7.4 Change, E-payment & General Conduct

7.4 Change, E-payment & General Conduct

Quick Answer: When in charge of a taxi, the driver should: not solicit hire; keep self and vehicle clean and tidy; not deceive or refuse to inform passengers of the proper fare and route; carry change of ≥$90 in $10 notes or coins of $2 or more and ≥$10 in coins of $1 or less when available for hire or hired; from 1 April 2026 allow fares by ≥1 QR code e-payment and ≥1 non-QR e-payment; take reasonable precautions for passenger safety boarding/alighting/on board; not unreasonably delay the journey; not smoke in/on the vehicle; not congregate with other drivers causing public annoyance; drive away immediately after alight/board to minimise obstruction; and on request of police / traffic warden in uniform / Commissioner-authorised person, give name, address, and employer/owner name and address.

Section 7.3 was mostly prohibitory (do not refuse hire, do not take the long way). Section 7.4 (§XIV.2) is the positive conduct code: how a professional taxi driver presents, informs, takes money, protects passengers, and cooperates with enforcement.

(i) No Soliciting

The driver should not attract or induce hire by soliciting.

Soliciting is active touting — calling out to pedestrians, blocking paths to pitch rides, aggressive induction beyond lawful plying for hire with the proper signs and stand/hail rules. A taxi available for hire shows the correct FOR HIRE / roof-sign status (Chapter 3–5 territory); it does not become a street hawker of rides.

Exam contrast:

• Lawful: waiting at a stand in order, responding to a hail where stopping is allowed, showing for-hire signals correctly.
• Unlawful spirit of (i): shouting for custom, pressuring tourists, inducing hire by deceptive "special price" pitches.

(ii) Clean and Tidy — Driver and Vehicle

The driver should keep himself or herself and the vehicle clean and tidy.

This is a public-service appearance and hygiene standard:

• Personal presentation fit for carrying the public
• Cabin free of unreasonable litter, foul conditions, and neglect
• Exterior/identity features not left in a disgraceful state that undermines the trade

It pairs with baggage rules (secure wrapping, no offensive goods) and with passenger confidence. Dirt and disorder are not "personal style" exemptions on a licensed taxi.

(iii) Honest Fare and Route Information

The driver should not deceive a passenger, and should not refuse to inform a passenger of the proper fare and route.

Implications:

1. No deception — false statements about tunnel necessity, "fixed price only," meter broken when it is not, or invented surcharges.
2. Duty to inform — if the passenger asks the proper fare basis or the route, do not refuse to explain; point to the displayed fare table, the meter, and a direct practicable route explanation consistent with Section 7.3.
3. Link to Chapter 6: proper fare means the prescribed scale + lawful extras/tolls, not a private negotiation that pretends the Gazette/Booklet structure does not exist on a street-hail general taxi.

(iv) Change Float — Two Layers You Must Memorise

When available for hire or hired, the driver should carry change as follows:

Both layers apply together — it is and, not "either $90 or $10."

Teaching breakdown

• $90 band: built from $10 notes and/or coins worth $2 or more (for example $2, $5, $10 coins as applicable). This layer handles mid-size change after a note fare payment.
• $10 band: coins of $1 or less — the small coins needed to make exact change at the dollar and below level.
• When: while available for hire or hired — not only at shift start on paper, but as an operational carriage duty during public service.

Exam traps on change

Memory phrase: Ninety big-ish, ten tiny — both on board.

(v) E-payment from 1 April 2026 — QR and Non-QR

Starting 1 April 2026, when in charge of the taxi for hire service under this conduct rule, the driver should allow fares by:

1. At least one QR code e-payment method, and
2. At least one non-QR e-payment method.

Why two channels

• QR code methods cover common scan-to-pay wallets popular with many passengers.
• Non-QR e-payment covers electronic payment that does not rely on a QR code (for example card-based or other approved electronic means as operated in practice) so passengers are not trapped if they cannot use QR.

Exam anchors

• Date: 1 April 2026 — learn the day; do not shift it to "sometime in 2026" or "1 January 2026."
• Minimum one of each category — not "any two QR apps and zero non-QR," and not "only Octopus-style non-QR with no QR option" if the rule requires both classes.
• Cash change rules in (iv) remain; e-payment is additional acceptance capability, not a full replacement of the change float duty in the syllabus teaching.

(vi) Reasonable Precautions for Safety

The driver should take reasonable precautions for the safety of passengers when they are:

• boarding,
• alighting, and
• on the vehicle.

Examples of the professional standard (exam themes):

• Stop where passengers can enter/exit as safely as circumstances allow within stopping law
• Avoid moving off while doors are open or passengers are half aboard
• Drive with passenger presence in mind (smoothness, care at turns) consistent with RUC professional expectations
• Be alert at night, in rain, and at busy kerbsides

"Reasonable" does not mean perfection in every street conflict; it means active care, not indifference.

(vii) No Unreasonable Delay

The driver should not unreasonably delay the journey.

This pairs with the most direct practicable route duty: once hired, progress the trip. Unreasonable delay includes dawdling, personal errands mid-hire, or waiting around without passenger need. Genuine traffic congestion is not the same as driver-created delay.

(viii) No Smoking

The driver should not smoke in or on the vehicle.

No smoking in the cabin, and the rule extends to on the vehicle as stated — treat the taxi as a smoke-free workplace and passenger space. Passengers' health and the next hirer's experience both matter.

(ix) No Congregating Causing Public Annoyance

The driver should not congregate with other drivers in a way that causes public annoyance.

Groups of drivers blocking pavements, creating noise nuisances, or turning a pick-up area into a social obstruction fail this limb. Professional waiting is stand discipline and lawful parking — not a street assembly that annoys the public.

(x) Drive Away Immediately After Alight/Board

After passengers alight or board, the driver should drive away immediately so as to minimise obstruction.

This is a traffic-flow and courtesy rule:

• Complete boarding/alighting efficiently
• Do not linger in the carriageway or at the stand face chatting after the hire event
• Free the space for the next taxi or other traffic

It complements Chapter 5 stop rules: stop only where allowed, then clear promptly when the passenger movement is done.

(xi) Give Particulars on Lawful Demand

On request of:

• a police officer,
• a traffic warden in uniform, or
• a person authorised by the Commissioner,

the driver should give:

• the driver's name and address, and
• the name and address of the employer / owner (as applicable to the hiring of the vehicle).

Exam points:

• Three requester classes — police; traffic warden in uniform; Commissioner-authorised person
• Particulars include both the driver and the employer/owner identity details
• This is cooperation with lawful supervision, not optional small talk

Putting §XIV.2 Together

Think of 7.4 as three bundles:

1. Integrity & presentation — no soliciting, clean/tidy, honest fare/route info, no smoke, no annoying congregations, no unreasonable delay, safety precautions, prompt move-off.
2. Money acceptance — cash change float ($90 + $10 layers) and, from 1 April 2026, QR + non-QR e-payment.
3. Accountability — name/address + owner/employer particulars to police / uniformed traffic warden / authorised person.

Together with Section 7.3's accept-hire duties, this is the professional standard the Taxi Written Test expects you to recite under pressure.

Closing Checklist for Section 7.4

1. No soliciting; clean driver and vehicle; no deception; inform proper fare and route.
2. Change: ≥$90 in $10 notes or ≥$2 coins; and ≥$10 in ≤$1 coins; when available or hired.
3. From 1 April 2026: ≥1 QR and ≥1 non-QR e-payment acceptance.
4. Reasonable boarding/alighting/on-board safety precautions; no unreasonable delay; no smoking.
5. No public-annoyance driver congregations; drive away immediately after board/alight.
6. On proper request: driver name/address and employer/owner name/address.

This closes Chapter 7. The next chapter turns to the Taxi-Driver-Offence Points (TDOP) system that scores many of the failures you have just studied — including the 10-point and 5-point bands attached to refuse-hire, route, and related conduct offences.