Door RTL Z / ANP··Amended:
RTL
Taxi operators in Amsterdam and the surrounding area will have to wait much longer before they know who will be allowed to pick up passengers from the lucrative stands at Schiphol. Due to an error, the airport is forced to re-run a tender that was almost finished.
Taxis are not allowed to drive on Schiphol grounds, but must participate in a European tender to ensure quality. Through this process, Schiphol selects which taxi companies are allowed to use the strip of taxi ranks, which last year accounted for more than 870,000 rides.
Mistakes made
But Schiphol made mistakes in the composition of the assessment committee, a spokesperson confirmed after a report in Het Parool. According to the Amsterdam newspaper, information was shared within the committee about the price and quality from various bids, while committee members must keep that information to themselves. As a result, the tender must be redone.
It is not yet known exactly how long this will take, but according to the airport it will take ‘several months’ before the ‘re-tendering’ can begin.
Schiphol had actually already designated the final winners in August and the new concession was to commence on 1 December. “We regret this situation and take the matter very seriously. We aim to proceed to a new tender as soon as possible,” Schiphol announced.
