DRIVE A2B March 2019

How to identify an
authorised
booking service
As of Monday 1 April 2019, if
a booking service is operating
without authorisation or
without an association arrangement
with an authorised
booking service, they will be
liable for penalties of up to
$200,000.
A list of authorised booking
services will be published on
the DoT website in March.
The public will be able to
check whether a booking service
is authorised by searching
either the business name
or authorisation number.
DoT will conduct a range of
activities to ensure that booking
services are authorised,
including undercover operations,
audits and investigations.
On-road patrols will
continue to be performed by
DoT Education and Compliance
Officers. Officers can
check whether a vehicle
is being operated for hire
and reward while on patrol,
regardless of the plates
displayed.
There are no immediate
changes to plates. Taxi plates
will continue to be required
and charter vehicle plates will
remain optional for those doing
on-demand charter trips.
In mid-2019, further regulations
will require on-demand
vehicles (taxi and charter) to
have either external livery or
windscreen signage.
Responsibilities
for authorised
booking
services
On 28 February 2019,
all on-demand booking
services became accountable
for the safety
of the services that are
provided.
As an authorised booking
service, you will
have responsibility for
keeping various records,
having a readily accessible
complaints-handling
process, maintaining a
safety culture through a
formal Safety Management
System and, if applicable,
collecting and
paying the On-demand
passenger transport
Levy.
Most of these responsibilities
are not new -
they are already required
and will continue to be
required as either part
of the charter operating
conditions, plate
operating conditions or
Taxi Dispatch Service
registration.
In mid-2019, further
regulations will broaden
the responsibilities of
booking services to
include other requirements
such as faresetting
and notifying the
Department of Transport
(DoT) of serious safety
occurrence.
Do you own
or lease a
vehicle?
Changes to the
licensing of vehicles
used for hire or
reward are due to
commence in July
2019. There are no
immediate legislative
changes relating to
vehicles for vehicle
owners, taxi-plate
lessees or country
taxi license holders.
In July 2019, the
licences associated
with charter vehicles,
country taxi-cars and
regular passenger
transport vehicles
will be transitioned
to Passenger Transport
Vehicle (PTV)
authorisations.
The conversion of
owned metropolitan
taxi plates to PTV
authorisations will
depend on how the
taxi plate owner
participates in the
buyback.
Government leased
taxi plates will be
transitioned to PTV
authorisations. DoT
does not regulate
private (owned) taxi
plate lease arrangements
- the renewal
or ceasing of private
leases is a matter
for the lessor and
lessee.
What is
a Safety
Management
System?
All on-demand booking
services will be required
to have a Safety
Management System
(SMS) regardless
of whether they are
authorised or not. An
SMS is a set of policies,
procedures and
plans that systematically
manages health
and safety at work.
The size and nature
of authorised booking
services can vary
from a sole operator
with one vehicle to a
corporation with many
thousands of vehicles,
and this will impact
what detail your SMS
contains.
It is important to
understand that the
safety responsibilities
contained in an SMS
build on the current
taxi and charter vehicle
licence operating
conditions, which
require you to consider
driver fatigue and vehicle
maintenance.
DoT has developed a
toolkit of resources to
assist booking services
in developing an SMS
- these resources are
available on the DoT
website.
DRIVE A2B magazine · March 2019 33