Transport Minister Steven Joyce yesterday announced the Cabinet had approved plans to draft legislation to make in-car security cameras compulsory, in a move he said would improve driver and passenger safety.
Under a proposal likely to be law by the middle of next year, all taxis in towns served by more than 20 taxis - which includes Dunedin, Queenstown, and Invercargill - will have to be fitted with security cameras approved by the New Zealand Transport Agency.
Poll: Do you think taxis in Otago need security cameras?
Transport Ministry officials yesterday estimated the cameras would cost about $1100, excluding GST.
Mr Joyce said that cost would be borne by the companies.
New Zealand Taxi Federation chief executive Tim Reddish said taxis were likely to be more expensive to use as companies tried to recover costs.
He "guesstimated" flag-fall rates could rise by 30c - "maybe less, maybe more" - as companies recovered the cost of up to $1200 he said it would take to get a camera into a car.
Dunedin Taxis chairman Tony Ross said passengers were "not in for a price spike" but that his company would have to look at its flag-fall rate when its shareholder-drivers installed cameras in their 72 cars.
"We'll be looking at a longish cost recovery period, so we shouldn't see a great jump in the flag-fall. But over so many vehicles, that's a lot of money in one go, and a significant expense for any taxi company."
Dunedin taxi drivers had been assaulted twice in as many weeks.
Cameras would make "anyone stupid enough to get silly" think twice about committing a crime.
Southern Taxis co-owner Maureen Grant said the new rules would discourage violence and fare-running, but the family-owned company would have to fund the cost of installing cameras in its 20 cars itself.
Cameras would have to be installed in taxis that were rarely used, making the exercise even more expensive in the short-term, Mrs Grant said.
"It feels like something that's being done because of what's been happening in the Auckland market, and I'm not necessarily convinced that we need it here. But, like everyone, we just have to get on with it."
Transport Ministry figures show there were more than 100 assaults on New Zealand taxi drivers last year.
Mr Joyce said overseas experience suggested in-car cameras could reduce violent and serious crime in taxis, and fare-running, by 70%.
He did not promote making driver protective screens compulsory.
The Cabinet also agreed to new telecommunications requirements to ensure drivers had around-the-clock support in the event of an emergency or if they had concerns about a potential threat.
