Four Tauranga taxis have been ordered off the road following safety and compliance checks by the NZ Transport Agency.

In addition to the four Tauranga taxis ordered off the road, four Hamilton taxis and two Rotorua taxis were also removed as part of the month long crackdown.

A number of other taxis in each of the areas were directed to fix a range of smaller non-critical faults.

Another six taxi operators, two in each area are ordered to stop working until their vehicles' security cameras are fixed.

NZTA Regional Manager of Access and Use, David Pearks says police are following up on the operation with the number of prosecutions.

'Police will advise us of the outcomes from those; and our Access and Use commercial team will get the results back to the relevant taxi companies and work with them to target and fix the problem areas identified,” says David.

During the April crackdown, taxis in Tauranga, Rotorua and Hamilton were targeted and directed to a testing site to undergo a full mechanical examination and compliance inspection.

In total 67 vehicles were checked with the worst 10 vehicles being ordered off the road due to mechanical defects.

The combined operation involved transport officers from the NZTA's Access and Use group, and Police Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit (CVIU) staff from across the region. They examined drivers' compliance with taxi rules; work time and logbooks; driver and transport licensing; and vehicle safety standards.

The series of compliance and safety checks on taxis shows the overall standard of cabs in the regions is rising but there is still room for improvement, says David.

'This improvement shows that the taxi organisations have the ability to manage the performance of their members and this is reflected in their drivers operating safer vehicles. However, it's always disappointing when we find that not all organisations achieve this.”

David says the checking operation is part of the NZTA's role to ensure that taxis are safe and legal.

'It's just one aspect of our work in this area. Our efforts to improve the safety of taxi operations are on-going and we will continue to do all we can to ensure the safety of the travelling public by supporting improved taxi standards and compliance in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua District.”