TAXI COUNCIL ISSUES PUBLIC SAFETY WARNING FOR SMARTPHONE APPS
9/26/2012

The Taxi Council of Queensland has warned that taxi customers are risking their personal safety by making bookings with smartphone apps that are not from an authorised taxi booking company.
TCQ chief executive officer Benjamin Wash said the public must be made aware of the risks before someone becomes a victim.

“An app that is not from a recognised taxi booking company offers customers no protection and opens them up to fraud, physical assault or worse,” he explained.

“Because these apps are outside the system, no one has a record of the booking and you can’t even guarantee that the car is a real taxi.”

Mr Wash said that due to the lack of safeguards anyone can register as a taxi and respond to a booking, something he has proved by registering himself on the app ‘goCatch’ as a driver, despite having no taxi license.

“It is entirely possible for someone with wrong intentions to pick up passengers who may be alone or in a vulnerable situation.

“If you book a cab through one of these unauthorised apps, you should ask yourself who is behind the wheel of the car turning up.”

Mr Wash is also concerned about the risk to drivers. “Drivers could be lured to remote areas with no record of the call or details of the person they are scheduled to pick up.

He said the Queensland taxi industry is currently well-regulated and taxi travel is extremely safe for the public.

“Every driver is police-checked daily and there are checks and balances to ensure our customers are safe, but these unauthorised smartphone apps sit outside these safety guidelines.”

Mr Wash said authorised apps from legitimate taxi companies will still protect customers.
“Most taxi companies have apps and these all meet the government requirements, so I urge the public to use them and avoid third-party unauthorised apps,” he said.

For a list of Queensland taxi companies with authorised apps see www.tcq.org.au

The peak body for the state’s taxi industry has welcomed the Government’s review of proposed budget cuts to the Taxi Subsidy Scheme (TSS), declaring the industry will continue to stand by their most vulnerable customers.
Chief executive officer of Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) Benjamin Wash said he believes the Government misread the impact the cuts would make in people’s lives and across the community.

“I said from the outset that I didn’t believe the Government was intentionally being mean-spirited. It is reasonable that they are looking to cut their costs but this is an area where the detrimental effect outweighs the benefits,” he explained.

Mr Wash said TCQ led the charge against these cuts because they understand how important transportation is to those who use the TSS.

“Our customers who are physically, visually and intellectually disabled rely on our drivers to help them get to and from work, school and medical facilities and to live normal, mobile lives that the rest of us take for granted.

“If this transportation is limited it will remove many of these people from the workforce and dump them into the welfare system. It will remove their dignity and means of self-reliance, making the social cost far worse than the current economic cost of continuing the scheme in its current form.”

Mr Wash said the Council’s motivation for bringing this to the attention of the public was to support the disabled community.

“We will continue to see this through until we have a clear outcome, which is a reversal of these cut.”

The Taxi Council of Queensland (TCQ) is concerned that changes to the Taxi Subsidy Scheme in yesterday’s state budget will disadvantage the most needy and vulnerable in the community.
From July 1 next year, a new annual limit of $400 per person will be placed on travel under the scheme, meaning higher users will have to pay more or forgo travel.

Chief Executive Officer of TCQ Benjamin Wash said the changes were made without industry consultation and may have a major impact on the lives of the aged and people with disabilities.

He explained that based on an average fare under the scheme, eligible users will be limited to less than one taxi trip per week.

“Many mobility impaired customers work in regular jobs and need travel up to twice per day. In addition elderly customers tend to travel twice per week – or 100 plus trips per year – simply for normal grocery shopping.

“Others travel more than twice per week for medical and other reasons.”

Mr Wash said the changes, which were “snuck into the budget” come only weeks after the Newman Government scrapped the proposed $6.50 wheelchair subsidy for the industry.

“The changes announced in the budget don’t make any sense. They affect the more vulnerable people in the community as well as taxi drivers, who are small business people, and they don’t save the Government much.”

“The Government has kept the same overall allocation to the scheme but reduced the ability of people to use it. It’s like saving money by stealth.”

TAXI COUNCIL MOVES TO STOP DRIVERS REFUSING SHORT FARES
10/9/2012

Queensland’s peak taxi industry body is asking taxi customers to report drivers who refuse a fare because the distance is too short.
In a memo sent to members across the State, Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) tells drivers that “it is against Queensland law for any driver to refuse a fare based on the distance of the intended trip”.

The memo warns, “Any driver who does this risks losing their driver authorisation.”

TCQ chief executive officer Benjamin Wash said the memo was given after reports from the public.

“There are times when a driver can refuse a fare and the public should be aware of these, however distance or direction is not a lawful reason,” he explained.

The memo outlines reasons for legitimate fare refusal as “the driver believing his or her safety may be at risk, the customer being in an intoxicated state, the customer having no ability to pay the fare or other legitimate reasons”.

Mr Wash said the vast majority of drivers provide exceptional customer service and that taxis were the safest form of transport.

“Taxi travel is a door-to-door service and provides customers with a level of safety and security many other forms of transportation cannot.”

However he said that TCQ would not allow a small percentage of drivers to tarnish the reputation that the industry has worked so hard to build.

“There are over 12,000 taxi drivers in Queensland and approximately 240,000 taxi fares every day across the state. We know that the amount of problems is miniscule but when we hear of issues we act,” he said.
Mr Wash has appealed to customers refused a fare because of distance to record the driver or taxi number and contact the taxi booking company.

“I can assure our customers any complaint will be acted upon, but if no one tells us, we don’t know.”

The Taxi Council of Queensland has expressed shock and disappointment that the LNP State Government has decided not to honour the commitment of the former Labor Government to implement a taxi disability subsidy.
The subsidy would have provided $6.50 for each trip taken by wheelchair-bound passengers to compensate drivers for loss of revenue due to the extra time taken to pick up customers.
The Council’s CEO, Benjamin Wash, said the industry had lobbied for this subsidy for over ten years and it was a bitter pill to have lost it before it had even started.

“I received a call from Transport Minister Scott Emerson last night to advise that the Government had decided not to honor the commitment,” he said.

Mr Wash said the scheme was long overdue and the commitment was well below that offered by all other state governments.

“Western Australia has just increased their subsidy to $20 and even $30 in some circumstances, and we can’t even provide $6.50.”

He said it was particularly surprising because the money was not coming from State Government revenue, but from overpayments of GST.

“The money the former government had allocated was federal money so I’d imagine this money is still there.”

Mr Wash said drivers often sacrifice higher fares to pick up disabled customers. “They do so gladly and professionally so they deserve this compensation.”