DRIVE A2B March 2019

generally speaking, earn below
the living wage – as low as
$10 an hour. They earn no sick
pay, no superannuation, they
have no holiday pay and not
all get worker's compensation
entitlements. There is no award
to protect them.”
It is about time that the
Victorian government also
recognised that drivers in
the public transport industry,
specifically commercial
passenger vehicles' drivers, are
not paid sufficiently to make
ends meet.
Police Checks
In Victoria, Commercial
Passenger Vehicles Victoria
(CPVV) conducts a national
Police Check for all Driver
Accreditation applicants.
"Once accredited, drivers are
checked weekly against Victoria
Police's database to identify any
new charges or convictions.
Any driver who is charged with,
or convicted of, an offence is
then assessed for suitability
as a Commercial Passenger
Vehicle driver," says Aaron de
Rozario, CPVV CEO.
That is great news! Especially
as there are over 92,000
Commercial Passenger Vehicle
drivers in Victoria. Just as taxi
and hire car drivers were always
vetted before being allowed to
ferry passengers from A to B,
so now are the new entrants - ie
the rideshare drivers. And they
are all constantly monitored.
Touting
Since the Victorian legislation
changed in September 2017,
and the influx of CPV cars on
the roads, there have been
many problems. Congestion is
a major one. So many people
driving passengers from A to
B with ride share entities, has
been the main cause of the
increase in road congestion in
Melbourne.
People who used to catch a bus,
train or tram, now take a rideshare
car to get them to their
destination. They don't have
to wait as long for their pickup
as there are some extra 53,500
commercial passenger vehicles
registered, but this all adds to
our road congestion, pollution
and in turn, decrease in the
average Commercial Passenger
Vehicle driver's wages.
CPV Signage
The only rule regarding signage
for Victorian commercial
passenger vehicles is that the
vehicle must have identifying
livery, decals, company/entity
signage OR they can just have a
bit of paper with the letters CPV
printed on it. Really!
Anyone can print this sign (it is
available on the CPVV website)
stick it on their car window and
purport to be a CPV accredited
driver/vehicle and tout for fares.
There have been reports of
drivers at Melbourne Airport,
major events, city hotels and
city taxi ranks who have been
touting for fares and offering
discounts for cash.
How does the passenger/public
know if this vehicle is safe,
roadworthy and accredited?
How do they know if the driver
is accredited and therefore
police checked?
Victorian government certainly
has some work to fix the current
loopholes in their regulations.
Mrs Toni Peters
DRIVE A2B Editor
Email: tonipeters@drivea2b.com.au
DRIVE A2B magazine · March 2019 7