Until the new tender has been completed, the current concession holders will continue to provide taxi transport at Schiphol.
There is great unrest among taxi drivers and taxi companies now that Schiphol has decided to cancel the already completed tender for taxi transport at the airport. According to an article in the newspaper Het Parool, the decision comes after confidential information was leaked during the internal assessment of the bids. Companies and independent drivers who were in the running for a lucrative spot at the taxi rank at Schiphol are now in uncertainty. The planned investments in new electric taxis, which run into tens of thousands of euros, are in jeopardy.
According to the author of the article Herman Stil, editor at Het Parool, the unrest is all the greater because the concessions at Schiphol are among the most profitable in the Netherlands. Since 2004, the airport has implemented strict regulations that determine which taxis are allowed to pick up people on the premises. Only companies that win a concession are allowed to offer taxi rides from the stand. This makes the tender a highly coveted prey in the taxi market.
TCA
This year, Schiphol reopened the tender after the original concession was extended due to the corona pandemic. New bids were collected in April and May, which were then assessed by an internal assessment committee. In July, the provisional winners were announced, including TCA, which would return to Schiphol after a fifteen-year absence. The final awards were made in August. These concessions would take effect on 1 December, for a period of four years, with a possible extension of two years.
However, just before the start of the new concession period, Schiphol decided to withdraw the procedure. According to the airport, errors were made during the internal assessment. In a letter to the taxi companies involved, Schiphol states that the rules laid down in the tender documents were accidentally deviated from when composing the assessment committee. This allegedly led to information about price and quality from the various bids being leaked within the assessment committee. It is unclear whether this information was also made public.
There have also been many incidents in the past in the area of supervision and compliance with the rules. In 2016, there was even a threat of a 'second taxi war' when organised taxi touts stole passengers from the ranks and asked for excessive fares. Since then, the rules have been tightened, but a lot of supervision is still needed to ensure that drivers comply with the rules.
“We have no other choice,” a spokesperson said from Schiphol to Het Parool. “The procedure did not follow the established rules and that is why we are forced to withdraw the tender. We are working hard to organize a new tender as soon as possible.” However, this means that the companies that were already designated as winners now have to compete with the competition again. The losers of the first tender round are also given a new chance to improve their bids.
uncertainty
For the companies and drivers involved, this decision brings with it great uncertainty. Taxi companies, such as TCA, have already made major investments to meet the strict requirements that Schiphol sets for the taxis that are allowed to drive at the airport. The disappointment among the drivers is great. TCA, which would send ninety drivers to work at Schiphol, has stated that it is 'particularly disappointed' about the decision.
