Part D – Understanding and improving industry performance (PDF ...

Many taxi users have difficulty in understanding why
pre-booking a taxi – or having a regular booking – does
not provide any ‘guarantee’ that it will arrive on time or at
all, summed up in one taxi user’s comments:
If a client who makes a booking in advance is not
given priority in practical terms, then I can see no
reason why a passenger should bother making
such a booking and the same applies to so-called
‘priority customers’. The automated menu on the
Yellow Cabs [sic] number says that people can make
bookings in advance, but I think this information
represents fraudulent and misleading information to
the general public. 5
Taxi users are also frustrated by what they perceive as a
lack of accountability when taxis fail to turn up. As one
user notes:
Today it seems there is no penalty for drivers
not turning up and certainly no accountability.
Everyone is too scared to impose a penalty
so service suffers. 6
Of particular concern to the inquiry are the detrimental
impacts of an unreliable booking service on people with a
disability. Manningham City Council provided an example
in its submission:
Two individuals both reported separately that they have
booked taxis hours in advance, only for it not to arrive.
When they called the taxi company, the response from
the operator on both occasions was that it was entirely
up to the driver whether they wanted to take the fare
or not. A disability youth service provider reported that
a client pre-booked a regular pick up time six months
in advance and that five out of 10 times there are
issues with her being late to the program. This causes
significant stress for the client with the disability, their
family and also the service provider who has to delay
their program commencement time. 7
As discussed in greater detail in chapter 15, people with
a disability, their families and advocates told the inquiry
that, despite having regular bookings or booking several
hours ahead, taxis frequently arrive late, fail to turn
up altogether or are cancelled at the last minute. This
unreliability has a significant impact on people’s lives,
including safety fears if left waiting in public places, the
inability to reach important destinations (such as work or
medical appointments) on time, uncertainty in being able
to meet commitments and the flow-on impact on families,
carers, service providers and employers.
A number of taxi drivers also report dissatisfaction with
the booking services. Drivers have told the inquiry that
they lose fares – and incur customer anger – through
being mis-directed to pick-up locations or being
dispatched to an address a long time after the booking
has been placed. Drivers are also sympathetic to
customer concerns about booking services as they are
usually the first to hear the complaint when the customer
gets in the taxi. One driver comments:
… [F]or some time … 13CABS and … Silver Top
Taxis have had absolutely no incentive to make sure a
customer gets connected with the nearest available
driver/driver within their suburb boundary. I guess
getting $650 per month from each mobile (moving
taxi), with no strings attached, is simply too great a
temptation not to ensure there are enough staff to
answer phones and dispatch taxis as appropriate. I
know there is regulation in place to say, if a call is
taken, a taxi is required to be dispatched. This has
caused many a customer a situation on Saturday
night (not late either) of simply not being able to get
through to the NSP. The phone will ring out, or never
be connected. No connection, no taxi required. 8
Competition and mandatory affiliation
A number of taxi operators see the current market
dominance of the two major NSPs in Melbourne as
restricting their operating options and choices. These
operators also believe that mandatory affiliation further
constrains their ability to obtain better value ancillary
services from other sources.
These and other respondents to the inquiry consider
that there is little or no genuine competition between the
largest NSPs and that they exert too much control over
the industry through: their cross-ownership of licences,
fleets and electronic payment systems; their brokering of
vehicle sales and taxi licensing; and their perceived close
relationships with Cabcharge.
5 Irene Goldwasser, Submission to the Taxi Industry Inquiry, SS02, p.3
6 Brenda Rawlins, Comment on Taxi Industry Inquiry Facebook page,
27 March 2012
7 Manningham City Council, Submission to the Taxi Industry Inquiry,
SS102, p.9
8 Anonymous, Email received by the Taxi Industry Inquiry, 28 April 2011
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