Commission Seeks Taxi Restructure

The Age

Monday June 20, 1994

KATE LENTHALL

Canberra.

Victoria's taxi industry should be completely restructured so it can play an even larger role in urban transport, the Government's key industry adviser said yesterday.

In its final report on urban transport, the Industry Commission urged the Victorian Government to ``take full account of the benefits which would accrue to the community as a whole from opening up the taxi industry".

The report also repeated the commission's earlier calls for the introduction of electronic road tolls which would be operated by a Phonecard-style card on windscreens which could be read by electronic scanners.

Traffic congestion costs about $4 billion a year in Melbourne and Sydney, while $2 billion is spent nationally each year on building and maintaining urban roads, and $3 billion is spent on subsidising public transport services.

Although the final report was similar to the draft report handed down last October, it did contain an expanded range of recommendations on the taxi industry.

Options for restructuring the industry included: The sale of taxi licences by tender every 12 months in a bid to achieve open entry and lower prices to taxi users.

Separation of the taxi rank and phone booking by allowing open entry into the hire car industry. Hire cars would not be allowed to ply on the streets or at taxi ranks, but they could establish radio networks and develop new fare packages.

Tie taxi licence numbers to performance requirements by issuing additional licences if minimum standards, such as call response times, are not met.

Placing a cap on the present value of taxi licences, which would minimise the loss in licence values faced by existing owners, while allowing ``at least some more competition".

The Commission said it favored the first option despite the fact it was heavily criticised by the taxi industry and state governments.

Meanwhile, Victorian Government plans to reform the industry could meet opposition from a powerful union which has joined forces with taxi drivers. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) revealed in Melbourne yesterday that it had formed an alliance with the Taxi Drivers' Association to fight for ``a fair go" for taxi drivers.

A TWU spokesman said the new allies would pursue an effective taxi driver contract, dealing with issues including rent, driver and owner obligations and vehicle insurance.