DRIVE A2B February 2021

government orchestrated trial,
where they judged Uber's services,
are based on 170 trips conducted
during this period.
This works out to be a sample size
of LESS THAN 0.15% of the average
MPTP trips during October and
November 2020 – not 5%, not 10%,
not 20%, but LESS THAN 0.15%.
How is this data sufficient to make
a judgement call?
And if you look at July 2019 -June
2020 figures, the CPVV reports
that 4.7 million MPTP trips were
undertaken in that 12 month
period.
It is preposterous to even
comprehend how the government
gained such an allusive
understanding of Uber's services
when such a small amount of
MPTP trips were taken.
Minister Carroll, you are permitting
Uber drivers to transport our
vulnerable community members in
cars that are not necessarily clean,
up to standard, have no cameras
installed and with drivers who have
been given no training on how to
assist these passengers. You are
allowing them to take the cream of
the MPTP work.
Uber DOES NOT have any
Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles
(WAVs) – it can only transport those
whose collapsible walking aids
fit into their boot. It used to be
that those who wished to provide
services to MPTP cardholders
had to have WAVs as part of their
fleet – and rightly so. But along
comes Uber and it gets handed this
segment of the CPV passengers on
a gold platter.
How is it that there appears to
be one set of rules for taxis and
another set for Uber? Minister
Ben Carroll, where is the LEVEL
PLAYING FIELD this industry was
promised back in 2017?
You have entitled Uber to do MPTP
work forsaking the great work that
Victorian taxi drivers currently do –
and you have based this new found
partnership with Uber on a sample
size of less than 0.15%. Why are
you allowing this to happen?
Minister Carroll, MPTP stands for
Multi Purpose Taxi Program: Are
you now saying that Uber vehicles
are TAXIS? C’mon Minister –
nowhere else in Australia have they
done this. No other state is letting
Uber get a part of their TSS – Taxi
Subsidy Scheme.
Why is Victoria so hell bent on
being the first state to totally kill
the taxi industry? Why are you
taking money out of the mouths
of so many taxi drivers' families by
allowing this to happen?
Minister Ben Carroll, surely the
taxi industry deserves better than
this!
MPTP FRAUD
CPVV recognises that there is
fraud being committed within the
Multi Purpose Taxi Program (same
as TSS in other States) and says
that any driver who abuses the
system could expect significant
consequences.
Whilst CPV Driver MPTP fraud will
apparently be prevented by Uber's
software - there is nothing to stop
friends and family members of
the MPTP cardholder (the citizen
who qualifies for MPTP 50%
subsidised trips) from using the
MPTP cardholder's Uber account.
And the taxpayers will be paying
for this!
So, CPVV has cut out one fraud
and allowed another to go out of
control.
Tammy O'Connor, CPVV's Director,
Legal, Governance and Regulatory
Services said, "No matter what
the level of fraud, criminal action
may be taken. Drivers could lose
their right to work in the CPV
industry and may have to live with
a criminal record."
Does this also apply to citizens who
fraudulently use a family or friend's
MPTP card? It definitely should
apply– because it's the taxpayers'
money funding this program.
DRIVE A2B magazine · www.drivea2b.com.au · February 2021
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