5. Passenger Endorsement Holders—Convictions and Safety of PassengersDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister of TransportPassenger Endorsement Holders—Convictions and Safety of Passengers5. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister of Transport: Do any current passenger endorsement holders have convictions for drink-driving or careless driving causing injury or death?Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport): Yes because under the Land Transport Act these offences are not specified as being serious offences such as the most serious ones in our country—murder rape aggravated robbery—and so do not automatically disqualify someone. In relation to such offences as the member is referring to like drink-driving or careless driving causing injury or death obviously they are very context specific. If for example someone received a conviction at 18 and then at 50 was applying for the passenger endorsement (P endorsement) went through the rigorous risk-assessment process and showed no issues that conviction would probably have minimal weight. If it was a much more recent conviction and was alongside other very serious matters thrown up by the rigorous risk-assessment process that the P endorsement entails then the person would obviously be much less likely to receive endorsement. David Seymour: Is the Minister seriously telling the House that his reassurances given in the past that a P endorsement made passengers safe should be qualified by the fact that that driver may well be someone who has caused injury or death through offences such as drink-driving?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I do not think that a P endorsement is a safety panacea. I think there are many other things such as cameras which are the lawful position at the moment and also new technologies and innovations like apps and the like. The Government has decided—I think absolutely rightly—that a P endorsement is an important form of safety assurance that the vast majority of New Zealanders expect of a commercial service. David Seymour: Does the Minister think it good value to charge those who would like to share rides for money $2000 to go through the process of getting an endorsement that he admits does not guarantee the safety of passengers?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: It is not as high as that but I can certainly say to the member that I do not think the current cost and indeed the time taken for a P endorsement through the process is good enough. I am going to make sure that they are much cheaper and that they also take much less time. Indeed in terms of creating a world-class incredibly enabling regime that I know the member wants I will be introducing a bill to this House a little later this year that will create just that.David Seymour: If indeed the P licensing regime is good value then will he apply it to those offering rides voluntarily for district health boards local authorities charitable organisations and parents taking kids on school camps—if it is such good value surely anybody sharing a ride with someone they may not know well should have to have a P licence or at least the driver should?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I think the Government is primarily concerned with commercial service. I make it very clear to the member—indeed I give him an undertaking—that I want to and will see both the cost and time of the P endorsement come significantly down because we do want to enable technology and innovation. We do want a much lower-compliance level playing field in which taxis ride-share and dial-a-driver systems—the whole gamut—can compete for consumers' value.