Police step up campaign to tackle Jersey Lifts

Thursday 02 November 2017

Jersey Police are planning to share information on drivers who give lifts for profit with insurance companies, the Taxes Office and the Social Security Department in a bid to clamp down on the controversial 'Jersey Lifts' Facebook page.

Warning flyers have been drafted which tell drivers that they may lose their insurance if they are suspected of offering lifts for profit.

The flyers, which have not yet been launched but were leaked on social media, will be distributed to drivers who are suspected of "using either social media or an app to provide unregulated lifts for profit." They remind drivers that ride shares are only covered by standard insurance, on the basis that no profit is made.

They also state that drivers should only be charging the flat rate mileage allowance - equivalent to 60p per mile - and that if they charge more, they are invalidating their insurance and therefore committing two motor offences: driving without insurance and operating a cab service without a licence.

Pictured: The flyer will soon be distributed to drivers that are suspected of offering profitable lifts.

The flyer explains that a Police partnership with the insurance industry, the Taxes Office and Social Security is "to tackle the risks posed by untrained, unlicensed and uninsured drivers to the users of Jersey Lifts." It states that all four have agreed to share information on drivers they suspect of using their vehicle for anything other than ride shares. 

It states that the Police do not need to prove the driver has made any profit before making contacting the insurance companies. Drivers are also warned that if one insurer decides to withdraw the cover, they will have to notify any new provider, who might in return refuse to provide cover, leaving them completely uninsured.

While the flyer is yet to launch officially and the Police declined to comment on it, some islanders who viewed the leaked copy on social media described it as "scaremongering." While one user pointed out that such information is already printed out on insurance contracts and "shouldn't come as a surprise", another called the move "ridiculous." "Will they(the Police) be informing them if they see you invalidating your house insurance and breaking your insurance contract? Or perhaps informing your employer if you are pulling a sickie and breaking your employement contract. Surely these are civil matters rather than criminal crimes."

Another user wrote: "There is far too much governmental involvement where none is needed," adding "If both parties agree to a transaction, it shouldn't be anyone else's business."

Pictured: Police have partnered with local insurance companies, as well as Social Security and the Taxes Office as part of the initiative.

Others noted that the focus shouldn't be on the drivers who offer lifts, which were described as a "useful resource to a large part of the population", but on the reason why there is a need for lifts. "What the States need to do is address the real issue of unaffordable transportation services in the island primarily late at night. Treat the cause not the symptom. Ineffective ‘problem’ solving in the long term." "Look, the service exists because there is a demand for this. Cut taxi rates in half, and the JL problem goes away. People also like JL because they can get a lift within minutes of asking for one, no matter where and when in the island they are. These problems need to be addressed."

The publication of the flyer comes a little over two months after the Jersey Lifts app launched. Born from the controversial Facebook group, which currently has nearly 14,000 members, the app enables passengers to request lifts from any location on the island and was designed to be a safer option than the group, after some expressed fears that it was a hotbed for predatory behaviour.

Creators of the Jersey Lifts app, Itineris, have since published the following statement: