DRIVE A2B April 2019

DRIVE 

Voice of the Australian Point-to-Point Transport Industry 

APRIL 2019 

NO 22 

INDEPENDENT NATIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS 

For Taxis - Hire Cars - Ride Sourcing - Owners - Drivers - Operators - Suppliers - Networks

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CONTENTS 

EDITION 22 

www.drivea2b.com.au 

DRIVEA2B 

10 

COMMERCIAL PASSENGER VEHICLE 

ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA 

News update from the association which is 

your voice at government meetings, forums 

and inquiries. 

12 

FOCUS ON TRANSPORT 

Toll exemptions don't fly with Labor 

or Liberal. But the fight is not over as 

long as the conversation regarding the 

deregulation of the Victorian taxi and 

hire car industry continues. 

16 

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OUR COVER: Winding country road on an 

Autumn day. 

UBER EXPOSED 

The ABC's program 'Four Corners' 

investigation into Uber, revealed 

the alarming extent of its predatory 

behaviour in Australia. 

Editor 

Mrs Toni Peters 

Publisher 

Trade Promotions Pty Ltd 

PO Box 2345 

Mount Waverley VIC 3149 

4 DRIVE A2B magazine · April 2019

20 

QUEENSLAND NEWS 

The new Public Transport 

Ombudsman will be 

designed to hear complaints 

from passengers, drivers 

and operators. But the PT 

Ombudsman will not be 

able to handle complaints 

associated with breaches of 

legislation or regulation. 

32 

WA NEWS 

Taxi licence buy back scheme 

adds 10% levy to the fare box 

and some taxi companies 

are decreasing their standard 

fares so customers will 

continue to pay the same. 

24 

NSW NEWS 

NSW Taxi Council are requesting 

the NSW Government to initiate 

a buy back scheme for NSW taxi 

licences with a fair and just value 

paid for each licence. 

State 

industry 

STATS 

A summary of the monthly 

statistical figures on 

licence values, number 

of licences and drivers 

around the country. 

VIC...................... page 15 

QLD .................... page 21 

NSW ................... page 25 

WA ...................... page 33 

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DRIVE A2B magazine · April 2019 5

EDITORIAL 

DIGITISATION 

PROVISION IS 

NECESSARY 

Alipay in Australia 

GM Cabs has joined with 

Chinese QR code payments 

platform, Alipay. Alipay is a 

must-have payment method 

for any business looking to 

reach a critical mass of Chinese 

shoppers abroad. 

Its primary product is a digital 

wallet, Alipay Wallet, which 

also includes a mobile app that 

allows customers to conduct 

transactions directly from their 

mobile devices. 

As around 80% of visitors to 

Australia are from China, it 

makes sense to embrace the 

technology already being used in 

their homeland. 

GM Cabs payments also runs the 

Rydo booking app and provides 

e-payment facility to many other 

taxi networks. 

A2B Australia Ltd and its 

subsidiaries, 13cabs and 

Cabcharge, have also added 

Alipay, Apple Pay and eTickets 

based on Google Pay to their 

e-payments system. 

So, it appears that if you want to 

keep up with the digital times as 

a taxi provider, you have to keep 

adding more and more features 

to your system to make it easy 

for the passenger to pay for their 

trips. 

The cashless taxi was 

once regarded as a 

fantasy – now it is very 

close to being a reality. 

And with the advent of cashless 

taxis comes the lesser chance 

of drivers being mugged for their 

loose change and less chance of 

passengers doing a runner. 

Class Action vs Uber 

We have been advised that 

Maurice Blackburn lawyers will 

be filing the Class Action vs Uber 

in the Victorian Supreme Court 

before Easter. So it looks like we 

will being seeing some action 

and reaction very soon. 

A last minute influx of registrants 

has caused some delays, with 

over 5,500 affected drivers, 

operators and licence holders 

joining the Class Action from 

Victoria, NSW, Queensland and 

Western Australia. 

If you haven't registered yet, 

it's not too late. Jump onto the 

Maurice Blackburn website and 

fill in your details today. It costs 

you nothing to be part of this 

Class Action against Uber - just 

a little of your time in completing 

the registration form. Win or lose 

- it will cost you nothing! 


Fairness Fund Tax 

Review 

The Australian Taxation Office 

(ATO) has had pressure put on 

and facts put before it, that will 

see them undertake a review 

of the Victorian Fairness Fund 

payments to the taxi and hire 

car industry. The majority of this 

pressure has come from Eastern 

Metropolitan MP Rod Barton, as 

he wrote to the ATO representing 

a number of former licence 

holders who are facing huge tax 

obligations following the Fairness 

Fund payments. 

“Many in the industry are bleeding. 

They lost their licences and their 

source of income and were left 

with loan debts for property that 

no longer exists and then many 

faced tax debt on Fairness Fund 

payments,” said Mr Barton. 

The Fairness Fund was 

established by the Victorian 

government to provide 'means 

tested' financial support for 

licence holders experiencing 

financial hardship. These 

payments were assessed as 

income and have been taxed by 

the ATO accordingly. 

Many people already believe that 

it is an Un-Fairness Fund and 

having the proceeds from this 

fund taxed by the ATO just adds 

salt to the wound. 

Mr Barton said he didn’t want to 

get too many hopes up until the 

ATO had the opportunity to fully 

review the nature of payments. 

Those who have received 

payments from the Fairness 

Fund are encouraged to seek 

professional tax advice to 

establish whether the review 

that the ATO is undertaking 

might affect them. But make 

no mistake, if you are currently 

paying off tax debts as a result of 

Fairness Fund payouts, you MUST 

continue to do so, until such time 

as results from the review are 

known. 

NSW Petition 

NSW Taxi Council has started a 

petition which will be presented to 

the Legislative Assembly of New 

South Wales. It states: 

This partition "Brings to the 

attention of the House the impact 

that the unlawful operation of 

rideshare and subsequent changes 

in the Point to Point regulations 

has had on the value of Taxi 

licences across NSW. There has 

been a significant decrease in the 

values of Taxi licences across 

NSW. There has been minimal 

assistance given to Taxi licence 

owners, whereas other booked 

service licence owners have been 

afforded full value for their licence. 

The undersigned petitioners 

therefore ask the Legislative 

Assembly to call on the Minister 

for Transport and Infrastructure 

to implement a buy back scheme 

and pay a fair and just value in line 

with pre-reform prices for the Taxi 

licences in NSW." 

NSW Taxi Council still require 

more signatures. If you have not 

done so already, please download 

a copy of the petition from https:// 

bit.ly/2tRmIzN and ask your 

family and friends to support 

you in adding their name and 

signature. 

Industry Statistics 

You will notice that in this edition 

we have started to gather some 

facts and figures from the various 

Australian states with regards to 

licence values, number of licences 

and drivers. As we compile more 

of these figures, we will be able 

to provide a better view of the 

status of our industry all around 

Australia. 


DRIVE A2B Editor 

Email: tonipeters@drivea2b.com.au 


VICTORIA 

NEWS 

CUSTOMER 

SATISFACTION 

INCREASING 

Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria 

collects information from commercial 

passenger vehicle customers surveyed across 

Victoria every six months. 

The latest results have shown that customer 

satisfaction with metropolitan Melbourne CPV 

services has increased over the past two years 

on average to 66.3 per cent. 

Satisfaction with CPV services in regional 

Victoria had a slight increase over the same 

period on average to 73.1 per cent. 

Customer satisfaction is most affected by: 

• price 

• driver behaviour 

• safety and comfort in the CPV 

• ease and reliability of booking. 

CPV DRIVERS 

0.00 BAC 

The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit for all 

commercial passenger vehicle drivers (including rideshare, 

hire car and taxi) is 0.00 while the vehicle is in service. 

When using a registered CPV for private use, drivers must 

make every effort to show their vehicle is not in service and 

the drivers are subject to the same blood alcohol level as a 

regular driver, that is, 0.05. For instance, a rideshare driver 

must remove the CPV identification sign. For taxis, this may 

involve removing external markings or displaying a sign to 

indicate that the vehicle is not in service. 

8 

DRIVE A2B magazine · April 2019

PARLIAMENT UPDATE 

VH plates are back 

We asked the Minister for Roads why VicRoads had 

ceased to release VH number plates to commercial 

passenger vehicles in December 2017. 

Minister Pulford said: 

"I have instructed VicRoads to work to restore the 

issuing ofVHA series plates ... I absolutely understand 

the importance of these plates for operators and for 

the community. The image that they portray is one of 

reliability. The brand is a strong and positive brand, and it 

is important that it exists in the marketplace." 

The Minister has confirmed that VHC-Z plates will 

be made available to all licensed commercial 

passenger vehicles. 

We asked for RWC and Commercial 

Vehicle insurance to be part of the 

CPV licence process 

Licence holders are required to carry a current 

roadworthy certificate at all times. However, with 

almost 64,000 registered vehicles on the road, it's an 

impossible task for the regulator to police compliance. 

Private vs booking service insurance coverage remains 

a grey area too. 

In the interests of public safety we asked the Minister 

to make it compulsory for RWC and Commercial 

Vehicle insurance to be presented when applying 

for or renewing a Commercial Passenger Vehicle (CPV) 

licence. 

Regional wheelchair operators need support 

We asked the Minister for Public Transport to clarify rules around subsidies for regional operators of wheelchair taxis. 

At present setup subsidies only apply to replacing existing fleet, not for adding new vehicles. While the CPV reforms 

have seen growth of wheelchair taxi services in metro areas, regional operators are struggling with increased demand. 

Free tolls for taxis, VH plates and buses didn't get up 

We tried to add amendments to the West Gate Tunnel bill to allow taxis, VH plates and buses a free ride in the new 

tunnel, but were defeated on the vote. We'll continue to look for ways to help road users and make public transport 

a better option. 

Report shows $37 bill payday for Transurban 

The extension of tolling on Citylink until 2045 to cover the "costs" of the West Gate Tunnel will see Transurban pocket 

$37 billion, with motorists using Citylink every day slugged about $87,000 extra each, over the next 25 years. This is 

a very disappointing funding outcome on a much needed project. 

Get the full story at www.rodbarton.com.au 

Need help? Contact Rod.Barton@parliament.vic.gov.au 

ROD BARTON MP 

I 

Member for Eastern Metropolitan Region Electorate Office: 

Parliament of Victoria I Legislative Council 128 Ayr St, Doncaster VIC 3108 

I 

Phone: 03 9850 8600 

Email: Rod.Barton@parliament.vic.gov.au 

Authorised by Rod Barton, 128 Ayr St, Doncaster 3108. Funded from Parliamentary Budget.

NEW 

VICTORIA SOUTH 

WALES NEWS 

NEWS 

CPVAA 

NEWS UPDATE 

Your voice at state government 

meetings, forums and inquiries 

ASSOCIATION NEWS 

Melbourne Airport frustrations 

We've had a lot of messages 

from operators in the 

past months expressing 

their growing frustrations 

with landsiding and fee 

arrangements at Melbourne 

Airport. 

A Productivity Commission 

inquiry into the Economic 

Regulation of Airports closed 

its submission rounds at 

the end of March and the 

Commercial Passenger 

Vehicle Association of 

Australia (CPVAA) has made 

a submission expressing 

members' concerns over the 

unfairness of conditions at 

Melbourne Airport. 

Issues raised include the new 

landside arrangements and 

fees, the continued requirement 

for hire car operators to obtain 

Landside Vehicle and Driver 

Authorities, and the fairness 

of the private commercial 

arrangements between 

Melbourne Airport and four 

rideshare operators. 

Uber, GoCatch, Didi and Ola 

have established agreements 

to operate at Melbourne Airport, 

resulting in the reshuffling of 

landside arrangements, with 

existing hire car and pre-booked 

taxis moved to a new location. 

There was no engagement or 

negotiation with the existing 

hire car and taxi sector, merely 

a notification of the Airport’s 

final decision. 

These rideshare groups enjoy 

premium landside waiting 

areas, a café, and a dedicated 

pickup zone in the forecourt 

outside terminal 2 and in the 

terminal 4 carpark. They have 

negotiated a flat fee of $4.48 to 

pick up a passenger, regardless 

of how long their vehicle 

remains in the holding area. 

However, other hire car 

operators and pre-booked taxis 

are forced to pay anywhere 

from $3 (up to 5 minutes) to 

$24 (60 to 180 minutes, beyond 

this general parking rates apply 

- charged incrementally) to park 

in dedicated VHA parking bays 

further from the terminal. There 

are no other facilities provided 

nearby. 

André Baruch 

President, CPVAA 

This is hardly a fair 

arrangement. Small business 

operators are rarely in 

a position to negotiate 

such conditions and large 

multinational entities have 

created a distinct advantage in 

doing so. 

Despite taxis, hire car and 

rideshare operators all 

sharing the CPV (Commercial 

Passenger Vehicle) 

classification in Victoria, hire 

car operators are still required 

to pay for both a Landside 

Vehicle Authority (LVA) and a 

Landside Driver Authority (LDA) 

to access the VHA holding 

areas. 

Pre-booked taxis using the 

same holding area do not 

require these permits, nor any 

other taxi or CPV operator in 

any other designated holding 

area. 

This is an impost on one type 

of commercial passenger 

vehicle business over another. 


We are seeking justification to support the 

inconsistency in the fee structure across 

different CPV operators at Melbourne Airport. 

It is an unfair and unjust burden on 

legitimate operators of VHA plated 

hire car services. 

We've asked the Productivity 

Commission to recommend the 

introduction of an open, transparent 

and inclusive process for allocating 

landside areas to the various 

stakeholders in the commercial 

passenger vehicle industry and 

for some justification provided to 

support the inconsistency in the 

fee structure across different CPV 

operators. 

This month we have also had 

meetings with Commercial 

Passenger Vehicles Victoria (CPVV) 

regarding various issues, including 

compliance issues. The CPVV have 

informed me that they intend to 

start re-issuing driver and vehicle 

accreditation invoices in the current 

(April to June) quarter. So it will be 

very interesting to see what uptake 

on driver renewals they get. This 

will give us all a much better picture 

of the general CPV industry – as 

opposed to the headline figures that 

are produced that don’t take into 

account anyone who has left the 

industry. 

Drive safely, André 

Taxi,Hire Car & Ride Sourcing 

Operators and Drivers 

We are your voice with ... 

• Commercial Passenger 

Vehicles Victoria 

• Essential Services 

Commission 

• and Melbourne Airport 

ONLY 

$ 

120 

per person 

per year 

www.cpvaa.com.au @CPVAA 

info@cpvaa.com.au 

Visit www.cpvaa.com.au and follow the links to join us and become part of the voice in the Australian Point to Point transport industry. 


VICTORIA 

NEWS 

TOLL EXEMPTIONS 

DON'T FLY 

WITH LABOR OR LIBS 

ROD BARTON MP 

VicRoads had stopped 

issuing VH plates in 

December 2017, in error. 

Minister for Roads, Jaala 

Pulford, has clarified that 

her department will fix the 

problem and VH plates 

will again be issued by 

VicRoads. 

VHC-VHZ plates will be 

available to all CPV licence 

holders. A VH plate is 

the best way to identify 

professional commercial 

passenger vehicles. 

Taxis, VH plated 

cars and buses are 

easily identifiable 

and therefore a toll 

exemption for these 

vehicles should be 

an easy solution. 

Knocking tolls off the cost 

of these operators would 

result in a great reduction in 

costs for consumers using 

these transport options and 

get them off the rat runs and 

suburban streets and onto 

the toll roads. 

Unfortunately both sides of 

government voted against 

the taxi amendments, 

despite the theme of the bill 

- which is to remove trucks 

and traffic from the back 

streets and rat runs and 

encourage them onto the toll 

roads. 

Existing agreements 

with Transurban and the 

historical undertakings on 

how various vehicle types 

are tolled aren't up for 

negotiation at this stage. 

However, it's something we'll 

keep plugging away at. 

The Parliamentary 

Budget Office released its 

independent valuation in 

March which shows that 

by allowing Transurban 

an extension of tolling on 

CityLink until 2045 will see 

the company pocket $37 

billion between now and 

then. 

Motorists who use the road 

every day will be slugged an 

extra $87,000 each over the 

next 25 years. 

Rod Barton MLC 

We’ve put in place a funding 

structure that places a 

mortgage on Melbourne. 

We think it's time our tolling 

operators played fair and 

showed some goodwill to 

the citizens of Melbourne by 

allowing some renegotiation 

to make tolling fairer. 

During March I raised a 

motion for a review of the 

Commercial Passenger 

Vehicle Reforms. 

The motion originally 

described a narrow review to 


We believe vehicles that make 

up our public transport system 

should not be tolled. 

be conducted within a very short 

time period. 

The amendments I successfully 

raised called for a broader 

investigation exploring such things 

as the industry compensation 

package and the fairness fund as 

well as acknowledging the High 

Court ruling that taxi licences are 

property. 

There will also be consideration of 

the explosion of taxi and hire car 

numbers and other operational 

matters since the legislation 

passed. 

Importantly, I have been appointed 

to the Economy & Infrastructure 

Committee, which will conduct the 

review into the CPV reforms giving 

us a front row seat in this process. 

I now encourage the industry to 

focus on presenting their stories 

well. 

The inquiry will soon open for 

submissions and I encourage you 

all to start considering how your 

personal experience of the impact 

of the reforms could contribute. 

The primary point of contact for 

this purpose is Linda De Melis 

who will liaise with the industry 

and co-ordinate this process – 

please email her at linda.demelis@ 

parliament.vic.gov.au 

Our fight is not over as 

long as this conversation 

continues. 

Taxi 

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Major Events in 

Melbourne 

The Herald Sun/Transurban Run for 

the Kids is a community event, and 

its primary aim is to raise funds for 

the Royal Children’s Hospital Good 

Friday Appeal. To date the event has 

raised over $17.1 million dollars for 

the Appeal. 

The roads that make up the course of 

the fun run will be closed nearly all day 

- please visit https://bit.ly/QfWQHz to 

view full details of the road closures. 

Access to the CBD during this time is 

restricted, but unimpeded access is 

available from the: 

North - via William Street, Queen 

Street, Elizabeth Street, Russell and 

Exhibition Streets. 

South - via Kings Way or Punt Road, 

Sunday 7 April 

Queensbridge Street or Batman 

Avenue. 

East - via the Monash/Domain 

Tunnel/West Gate Freeway using 

either Punt Road, Batman Avenue, 

Kings Way, Montague Street 

(southbound ONLY). NOTE - Power 

Street Off Ramp is CLOSED as 

is Montague Street Off Ramp 

northbound. 

West - West Gate Freeway will be 

open all day eastbound. NO ACCESS 

to the CBD (or Bayside) via Montague 

Street or Kings Way off ramp. 

The city will light up with laughs when 

the Melbourne International Comedy 

Festival takes over town! For three 

and a half weeks from 27 March to 

21 April Melbourne will be the nation’s 

hive of happiness, injecting all-day, allnight 

infectious fun to the city. 

Be it family fun at Fed Square, 

glittering gala events or late-night 

laughs at Festival Club, there is a 

comedy thrill to fit everyone’s bill. 

Comedians of all shapes and sizes 

take to theatres, pubs, clubs and 

broom cupboards citywide during 

Festival, shining a spotlight on the 

silly, the serious, the heart-breaking 

and the hilarious. 

Humour is what brings us together 

and what sets us apart. Celebrate 

it all at the Melbourne International 

Comedy Festival. 

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VICTORIAN INDUSTRY 

STATISTICS 

The statistical figures 

on this page are as at 

28 Feb 2019 

TOTAL REGISTERED 

COMMERCIAL PASSENGER VEHICLES (CPV) 

30-Sep-17 31-Dec-17 30-Jun-18 30-Nov-18 31-Jan-19 28-Feb-19 

TOTAL CPVs 

AS AT 31/1/19 

61,999 

CPVs INCREASE 

SINCE SEPTEMBER 2017 

733% 

37104 

5000 

7271 

9615 

10533 

47157 

10876 

10988 

636 

745 

865 

964 

931 

933 

2824 

13396 

50192 

51761 

UNBOOKED CPVS WHEELCHAIR VEHICLES BOOKED CPVS 

IN A NUTSHELL ! 

UNBOOKED CPVs 

COUNT IS UP 

112 5,988 

Since Jan 2019 Since Oct 2017 

WHEELCHAIR CPVs 

COUNT IS UP 

2 297 

Since Jan 2019 Since Oct 2017 

BOOKED CPVs 

COUNT IS UP 

1,569 48,937 

COMPLIANCE OUTCOMES - for February 2019 

Vehicle Inspections 430 

Infringement Notice 5 

Official Warning (Written warning) 5 

Rectification Notice (CPVV defect notice) 55 

Defect Notice (VicRoads defect notice) 3 

NUMBER OF ACCREDITED 

VICTORIAN CPV DRIVERS 

62076 

30-Sep-17 31-Dec-17 30-Jun-18 

30-Nov-18 31-Jan-19 28-Feb-19 

65543 

81089 

89568 

92479 

ACCREDITED CPV DRIVERS 

93338 

Since Jan 2019 

Since Oct 2017 

SOURCE: These figures are updated and published monthly on the Commercial 

Passenger Vehicles Victoria (CPVV) website 


Uber 

Exposed 

The ABC’s program 'Four Corners' investigation into global giant Uber, 

revealed the alarming extent of its predatory behaviour in Australia. 

The report exposed a host of underhanded tactics Uber employed to 

damage its competitors and to ‘outfox and outplay’ law enforcement 

agencies. 

In 2014/15, Australian law 

enforcement officers put in place 

‘sting’ operations to catch out UberX 

drivers providing taxi services 

without the necessary criminal 

history checks, medical checks, 

insurances and vehicle checks. 

However, as reported by Four 

Corners, those efforts were 

comprehensively thwarted by 

Uber’s use of “Greyball”, a spyware 

application which could identify and 

block particular users, in this case 

NSW transport investigators, from 

using the service by assessing their 

personal details. 

Another program called ‘Surfcam’ 

was developed in 2015 by an 

employee in Uber’s Sydney head 

office, which was used to scrape 

competitors’ data in order to poach 

their drivers. It was industrial 

sabotage because without drivers, 

rival companies would be unable to 

offer competitive levels of service. 

“Uber was looking to defeat 

Australian laws rather than engage 

in the market as a law-abiding 

citizen and they won," said Mr 

Davies, Australian Taxi Industry 

Association (ATIA) CEO. 

"Greyball Spyware, and other 

applications like it, proved effective 

in stopping State Governments 

from being able to enforce their 

transport laws, and in surrender, 

these Governments just made 

brand new rules tailored for Uber. 

It wasn’t a case of regulatory 

capture but rather one of regulatory 

capitulation,” Mr Davies continued. 

Almost from the start, in 

early 2014, Uber faced 

major roadblocks in 

Germany. It tried to bulldoze 

its way through German 

regulations and laws - but it 

didn't go well. 

Uber’s co-founder Travis Kalanick, 

thought that the same bullying 

strong creative marketing strategies 

that Uber had used in the USA , 

would work in every other country 

- but not so - especially not in 

Germany and China. 

According to author H.F. from www. 

german-way.com, "Under Kalanick, 

Uber developed an aggressive 

expansion technique called 

“principled confrontation” in which 

Uber simply began operating in a 

city or region until being told that it 

didn’t have permission to do so. 

At that point the firm would mobilize 

public support for its service, using 

an array of lobbyists, followed by 

a political campaign to change 

the local regulations. It’s a method 

that worked in large and small 

communities, but not everywhere – 

even in the USA and Canada." 

When Uber entered the European 

(EU) market, it encountered a far 

more complex array of laws and 

regulations than it ever saw in the 

USA, as well as a radically different 

business and government culture. 

The main obstacles they faced were 

the already entrenched competition 

from taxi apps and the many law 

suits from Taxi Deutschland, which 

was not standing by idly while this 

newcomer disrupted their industry. 


The fact that Germany and the EU 

would not allow Uber to operate 

outside the law (i.e. illegally) was 

very disconcerting to Uber. Their 

drivers had to be certified to drive 

a vehicle for payment – they had 

to have a chauffeur licence and 

their vehicle insurance had to be 

upgraded to cover for business/paid 

mileage. 

"The old saying about “death and 

taxes” proved prophetic for Uber 

in Germany, a country with a 

bewildering array of taxes at eyepopping 

rates. This affected both the 

company and its drivers," says H.F. 

In September 2017 

England's Transport for 

London (TfL) declared that 

Uber "is not fit and proper to 

hold a private hire operator 

licence" due to concerns 

over safety and crime, 

thus banning them from 

operating in London. 

After a two-day hearing in the 

Magistrates' Court in June 2018 

the ban was lifted, and the ridesharing 

entity was issued with 

a 15 months operating license 

by TfL. TfL promised then and 

has been, closely monitoring 

the company's activities, 

compliance with conditions and 

regulations together with reporting 

requirements. 

At that same time all Australian 

State Governments should have 

been on high alert with regards to 

Uber operations in our country. 

Uber should not have been 

allowed to bulldoze, steamroll, 

subjugate their way into the 

Australian taxi and hire car 

industry. 

The Australian State 

Governments should have 

halted and thwarted Uber 

when it first entered our 

markets and made them 

comply to the regulations 

of the taxi and hire car 

industry. 

But this didn't happen - instead 

Uber was allowed to enter and, in 

some cases, even encouraged by 

government officials, albeit they 

were breaking the law. 

“If Four Corners can uncover the 

disturbing nature and extent of 

Uber’s misbehaviours, it begs the 

question as to what the Government 

regulators have been doing? Why is 

Uber’s Booking Entity Authorisation 

not under review, or as has occurred 

in London, at least made subject to 

strict probationary conditions?” said 

Mr Davies. 

The handling of the 

introduction of Uber into 

our society, the changing of 

laws by State Governments 

to suit Uber's arrival, has 

had many unintended 

consequences. 

There's the de-regulation of the taxi 

and hire car industry throughout 

Australia which has seen the 

demise of the value of the licence 

plates - effectively people's loss of 

superannuation. 


Uber 

Exposed.../ continued from previous page 

Since the advent of Uber there 

are so many more vehicles and 

drivers plying for the work. Yet the 

amount of passengers wanting to 

be transported has not increased 

- so the amount of earnings for 

the drivers has effectively been 

discounted to accommodate the 

ridesharing industry. 

The airing of Uber's dirty linen 

on the ABC's Four Corners last 

month, has the Taxi Council of 

Queensland (TCQ) now calling on 

the Queensland Government to 

take immediate action to review 

whether Uber is really the fit and 

proper company that they thought 

it was when they approved its 

Booking Entity Authorisation in 

late 2017. 

“Uber has been outed for trying to 

use sophisticated technology and 

underhanded tactics to force its 

taxi and booked-hire competitors 

out of business, to disembowel 

the competition so it could end 

up dominating the passenger 

transport market in Australia. If 

they achieve that level of market 

control, consumers can say goodbye 

to cheap subsidised fares 

because it’ll then be time to pay 

the piper,” TCQ CEO, Blair Davies 

said. 

It appears Uber’s use of devious 

technology and underhanded 

tactics reflect almost as badly 

on the Governments they duped 

as the company itself. What are 

our Governments elected to do if 

not to govern for the good of the 

whole community and to uphold 

the rule of law? 

It’s time for Uber to own up to their 

illegal antics, recompense the 

businesses that were damaged by 

them, and commit to competing 

fairly in future. 


Car sharing gets 

GREEN LIGHT 

In 2013 – with a tiny budget – cofounders 

Will Davies Dave Trumbull 

piloted their neighbour-to-neighbour 

car sharing concept, called Car Next 

Door, in a few suburbs in Sydney. 

“Providing a simple, secure way for 

people to rent out their car when 

they're not using it means the car 

owner earns money to offset their 

car's costs, and people who live 

nearby can save money by borrowing 

a car when they need to drive, rather 

than buying one,” said Will. 

“The concept of sharing privatelyowned 

cars has been around for a 

while, but the problem has always 

been how to let the borrowers get the 

keys without the car owner having to 

meet them. 

low cost quickly. Our instant booking 

technology means car owners are 

not required to approve each booking 

request. This leads to high booking 

numbers and revenue per vehicle.” 

The ultimate goal for Car Next Door is 

for a share car to be within 5 minutes' 

walk of anyone in Australia's urban 

centres. 

“Personal transport is on the brink 

of huge disruption and change, with 

the old model of car ownership 

giving way to people accessing 

transport as a service. 

“Driverless cars will completely 

revolutionise the way people think 

about car use and ownership. We see 

ourselves as part of this transition. 

When driverless cars become 

widespread, we will have a large 

user base of people who are already 

embracing mobility as a service 

and poised to take up these new 

technologies, so we think this will 

open up all kinds of opportunities for 

our platform.” 

“We came up with a unique method 

to solve this problem - a combination 

of an electronic lockbox with a plug-in 

GPS tracker and an online booking 

and payment platform. This lets us 

turn almost any car into a share car at 

Will Davies, Car Next Door 

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19

QUEENSLAND 

NEWS 

UBER AND 

TAXI COP 

will not have 

any 'real 

power' by Felicity Caldwell 

An independent umpire created to deal with 

complaints about ride-sharing and taxis will 

not have any real powers, the Taxi Council of 

Queensland says. 

Last month, Transport Minister Mark Bailey 

introduced a bill to create a Personalised 

Transport Ombudsman, which is the latest 

reform in the sector, following changes 

including an annual licence for ride-sharing 

drivers, the requirement to display signs and 

compensation for taxi licence owners. 

Drivers, companies customers will still be 

asked to deal with each other to resolve 

their issues first before approaching the 

new Queensland Personalised Transport 

(PT) Ombudsman. 

The PT Ombudsman will be designed to 

hear complaints from passengers, drivers 

and operators, including about dirty vehicles 

or a driver's working conditions. 

But Taxi Council of Queensland chief 

executive Blair Davies warned the PT 

Ombudsman may become a "toothless 

tiger" whose powers should be expanded. 

Mr Davies said the PT Ombudsman 

would not be able to handle complaints 

associated with breaches of legislation or 

regulation and so would be unable to help 

20 


The Ombudsman will have no real 

powers to compel parties to be 

bound by any results. 

with accusations about the illegal 

activities of drivers or overcharging, 

which would remain with Transport 

and Main Roads. 

"The PT Ombudsman will not have 

any real power to compel parties 

to a dispute to do anything, other 

than to supply information and 

attend meetings which presents 

as potentially challenging, if not 

unduly limiting," he said, in a 

submission to a parliamentary 

committee considering the bill. 

Mr Davies said members had 

reported "unchecked numbers 

of booked-hire drivers brazenly 

touting for work, performing cash 

jobs ... and illegally parking in taxi 

zones and no-stopping zones", and 

those issues would not be able to 

be referred to the PT Ombudsman. 

Transport Workers Union 

Queensland secretary Peter Biagini 

said the union did not support the 

Ombudsman, arguing it did not 

have powers to arbitrate disputes. 

He also criticised the fact any 

union official, peak council 

representative or advocacy 

member involved in personalised 

transport in the past five years 

would be ineligible to be appointed 

as the PT Ombudsman. 

"[It] is clearly directed at preventing 

the appointment of 'outsiders' from 

the public service," he said. 

The Ride Share Drivers' Association 

of Australia said the Ombudsman 

should have the powers to fine 

people and cancel licences. 

The Limousine Action Group 

Queensland suggested a job 

ad for the position could read: 

"Amazing opportunity to join the 

Qld public service. High paid job 

with all the perks, you must have 

NO recent industry experience (it's 

legislation), you have full autonomy 

and great power, you'll primarily be 

investigating price surging or dirty 

cabs." 

QLD INDUSTRY 

STATISTICS 

$500,000 

$445,625 

Brisbane Taxi Licence Values 

average transfer values December 2014 - January 2019 

as listed at data.qld.gov.au 

# Personalised Transport 

VEHICLES @ 28 Feb 2019 

Taxis 3,348 

Booked Hire 15,744 

Booked Hire Rental 2,447 

Limousines 409 

# Personalised Transport 

DRIVERS @ 18 Mar 2019 

Booked Hire / Taxi 

drivers 

32,748 

Limousines drivers 978 

$400,000 

$300,000 

$200,000 

$228,750 

$130,200 $99,747 $93,333 $105,000 $101,000 $95,500 $80,000 

$100,000 

$0 

no 

transfers 

Dec-14 Jan-16 Feb-17 Jan-18 Mar-18 Jun-18 Sep-18 Dec-18 Jan-19 Feb-19 


21

ELECTRIC 

VEHICLES 

Charging plates installed in the road at 

taxi ranks is for recharging while waiting 

for the next fare. 

Norway's capital Oslo will become 

the first city in the world to install 

wireless charging systems for 

electric taxis, hoping to make 

recharging quick and efficient 

enough to speed the takeup of 

non-polluting cabs. 

The project will use induction 

technology, with charging plates 

installed in the road at taxi ranks 

linking to receivers installed in the 

vehicle. 

From 2023 onward all taxis in Oslo 

will have to be zero emission and 

Norway wants all new cars to be 

zero emission by 2025. Among 

other nations, Britain and France 

have similar goals for 2040. 

Fortum, which is working with U.S. 

firm Momentum Dynamics and 

the City of Oslo on the scheme, 

said the greatest hurdle for 

electrification of taxis had so far 

been the infrastructure, as it is too 

time consuming for cabbies to 

find a charger, plug in, then wait 

for the car to charge. 

Induction is more energy efficient 

and enables charging the taxis 

while they are in the slowly moving 

queues at taxi ranks. 

"Time equals money when taxi 

drivers are working," said Ole 

Gudbrann Hempel, head of 

Fortum's public charging network 

in Norway. 

Norway has the world's highest 

rate of electric car ownership, 

partly thanks to long-term perks 

such as free or discounted road 

tolls, parking and charging points. 

Last year, almost one in three 

new cars sold was electric. The 

government also exempts electric 

vehicles from taxes. 

With just five million people, 

Norway bought 46,143 new 

battery electric cars in 2018, 

making it the biggest market in 

Europe, ahead of Germany with 

36,216 and France on 31,095, 

according to the European 

Automobile Manufacturers' 

Association. 

Need 

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POINTS 

Our highways need more 

places to charge their EVs. 

The Infrastructure Australia (IA), 

an independent advisory board, 

says fast-charging EV (Electric 

Vehicle) stations at regular 

intervals on the national highway 

network will encourage people 

to buy electric cars and improve 

access to charging facilities. 

According to IA, urgent 

government action is needed 

to boost national connectivity. 

The body lists a national electric 

vehicle fast-charging network 

among 29 High Priority Initiatives 

in the 2019 list. 

IA claims Australia is unprepared 

to meet future demand for electric 

vehicles. As a result, we are failing 

to tackle the barriers preventing 

higher EV uptake. 

EVs will make up around 70 per 

cent of new vehicle sales and 30 

per cent of Australia’s vehicle fleet 

by 2040. There are currently 2,300 

EVs on our roads. 

Yet Australia has less than 800 

charging stations. Only 70 of these 

are fast-charging. Car owners 

are therefore experiencing ‘range 

anxiety’ because they fear running 

out of power without access to a 

charging station. 

It’s not all doom and gloom, 

however, as the electric vehicle 

market appears to be turning a 

corner. According to the Electric 

Vehicle Council (EVC): 

• EVs cost four times 

less to run than fuelpowered 

vehicles 

• They are cheaper to 

maintain, having fewer 

moving parts 

• The cost of EV batteries 

has fallen 75 per cent 

since 2010 

• EVs can be charged 

using domestic solar 

installations. 

Owners of home battery systems 

like Tesla Powerwall 2 or Enphase 

also enjoy a bonus. That’s because 

they can use stored solar power 

to charge up their cars while they 

sleep. 

The EVC is calling for 50 per cent 

EV sales in Australia by 2030. The 

council is also urging the Federal 

Government to introduce an EV 

sales target to achieve it. 

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TAXI LICENCE 

BUY BACK 

NEW 

SOUTH 

WALES 

NEWS 

Taxi licence values have decreased in value 

by 80% and leasing rates by over 65% since 

the unlawful operations of rideshare began 

in 2014 and the subsequent introduction 

of the new Point to Point Transport 

regulations in November 2017. In January 

2019, a Taxi licence traded for $75,000, 

which is a long way from the pre-rideshare 

sale price of $377,000 in April 2014. 

The board of NSW Taxi Industry 

Association, along with the endorsement 

of the boards of the NSW Taxi Council 

and Country Taxi Operators Association 

have made a submission to the Minister 

of Transport and Infrastructure requesting 

the NSW Government initiate a buy back 

scheme for NSW Taxi Licences with a fair 

and just value paid for each licence. 

The proposal isn’t about seeing Taxi 

licences disappear, rather seeing 

property rights transfer back to the NSW 

government for a fair and just price, who 

would then lease them to Networks and 

Operators for an annual fee. 

We believe a regulatory framework for 

rank and hail is still required and should 

continue to be delivered through a Taxi 

licence. 

The buy back scheme would be cost 

neutral to the NSW Government as the buy 

back would be funded through the existing 

passenger service levy and leasing fees 

generated from Taxi licences. 

We have individually written to each 

member across NSW and are asking them 

to get involved with this proposal by visiting 

their local State member to individually 

24 


NSW 

INDUSTRY 

STATS 

# Personalised Transport VEHICLES @ 28 Feb 2019 

Taxis - Metropolitan 7,005 

Taxis - Outer Sydney 1,428 

Hire Cars 1,384 

# Passenger Transport Licence Code DRIVERS @ 18 Mar 2019 

Taxis, Private Hire, Rideshare, Tour Drivers 101,337 

Licence values for freehold licences experienced a slight decrease from $82,400 in January, 

to an average of $80,333 for February 2019, with the highest selling price being $90,000. 

9 transfers occurred during the month of February - 3 deceased estates and 6 actual sales. 

Sydney Taxi Licence Plates 

average transfer value 

$400,000 

$350,000 

$300,000 

$250,000 

$200,000 

$150,000 

$100,000 

$50,000 

$360,000 

$210,000 $210,000 

$180,000 

$125,000 

$92,500 

FEB '19 AVERAGE 

LICENCE VALUE 

$80,333 

$82,400 $80,333 

Jan-15 

Jan-16 

Jan-17 

Jan-18 

Jul-18 

Dec-18 

Jan-19 

Feb-19 

$- 

This information has been supplied by the NSW Point to Point Commission and NSW Roads and Maritime Services. 

make them aware of the 

enormous losses they have 

suffered. 

We are also asking our 

members to fill out a petition 

and to ask others they know 

to fill it out as well. Please 

contact the NSW Taxi Council 

on 02 8339 4644 to receive a 

copy of the petition via email. 

These reforms have caused 

everyone in our industry to 

suffer. Taxi licence owners are 

often unseen as they are not 

on the frontline, however have 

together lost over $1 billion 

in value. 

We will continue to be a 

voice for all in our industry, 

including Taxi licence owners 

who for many years were on 

the frontline, often paying off 

an asset to use to fund their 

retirement. Which sadly is no 

longer a viable option. 

We are looking forward 

to working with the NSW 

Government to achieve an 

appropriate outcome for all 

NSW Taxi licence owners and 

thank you all for your support 

in assisting us in achieving 

this. 


25

NEW 

SOUTH 

WALES 

NEWS 

ADDITIONAL 

ASSISTANCE PAYMENT SCHEME 

Update 

Status of assessments and payments 

• Transport for NSW 

(TfNSW) has received 

some 1250 applications 

under the Additional 

Assistance Payment 

Scheme (AAPS) since 

the scheme opened in 

July 2018 and closed in 

December 2018. 

• TfNSW commenced 

offers to applicants in 

December 2018. 

• While this process is 

taking longer than 

anticipated, it is 

necessary to ensure that 

applicants receive what 

they are entitled to. 

• Of the 1250 applications, 

approximately: 

• 24% are Reasonably 

complete: 

• 32% Require 

confirming 

information i.e. 

require contact with 

the applicant before 

they can be assessed. 

• 44% are Incomplete 

i.e. require 

significant amounts 

of confirming 

information in order 

to be assessed. 

TfNSW is contacting 

some applicants to give 

them a final opportunity 

to provide the confirming 

information required to 

properly assess their 

application. If you are 

not contacted, it simply 

means that TfNSW has 

enough information to 

assess your eligibility 

for a payment and you 

will be advised about 

the outcome in the near 

future. If contacted by 

TfNSW, applicants are 

strongly encouraged to 

provide their confirming 

information as quickly as 

possible. 


When the application has been assessed ...... 

Once your application has been 

fully assessed and a payment 

determination is made, TfNSW 

will write to you to advise you of 

the outcome of your application. 

If you have been successful, you 

will be asked for your preferred 

payment option. There are two 

options for receiving an additional 

assistance payment: 

1. A single lump sum payment 

in this financial year, or 

2. Three equal instalments over 

three financial years. 

When you receive this notification, 

you are strongly encouraged to 

provide your preferred payment 

option to TfNSW as quickly 

as possible. This will help to 

ensure that your payment is 

made as soon as possible. The 

maximum period for providing 

this information is included in the 

notification. 

Recipients should expect to 

receive their payment cheques 

within two weeks from the date 

they provide TfNSW with their 

preferred payment method. 

TfNSW • reaffirms its 

commitment to finalising 

assessment of all AAPS 

applications, where adequate 

information has been provided, 

and making offers to applicants, 

by no later than 15 May 2019 

so that payments may be made 

before the end of the financial 

year (30 June 2019). 

Contact 

If you have any questions about your application, you can email industryassistance@ 

transport.nsw.gov.au or write to the Team Leader, Additional Assistance Payment Scheme, 

Locked Bag 17, Dubbo, NSW, 2830. 

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27

NEW 

SOUTH 

WALES 

NEWS 

OPERATOR 

ONBOARDING 

Training for affiliated Taxi Service Providers 

has been re-evaluated and updated. 

Reforms to the legislation 

governing point-to-point 

transport in NSW have 

established a need to 

re-evaluate the training 

provided to Affiliated Taxi 

Service Providers (TSPs) - 

Taxi Operators, across NSW. 

Furthermore, these reforms 

have also resulted in more 

competition in the market, 

giving the customer more 

choice when it comes to 

passenger transport options. 

A renewed focus on safety 

and security for both 

customers and drivers 

requires that Taxi Operators 

and their drivers must 

commit to a higher level of 

personal accountability. In 

addition, Taxi Operators need 

to ensure they mitigate risk 

to protect their business. 

While the point to point 

transport legislation 

and regulations are not 

prescriptive in the methods 

for compliance, the Taxi 

industry has identified the 

need for a single, consistent 

message to be delivered 

through training to all current 

and future operators. 

Non Compliance with the 

request may be brought to 

the attention of the Point 

to Point (P2P) Transport 

Commission. Many TSPs 

across the state have been 

audited by the P2P Transport 

Commission which has 

made it known there is a 

deficiency in information for 

Affiliated TSPs (Operators). 

The Operator Onboarding will 

be a two-step process: 

1. Network Onboarding 

Event. 

2. Operator Safety 

Management System 

Training. 

The Operator Onboarding 

commenced with the Metro 

Member TSPs during the 

week of 25 March 2019 with 

Regional NSW to follow. 

28 


Major Event in 

New South Wales 

SYDNEY ROYAL 

EASTER SHOW 

12 - 23 April 

This is Australia's largest annual 

ticketed event, attracting over 

850,000 attendees on average. 

Revenue generated by it allows the 

Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) 

to invest in agricultural programs, 

competitions, education, youth and 

rural NSW. In all, the RAS invests 

almost $7 million annually in these 

activities which are designed to 

promote agricultural excellence and 

keep our rural communities strong. 

The Sydney Royal Easter Show 

is a celebration of Australian 

culture, from our rural traditions 

to our modern day lifestyles, 

providing unique experiences for 

everyone. Every Easter, the country 

and city join together at Sydney 

Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, 

for twelve days of agricultural 

competitions, animal experiences, 

live entertainment, carnival fun, 

shopping and much more. 

Gates and Pavilions open at 

9am and on the Easter Long 

Weekend Gates and Pavilions 

open at 8.30am. The evening 

entertainment and fireworks 

conclude at 9pm, while the 

Showbag Pavilion closes at 9.30pm. 

The Coca-Cola Carnival stays open 

until late every night. 

Attention! 

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29

Send your thoughts, 

comments and questions 

to us! 

Email (info@DRIVEA2B.com.au) 

SMS (0400 137 866) to us 

and we shall print it here 

- where you can 

HAVE YOUR SAY! 

LIFT YOUR GAME 

I implore drivers to take pride 

in their appearance, their 

vehicle and provided facilities 

particularly at Melbourne 

Airport. 

As a taxi driver of 45 years I 

am extremely disappointed 

in the manner current drivers 

are failing to provide a 

professional level of conduct. 

Despite dress regulations 

being relaxed by recent 

legislation, it does not mean 

that one can wear shorts, 

singlets (see photo), t-shirts, 

jeans, shirts or track tops 

with logos or advertising 

and thongs etc. Take PRIDE 

in your appearance-at least 

neat casual. Your customers 

deserve it. 

Keep your taxi clean and 

deoderised not looking or 

smelling like a pig sty. 

Take a look at the filth you 

drivers create by discarding 

food and containers -bins are 

provided so use them. You 

wouldn't drop garbage on 

your office or kitchen/lounge 

floor. 

Lastly. The washroom 

facilities are disgusting 

and putrid despite regular 

cleaning. Think of HYGIENE. 

Come on 

fellow drivers - 

lift your game! 

______________________ D Brumby 


DRIVE TO 

SURVIVE 

With the school holidays and Easter just around the corner drivers are urged to 

stay safe on the roads. Making the right decisions can be the difference between 

life and death, so slow down, stick to the speed limit and take regular breaks if you 

are tired. 

It's important if you are planning a road trip, make sure you're not tired before 

you decide to drive and leave plenty of time to get to your destination. Stop and 

stretch your legs every two hours or swap drivers. Drowsiness is a factor in about 

one-in-ten deaths on our roads. 

Road trauma has a long-lasting impact on the loved ones and communities 

affected by the loss or serious injury of someone they know. So please make 

the right decisions before you drive to ensure everyone gets to their holiday 

destinations safely.

WESTERN 

AUSTRALIA 

NEWS 

TAXI LICENCE 

BUY BACK 

10% LEVY 

by Peter de Kruijff 

The biggest taxi provider in WA is 

dropping its base standard fare prices 

so customers will pay the same they 

do now when a 10 per cent levy on 

trips is brought in on April 1. 

The change isn’t an early April Fools’ 

Day joke for Swan Taxis — with its 

pool of 1400 cars on the road and 

3500 drivers —which has made the 

change due to a levy being imposed 

by the State Government for all ondemand 

transport operators as a way 

to fund a buyback of taxi plates. 

Trips for vehicles which seat 12 

people or less and start and finish 

in the Perth, Mandurah or Murray 

regions are effected by the levy. 

Swan Taxis are getting rid of its 

standard $1.50 booking fee, ultrapeak 

surcharge and week-night and 

weekend tariffs as part of its price list 

restructure. 

Customers will pay the same per 

kilometre rate regardless of the time 

of day. 

The changes by Swan Taxis set a 

precedent for the rest of the industry 

after fears the introduction of the levy 

would drive up prices for passengers. 

The levy was brought in after the rise 

in on-demand services such as Uber 

and Shofer in Perth disrupted the 

market. 

32 


The “Uber ban” at Optus Stadium in Perth has been lifted with a new 

taxi rank near Matagarup Bridge in East Perth to include spaces for 

on-demand services. 

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the government had listened to 

feedback from punters and made the changes. 

She said the additional space at the new taxi rank had been created 

to “make sure chauffeurs, Ubers and other on-demand travel 

services actually have the space in a safe place to pick-up and drop 

off”. 

“The feedback was there were some very unsafe 

pickups and drop-offs,” Ms Saffioti said. “Feedback 

was really around better access for on-demand 

transport.” 

The Minister wouldn’t commit to any on-demand 

transport drop-off zones coming any closer to the stadium. 

UBER BAN 

LIFTED AT 

OPTUS 

STADIUM 

WA INDUSTRY 

STATS 

# On-demand Transport VEHICLES @ 31 Jan 2019 

Taxis 

(Perth and WA country taxi plates) 

Charter Vehicles 

(rideshare, limousines, luxury cars, tour buses and tour coaches) 

# On-demand Transport DRIVERS @ 31 Jan 2019 

2,195 

14,535 

T Extension (Taxi) 16,500 

F Extension (Charter vehicle) 47,000 

In mid-2019 all taxi plates, taxi-car, regular passenger transport and charter 

vehicle licences will be replaced by a single Passenger Transport Vehicle 

authorisation. This authorisation will allow vehicles to operate one or more types 

of service, namely on-demand rank or hail (taxi), on-demand charter, tourism 

passenger transport or regular passenger transport. Similarly, in mid-2020 

the T and F extensions will be replaced by a single Passenger Transport Driver 

authorisation. 


Who pays 

better for 

base rate 

trips? 

Increased competition in the rideshare market in 

Melbourne is welcomed by passengers and drivers. 

When it comes to competitive ride rate, passengers 

are now spoilt for choice, while drivers, too, enjoy a 

better pay per/km on average. 

We compared three main rideshare operators, Uber, 

Didi and Ola, by sampling a total of 20 recent UberX 

equivalent trips each (base, no surge) from a number 

of different Uber/Didi/Ola drivers in Melbourne, 

removed tolls and divided the total net pay per trip by 

the actual kilometres travelled on that trip. 

The results from the sample shows that the net 

average pay for drivers is currently: 

• Didi - $1.74/km. 

• Ola - $1.70/km. 

• Uber - $1.51/km. 

* Note: net paid per km on-trip in Melbourne, inclusive of GST. 

Didi and Ola are leading the way, paying drivers for 

base trips on average $0.20+ per/km more than Uber, 

15% more! 

This wide gap is due to Uber’s exuberant 27% and 


Ride Share Drivers United 

Ride Share Drivers United - AUS & 

USA (RSDU) was formed in 2016, 

following drivers’ disappointment 

with the lack of proper 

representation and leadership in 

the rideshare industry. Today we 

have more than 3000 registered 

members, our activity (including 

industrial actions), have brought 

drivers' true story to the media 

and public attention in Australia. 

Our work has forced Uber to lift 

the rates by 15% in December 

2017 as well as introduce a 

number of app enhancements 

(like the “no thanks/ decline” 

option to ride requests and no 

more 2 minute bans). Our work 

has helped to change Uber/ 

drivers relationship into a more 

contract like relationship. 

The industry is a little older now 

and the number of new operators 

entering the market is growing. 

Some operators like Didi even 

show the destination, further 

providing drivers with choices 

to make the right independent 

business decisions. 

While we would like to see a floor 

put under the minimum net paid 

per/km travelled, and a cap put 

on the number of drivers, the 

RSDU does not support further 

unnecessary regulations that 

may render the entire industry 

not viable. 

Given a proper floor of at least 

$1.90 net average paid per 

KM travelled (all inclusive, in 

Melbourne), together with a 

cap on the number of drivers, 

we believe the conditions will 

be set for drivers to bring home 

minimum wage, service their 

cars and run a viable business. 

by Max B. 


25% (respectively) high commissions 

charged to drivers while Ola charge 

15% and Didi charge 5% only. 

It is important to note that Uber’s net 

average paid per/km, significantly 

changes under surge conditions. 

Drivers may find they are much better 

off driving for Uber at x1.3 (or higher) 

surge conditions. 

Drivers may also want to consider 

the distance to pick up as they are 

not getting paid for this portion of the 

job. Hence, make sure to only pick up 

jobs that are no more than 10 minutes 

away (and no more than 6 minutes 

away in the CBD). 

Drivers! To ensure operators continue 

to compete for your time, always drive 

for the best paying operator at any 

given time while on your shift. 


Melbourne Airport Unigas 

Melrose Drive, Tullamarine 

CAR 

WASH 

FREE 

HOT DRINK 

WITH EVERY 

AUTO 

CAR WASH 

Available at Melrose Lounge. 

Collect your voucher 

from the Unigas office. 


35

KiNG 

PRIVATE 

CARS TO 

REMAIN for a generation or more 

The vast majority of Australians 

remain wedded to private cars 

despite the heavy promotion of 

public transport, according to a 

recent survey carried out by the 

University of Sydney Business 

School. 

The survey, conducted by the 

Business School’s internationally 

respected Institute of Transport and 

Logistics Studies (ITLS), also found 

1300 133 353 



STARTING 










that car-sharing and bike-sharing 

remained of limited appeal to the 

travelling public. 

In the wake of the survey the 

Director of the ITLS, Professor 

David Hensher, has predicted that 

“it may be another generation or 

more before we see a noticeable 

willingness to shed the private car 

and move to a mobility sharing 

culture”. 

FROM $13,695.00 

+ OPTIONS 

1300 133 353 


When asked about transport modes 

used in the last month, more than 

82 per cent of survey respondents 

said they had travelled by private 

car, while only 36 per cent had taken 

a bus and 33 per cent had caught a 

local suburban train. 

Nearly half of the car users travel 

exclusively by private motor vehicle 

while the remaining half also use 

other forms of transport. Ridehailing 

services, such as Uber and 

Lyft were used by 20 per cent of 

respondents ahead of taxis which 

were used by 15 per cent. 

Commenting on the findings 

Professor Hensher said that “we 

continue to face a gargantuan 

challenge in getting people out of 

their cars”. 

Of those car users who also 

caught public transport, Victorians 

preferred local train/tram over bus 

(31% vs. 21%) while Queenslanders 

preferred bus over train (30% vs. 

21%). NSW car users also used 

trains and buses at the same rate 

(around 28% each). 


Taking care of yourself 

Looking out for 

yourself 

Looking out for yourself is a bit like 

looking after the car. You know that 

regular maintenance keeps the family 

wagon running well, even if it seems 

to generally be driving OK. And if 

things aren’t running smoothly, it’s 

time to book in a service. 

However, though we’re pretty good 

at keeping the family wagon running, 

many of us aren’t as great at looking 

out for ourselves. In order for us to get 

the best out of our minds and stay 

healthy, we need to pay attention to 

doing regular activities that help us 

stay healthy and connected with the 

people around us. 

Staying connected 

Staying healthy 

There are many things you can do 

to help yourself stay well. A great 

starting point is to look after your body 

by staying physically active, eating 

healthily and getting plenty of sleep. 

Other small things like going for a run, 

talking to a mate or a family member, 

getting out into the garden, or even just 

going for a walk outside can all be really 

helpful, too. 

Even if you’re not feeling great, it’s 

important to try to keep doing the 

things that you usually enjoy, though 

you might not be enjoying them as 

much as usual. If you keep active 

and persist with them, you should 

eventually start to enjoy them a bit 

more and start to feel better. 

Loneliness is a big one for many men. Men experience loneliness more than women, 

and it’s not just blokes living alone who get lonely. Many men feel the pressure to 

work hard to provide for their family, and don’t get as much time to catch up with their 

mates as they used to. 

Having the 

conversation 

If you're going through a tough 

time and have depression, 

anxiety or suicidal thoughts, 

talking about how you’re 

feeling can be hard. But 

keeping silent could make it 

seem even worse. You don't 

have to go through this alone. 

Support from friends, family or 

a health professional can help 

with your recovery. 

If you're worried about 

someone and avoiding starting 

a conversation with them about 

your concerns, simply letting 

them know you care can make 

a big difference. 

With the advice of people who 

are familiar with depression 

and anxiety beyondblue 

has developed information 

that can help people have a 

conversation that might be 

difficult. 

However, having time with our mates is critical to our wellbeing. Spending time talking 

with your mates in person is best, even if it’s just a quick check-in, a coffee, or a quiet 

beer. If it’s hard to meet up with your mates, even texting a mate to say g’day can help 

make you, and them, feel more connected. 

One way to stay in touch is to join a local group – whether it’s a footy team, a 

community group, or a weekly run or swim club, you’ll find meeting new people and 

having a yarn will help you feel more connected to the community around you. 

www.beyondblue.org.au - chat online - online forums | 1300 22 4636

Driver Jobs 

advertise 

HERE 

Want a driver? 

want work? 

FREE for all 

operators & 

drivers 

Send details (word limit=70) of your 

DRIVER or JOB advertisement to 

info@drivea2b.com.au 

or sms 0400 137 866 

A.C.T. 

ACT CABS (CANBERRA TAXI SERVICE) 

We are hiring and training taxi drivers in Canberra. Day and 

Night shifts - North and South side - Weekday and Weekend 

shifts - Full time, part time and casual. Immediate start is 

available for drivers who already have a valid ACT Taxi driver 

licence (upon company induction). We offer great working 

conditions and you're backed by an experienced team of 

support staff that know the taxi industry inside out. Call 

(02) 6228 1848 for more information. 

N.S.W. 

SYDENHAM - TAXI DRIVER REQUIRED 

for a Camry Hybrid located in Sydenham next to the train 

station. The Camry is in excellent condition and is a Peak 

Availability Taxi. You must have a NSW taxi licence. Payin 

is very reasonable. You can start at 12.00 pm Saturday and 

do a semi. Call Ramesh during business hours on (02) 9565 

5550 or 0423 824 777 after hours. 

EXPERIENCE HIRE CAR/TAXI/UBER 

Drivers to drive 6 days and Monday off (Warwick Farm base). 

Income based on jobs. We have good quality Holden Caprice 

cars almost new, run on petrol. Must have Authority Card 

and Good Driver Record. If you have these two call Rob on 

0400 44 44 54. Start immediately and Earn Money. Wages 

negotiable. 

LAKEMBA - TAXI DRIVER WANTED 

Taxi driver needed for Camry hybrid 40 series. Day shift - 

good rate - change over Lakemba. SMS 0431087386. 

QUEENSLAND 

SUNCOAST CAB DRIVERS 

The only transport service that operates 24/7. Covers from 

Noosa to Caloundra & Hinterland. Main duties of a cab driver 

is passenger pick up & drop off, plus Suncoast Cabs services 

over 250 account clients which may involve delivery of items. 

Experience is gained on the job and a 3-day training session is 

mandatory. Call Glenn 0438 517 500. 

BRISBANE DRIVERS 

Do you like driving? Meeting people and helping them? Getting 

paid for it? Become a Brisbane Taxi Driver at cabs2000. Call 

Shane on 0433 760 300 or Jess on (07) 3808 2559. You can 

drive casual, part time or full time. As long as you have a full 

driver's licence you qualify. 

SOUTH AUS 

THE $800 INCOME GUARANTEE DEAL! 

We are offering accredited taxi drivers a guaranteed income 

driving for Suburban Taxi at Dudley Park. Offer valid for 

limited time only! For more information, Call Tom on 0400 

660 033 or call or visit us at 7 La Salle Street, Dudley Park (08) 

8169 9844. * Conditions apply 


TAXI DRIVER CAREERS 

If you're thinking of a full or part time career as a taxi 

driver, call Adelaide Independent Taxis to book your free 

information session. All shifts available, days, nights, 

weekends. Taxis available in all areas and ready to start. 

Huge client base with great income potential. Call Con (08) 

8202 1200, email con.d@132211.com.au or visit us at 99 

Henley Beach Road, Mile End to discuss the services we 

offer and book for your free info session. 

TAXI DRIVERS WANTED 

13cabs Adelaide are looking for drivers in all areas and 

shifts. Are you looking for a career change, tired and 

bored of your current job? Come and join the largest and 

best company in Australia, team 13cabs. Free taxi driver 

information sessions and courses. Please contact our 

Driver Services Team on (08) 7087 9339. 

WESTERN AUS 

SWAN TAXI DRIVER 

5 days turn over located in Iluka. Toyota Hybrid car. For 

more information contact 0411 987 421. 

MANDURAH TAXIS DRIVERS 

All shifts available, especially nights, weekends and 

wheelchair bus drivers. Very flexible hours - work to suit 

your lifestyle. Good income and all training provided 

free. Call (08) 9581 8999. 

SILVER TOP TAXI DRIVER REQUIRED 

Day or Night Shift or Casual 

Must be over 25 years old with at least 3 years experience 

in taxi driving. Changeover at Rowville. Please contact 

Tony on 0413393594 or sms. 

DRIVERS WANTED 

Sick of driving an old Ford? CHEAP is EXPENSIVE. We 

know what drivers want - so why not come and chat with 

us? Great set price deals with our 50 series hybrids on lpg. 

Fuel cost from $80 per week. Bayside Taxi Service, 313 Bay 

Road, Cheltenham. Call (03) 9555 1155 or 0414 566 779. 

LIMOUSINE DRIVERS - HUMMER LIMOS 

Responsibilities: Prep of vehicles, provide outstanding 

service and immaculate presentation of yourself and your 

vehicle. You need: current Heavy Rigid Licence and CPV 

accreditation, mobile phone, great organisational skills, 

work nights and weekends. Based in SE suburbs. Excellent 

knowledge of Melbourne CBD and surrounds. Resume to 

clint@hummerlimos.com.au or call 1800 HUMMER (486 

637). Short listed candidates will be contacted. 

OIII TAXI DRIVERS/OPERATORS 

For Bayside area - Frankston - Geelong - Williamstown. All 

shifts available. Contact Manager 0414 952 987. 

CROWN CABS DRIVERS WANTED 

Shepparton - Ballarat - Mansfield - 

Sunbury - Wallan - Kilmore 

Day and Night shifts. Phone (03) 9310 5422. 

0412 VICTORIA 

207 209 for more details. 

DRIVER WANTED - BRUNSWICK 

Any shift 60/40. Phone 0404 804 314. 

EPPING DRIVERS 

Taxi drivers wanted. Day and Night shifts. Toyota HiAce 

Maxi, Camry & Limo. Please phone 0434 554 837. 

BALLARAT TAXIS LIMITED 

Drivers required for sedans and Wheelchair Taxis. Largest 

Ballarat fleet - plenty of account work. Day and Night shifts 

available. Phone (03) 5331 4367. 

2 TAXIS AVAILABLE - NOBLE PARK 

Set Price or 40/60. 13cabs and Black & White Cabs. Call 

0435 882 813. 

DRIVER REQUIRED - EPPING 

Toyota Hybrid, Silver Top Taxis. Phone 0403 133 349. 

DRIVER WANTED - BRUNSWICK 

Any shift 60/40. Phone 0404 804 314. 

MAXI DRIVER WANTED - SILVER TOP 

Saturday Night and Sunday Hungry available. Call 0425 

827 042. 


NEWS FROM 

around the 

world 

USA - New York 

A livery cab driver killed himself 

early Saturday in the backseat 

of his car — which was parked 

alongside a Queens cemetery, 

police said. 

The man ingested or breathed in 

“some kind of substance” in the 

backseat of his Hyundai Sonata 

on the side of the Mount Lebanon 

Cemetery in Glendale around 4 am, 

police said. 

He had been a driver for Lyft 

since 2014, according to a TLC 

spokesman. 

He was pronounced dead at the 

scene. 

The incident is possibly the ninth 

for-hire driver to commit suicide in 

the Big Apple in roughly a year. 

Eight debt-burdened Big Apple 

cabbies have committed suicide in 

a span of just over a year. The most 

recent was Roy Kim, 58, of Bayside, 

Queens, who hanged himself 

with a belt in his home on Nov. 

5, according to the city’s medical 

examiner’s office. 

A month before, Uber driver 

Fausto Luna jumped in front of an 

oncoming A train. 

Many drivers blame the suicide 

epidemic on the meteoric growth 

of ride-share companies such as 

Lyft and Uber, which has pinched 

everyone’s pocketbooks. 

And drivers and activists warned at 

a November City Council hearing 

that the “congestion pricing” 

surcharge on all Big Apple taxi rides 

will lead to even more cab driver 

suicides. 

USA - Manhattan 

Manhattan taxi drivers said they’re 

having to bear the brunt of new 

implemented congestion surcharge, 

even though they’re already suffering 

financially. 

“It means that now everyday they’ll 

deduct $80 – I make only about $120 

a day!” said 59-year-old Mohammed 

Ali of The Bronx, who’s been driving 

for 15 years. “I have five kids. How do 

I survive? 

“How do I feed my kids?” 

“You’re using the cab as a cash 

cow for the city. Instead of putting 

sensible taxes — if there is such a 

thing – they’re putting it on the backs 

of cab drivers,” William Lindauer, 75, 

who retired after driving a cab for 

30 years, said at the hour-long rally 

attended by about 100 people. 


UK - Halifax 

0 

The streets and roads of Halifax 

Regional Municipality could see an 

increase of 600 taxi cabs, an influx of 

female drivers and the elimination of 

taxi zones. 

“Citizens are not pleased with the 

service they are receiving,” Sally 

Christie, supervisor of regional 

licensing for the municipality, told the 

standing transportation committee 

for the Vehicle for Hire Industry 

Review. 

Dave Buffett, president of the HRM 

taxi association said “The greatest 

safety issue facing … passengers 

and drivers is motor vehicle 

accidents. Why is this? 60 per cent 

of HRM taxi drivers work more than 

14 hours a day, 80 per cent work 

more than 12 hours a day.” 

“A great solution,” he said 

sarcastically. “Let’s add 600 more 

cabs so that I can work 20 hours 

a day. Add 600 drivers and add 

another four or five hours per driver 

per day, you’re talking about impaired 

drivers.” 

A list of customer complaints 

extrapolated from the survey of 

13,400 respondents last year ranged 

from poor service to poor quality of 

vehicles, not enough available taxis 

during weather and large events, 

long waits, security, drivers accepting 

only cash and rude drivers. 

The existing 1,000 licences, in place 

since 1996, are divided among the 

three taxi zones with 610 are in 

Halifax, 200 in Dartmouth and 190 in 

the county. 

Christie said there are separate 

waiting lists in each of the three 

zones consisting of drivers in private 

leasing arrangements with licenced 

owners who want to acquire their 

own licence. There are 500 people 

on the Halifax wait list. 

“There is a lack of taxis to meet 

demand, according to citizens", 

Christie said. “What (the 600 

increase) effectively will do is clean 

out the waiting list and also leave 

room for people who might want 

to join the industry, particularly to 

address the gender issue.” 

Christie said there are 36 female taxi 

drivers in the municipality today, 25 

of whom are owners, and there are 

13 women on the wait list. 

The number of wheelchair 

accessible taxis has declined to 23 

licences, which equates to just 2.3 

per cent of the fleet. 

In most cities, 10 to 20 per cent of 

the fleet must provide wheelchair 

accessible service. 

Recommendations were tabled to fix 

the shortage by establishing a taxi 

support program to provide financial 

help for the purchase of new or 

replacement accessible vehicles 

and establishing a phased-in fleet 

requirement for taxi companies 

with the ultimate objective of 10 per 

cent of each company’s fleet being 

accessible vehicles. 

It was also recommended not to 

provide a taxi licence to someone 

with a criminal offence or driving 

offence in the last 10 years, add the 

child abuse registry to regulatory 

operator checks, that all taxis must 

accept credit and debit, vehicles 

can’t be older than seven years 

at the time of licensing and that 

drivers are not to talk on cellphones 

or headphones while operating a 

vehicle for hire. 

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41

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meters / cars / taxi camera service / 

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Taxi For Sale 

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rotated this month $7500. Phone Mal on 

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DRIVE A2B April 2019

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