judgment read. However, the court strongly recommended the Transport Minister rectify the discrepancy, the Tribunal declared while rejecting the appeal.

A notice in the Government Gazette dated April 13, says that the law has since been amended so that a renewal of the tag now depends on having an appropriate driving licence, being of good repute and conduct - by the same standards as for the driver’s permit - attending regular courses of instruction and successfully completing the relative exams.

Lawyer David Gatt appeared for Cassar in the proceedings.