Media Release

US technology giant Uber Technologies has settled in a class action lawsuit brought by a law firm on behalf of Australian taxi drivers, agreeing to pay $272 million. It is the fifth-largest class action settlement in Australian legal history.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and former taxi driver Nick Andrianakis, who was the main plaintiff in the action, attended the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday morning to close out a case that began in 2019.

The class action grew to incorporate more than 8000 taxi and chartered drivers. They said Uber had harmed them financially by setting up and running its UberX services in Australia illegally.

The case was due to run until May 17. But a deal has been struck, and was detailed on Monday morning.

In a statement, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Principal Michael Donelly said the historic settlement followed a gruelling five-year legal battle.

“Uber fought tooth and nail at every point along the way,

17 January 2023

More than 600 fines have been given to Queensland taxi and rideshare drivers found to be operating in violation of industry guidelines.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey told ABC Radio Brisbane Mornings host Rebecca Levingston the enforcement blitz started in December and focused heavily around rides ordered and taken in Brisbane and the Gold Coast on and about December 31.
Authorities intercepted 2,056 taxis, limousines and booked hire vehicles.
Fines were issued for 31 different offences from December 2 to January 15, of varying amounts starting at $575, and included:

Failure to display a compliant booked hire sign — 179 fines
Unauthorised vehicle stopping in a bus zone — 130 fines
Stop in taxi zone while providing a booked hire service — 57 fines
Driver failure to carry their driver authorisation – 57 fines
Stop contrary to continuous yellow edge line – 67 fines

Other serious offences for which penalties were issued included driving an

The Taxi Council of Queensland (TCQ) is planning to hold another round of town hall meetings across the State over the next few months to update members on developments and hear from them directly about what they would consider reasonable and acceptable in regard to taxi licensing reforms and compensation. The meetings will be similar in format to those held previously. TCQ wants to hear from all members of the industry so that we can use our seat at the negotiation table for maximum advantage. So, if you have a stake in the industry and want to have a say in where it is heading, TCQ is welcoming you to get involved.

REGISTER INTEREST HERE

26 April 2022

Mark McGrath has had to cancel countless appointments, social gatherings and almost missed his father’s funeral due to taxi delays.
The Gold Coast resident relies on wheelchair-accessible taxis every week but said he would do anything to avoid it.
“You never know whether they turn up in 20 minutes or an hour and a half,” Mr McGrath said.
“I will even take my power [wheelchair] and drive for two and a quarter hours, just to avoid that same cab trip.”
Even when he pre-booked a taxi to attend his father’s funeral, Mr McGrath almost missed it.
“I rang the day before, and I booked the cab to pick me up at 1pm and the ceremony was at 2pm, and it was only about 15 minutes away.
“I thought, ‘oh perfect time, I’ll be very early. It will be great’,” he said.
After several phone calls and an anxious wait, the company eventually added Mr McGrath to their priority list,

Portable and fixed cameras to detect illegal mobile phone use, and failure to wear a seatbelt are operating across Queensland. The cameras operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in urban and regional areas. You can be caught anywhere, anytime.

The cameras were introduced to address the dangerous behaviours of mobile phone distraction and travelling unrestrained in a vehicle.

Research shows mobile phone distraction quadruples the risk of crashing and is just as dangerous as drink driving. If you take your eyes off the road for just two seconds, in a vehicle moving at 60km/h, you will travel more than 33 metres while distracted.

A properly worn seatbelt is proven to reduce the risk of serious injury by 50 per cent and death by 45 per cent. A crash without one, at just 40km/h, has the same impact on your body as falling from a two-storey building.

The technology
The cameras use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to

30 September 2021
 
Electric, hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles can cause hazards for emergency service workers in certain rescue situations. The Queensland government has introduced the requirement for these vehicles to be labelled.

When do I need my label?

If an electric, hybrid or hydrogen-powered vehicle was built after 1 January 2019, or an existing vehicle was modified to be these types after 1 January 2019, the registered owner must display specific labels on the vehicles front and rear number plates. 

Enforcement of this requirement will begin in October 2021, however until 1 January 2022, this will be as an educational approach. Throughout this period no fines or penalties will be given, this will allow time for drivers to attach their labels. 

Fastening your label to your number plate

The Department of Transport and Main Roads has not mandated any specific way of fitting the labels to number plates, as long as the labels are securely fitted.

Media release
August 3, 2021

The Taxi Council of Queensland (TCQ) has welcomed the decision by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) to fix anomalies in Queensland’s Compulsory Third Party (CTP) scheme that have seen taxi operators paying up to $4,000 more per vehicle than their counterparts in the rest of the personalised transport sector.

Under reforms announced by MAIC:

from 1 October 2021, the “base insurer premium” that forms the substantive part of the total CTP insurance premium will be equalised for taxi sedans and wagons (Class 3), rental cars (Class 4), and booked hire vehicles (Class 26); and
from 1 July 2022, all other components of the total CTP insurance premium will be equalised for taxis, rentals and booked hire vehicles.

Currently, an ordinary Queensland cabbie (Class 3) pays 230% more each year in CTP than a full-time rideshare driver driving their own vehicle (Class 26) and that rideshare driver pay