Court backs decision to suspend taxi driver

Monday 12 December 2016

Jersey's Royal Court has thrown out the appeal of a taxi driver who had her licence suspended for illegally picking-up passengers. Erin Bisson had argued the Driver and Vehicle Standards Department (DVS) - which is responsible for taxi and cab regulation - had discriminated against her because she is changing her gender.

She also argued DVS was wrong to do what it did, that it was disproportional, and had seriously affected her income and livelihood.

Under Jersey law there are three classes of taxi-cabs: controlled, restricted, and limousine. Each operates under different conditions. One of the most important is that restricted taxi-cabs cannot stand on a rank or pick up passengers from a rank other than at the airport, Albert Pier, or Elizabeth Terminal if there are controlled cabs waiting.

The laws though are changing. In particular DVS wants to see more wheelchair accessible vehicles – so-called WAVs. Like controlled cabs, anyone with WAV – ‘purple plates’ – is allowed to pick-up from the rank.

Ms Bisson holds a restricted licence but had undergone the WAV training and had bought a suitable car. But, because the new law hadn’t yet come into force she still wasn’t allowed to pick-up from the rank. Despite this it’s alleged on August 16^th earlier this year she tried to pick-up eight or nine times from the Weighbridge rank.

This so angered controlled taxi-cab drivers they blocked her in and the police eventually had to be called to sort out the situation. Ms Bisson’s actions prompted DVS to suspend her licence indefinitely, although this was later reduced to six weeks.

Ms Bisson appealed to the Royal Court hoping to get the suspension overturned, and also hoping to get the clause meaning she has to work for a recognised firm lifted.

She claimed the States had sent out confusing messages about purple plates, and that DVS’s actions had been over the top and discriminatory.

Ms Bisson said, and the court agreed, that the official States website seemed to say the law to allow purple plates had come into force. But the court also said Ms Bisson should have checked, and argued she should have known it hadn’t because both DVS and her boss had sent her emails.

She also argued the indefinite suspension was disproportionate. The court said this could well have been the case, but wasn’t material because the suspension was later reduced to six weeks.

Finally, Ms Bisson claimed she was being discriminated against. She gave examples of how letters had been wrongly addressed to her, and alleged one employee described her as a ‘man in a skirt,' a claim that was denied and never proven. In its decision the court says: ‘we can understand that these incidents were upsetting. However, we do not consider that these matters give grounds for believing that the decision in this case was taken on a discriminatory basis i.e. because Ms Bisson is in gender transition.’

In conclusion the court agreed DVS had done nothing wrong and dismissed Ms Bisson’s appeal.