Hire Services (Amendment) Regulations, 2023

L.N. 111 of 2023

TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDINANCE

(CAP. 65)

AUTHORITY FOR TRANSPORT IN MALTA ACT

(CAP. 499)

Light Passenger Transport Services and Vehicle

Hire Services (Amendment) Regulations, 2023

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 54 of the

Traffic Regulation Ordinance and by article 43 of the Authority for

Transport in Malta Act, the Minister responsible for transport, after

consultation with the Authority for Transport in Malta, has made the

following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Light Passenger Citation, scope

Transport Services and Vehicle Hire Services (Amendment) and

commencement.

Regulations, 2023 and these regulations shall be read and construed as

one with the Light Passenger Transport Services and Vehicle Hire

Services Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the principal S.L.

regulations".

(2)

The scope of these regulations is to provide for

(a) the parking on the road of light passenger transport

vehicles while these are not in use, without the need to return to

their garage; and

(b) ensuring that light passenger transport service

operators have adequate private garage space and, or private off-

street parking space to park their vehicles while these are not in

use.

(3) These regulations shall come into force within two (2)

months from their publication in the Gazette.

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 2 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a) immediately after the definition "authorised

inspecting officer" thereof there shall be added the following

new definition

" "bus stop" shall have the same meaning as

assigned to it in the Passenger Transport Services

Regulations;";

(b) immediately after the definition "operator" thereof

there shall be added the following new definition

" "parking disc" shall have the same meaning

as assigned to it in the Controlled Parking Schemes

(Residents and Commercial) Regulations;"; and

(c) immediately after the definition "surveillance

camera" thereof there shall be added the following new

definition

" "taxi stand" shall have the same meaning as

assigned to it in the Taxi Services Regulations;".

Sub-regulation (4) of regulation 5 of the principal

regulations shall be substituted by the following new sub-regulation

"(4) Once issued, an operator’s licence shall

remain valid unless it is revoked, suspended or

surrendered, provided that the operator submits to the

Authority, within one (1) month preceding the first year

from the issue of the said licence, and every subsequent

year, an application for renewal which shall include

(a) a conduct certificate issued by the

police;

(b) the applicable fee as stipulated in the

First Schedule;

(c) a declaration signed by the operator by

virtue of which he confirms that he has sufficient

space for his exclusive use to garage or park off-

street the light passenger transport vehicles that are

registered under his operator’s licence whilst these

are not in use;

(d) a report signed by a warranted architect

that shall

(i) include the addresses of locations

and site plans of any private parking spaces

for the exclusive use of the operator, which

may be located in a garage and, or in any

private off-street parking areas;

(ii) specify the total number of car

spaces available for the operator’s exclusive

use; and

(iii) certify that these spaces are

sufficient to park all light passenger transport

vehicles that are registered under the

operator’s licence; and

(e) a declaration signed by the operator by

virtue of which he confirms that he still satisfies the

requirement of good conduct and repute and that

from the date of issuance of the last certificate

referred to in regulation 7(1)(a), he has not been

found guilty of any criminal offence in violation of

the provisions of regulation 9.".

Sub-regulation (1) of regulation 7 of the principal Amends

regulations shall be amended as follows

(a) in paragraph (c) thereof, the words "of its operating

centre; and" shall be substituted by the words "of its operating

centre;"; and

(b) paragraph (d) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(d) a declaration signed by the applicant whereby

he undertakes to garage and, or park off-street in a place or

area for his exclusive use any vehicle which is registered

under his licence while it is not in use for the purpose of

providing services, except according to those modalities

and within the limits provided in regulation 17; and" and

immediately after there shall be added the following new

paragraph

"(e) a report signed by a warranted architect that

shall

(i) include the addresses of locations and

site plans of any private parking spaces for the

exclusive use of the operator, which may be located

in a garage and, or in any private off-street parking

areas;

(ii) specify the total number of car spaces

available for the operator’s exclusive use; and

(iii) certify that these spaces are sufficient to

park all light passenger transport vehicles that are

registered under the operator’s licence.".

Regulation 17 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following new regulation

" Garaging and

(1) An operator shall ensure that any light

passenger transport vehicle used in his operations in

terms of his operator’s licence shall be garaged or parked

off-street in a place or area for his exclusive use while it

is not in use

Provided that a light passenger transport

vehicle that is not in use, but which is being driven by a

driver who is available to be booked for hire during his

working time or shift, or which is parked in accordance

with the provisions of sub-regulation (2), shall not be

required to be garaged or parked off-street.

(2) Without prejudice to sub-regulation (1), a

light passenger transport vehicle that is not in use may be

left parked legally on the road

(a) for a limited time not exceeding sixty

(60) minutes, provided that the driver of the vehicle

shall exhibit a parking disc on the surface of the

dashboard in a clear and visible position from the

outer side of the windscreen and the driver shall set

the parking disc to show as correctly as possible the

time of his leaving the vehicle parked; and

(b) at a straight line distance of not less than

two hundred and fifty (250) meters from the taxi

stands situated at the following locations

(i) at all passenger ship berthing sites;

(ii) at the Malta International Airport;

and

(iii) in King Edward VII Avenue in

Floriana; and

(c) at a straight line distance of not less than

one hundred (100) meters from all other taxi stands;

and, or

(d) at a straight line distance of not less than

fifteen (15) metres from any bus stop

Provided that this sub-regulation shall not

apply to that time during which the driver of the vehicle

is boarding passengers onto the vehicle or alighting

passengers from the vehicle

Provided further that the time requirement

stipulated in this sub-regulation shall not be applicable as

long as the driver is and remains in the vehicle. However,

the requirement of distance shall continue to apply.

(3) For the purpose of ensuring compliance with

the distance requirement stipulated in this regulation, the

Authority shall have the right to require light passenger

transport service operators and holders of an

authorisation to act as an intermediary booking service

platform not to communicate by any means any booking

requests or any related information to drivers that are

located with their vehicles within the prohibited distances

from taxi stands and bus stops.".

6. In the proviso to sub-regulation (1) of regulation 59 of the Amends

principal regulations, the words "the Register." shall be substituted by regulation

the words "the Register:" and immediately after there shall be added regulations.

the following new proviso

"Provided further that the Authority shall not register

or licence any additional light passenger transport vehicle under

Section 1 of Part IV of the Register or under an operator’s

licence during its period of validity if it results that the number

of available parking spaces declared in the architect’s report

required in terms of regulations 5(4)(d) and 7(1)(e) is exceeded

and in such a case, the operator shall have the right to submit an

updated architect’s report including any additional private

parking spaces that may be available for his exclusive use.".

7. In the table of the Fourth Schedule to the principal Amends the

regulations, the following row

"regulation

"

shall be substituted by the following two rows

"regulation

17(1), (3)

regulation

".

17(2)

B

€0.54