Media release
06 August, 2018

The growing frustration from train commuters on the lack of parking availability across South-East Queensland train stations has pushed travellers to park longer and unsafe distances from the station, forcing many to walk through dimly lit and unmarked paths to their vehicles after work. The Taxi Council of Queensland (TCQ) says these concerns open the door for the Queensland Government to step up and put passenger safety first.

TCQ CEO, Blair Davies, says there are adverse flow-on effects if passengers do not feel safe catching public transport and the Government needs to consider timely solutions now.

“With Brisbane off-street CBD parking the most expensive in the nation, people are opting to take public transport, especially trains, but there is not sufficient and safe parking spaces in close proximity to many south east Queensland train stations. Commuters and the residents in areas surrounding train stations can’t wait for more parking facilities to be developed when there’s an immediate safety problem that needs to be addressed,” Mr Davies said.

“More often than not, commuters will opt to drive to the train station to have the comfort of knowing when they return back from work, their vehicle is there to take them home safely. This crazy expectation of maintaining private vehicles to simply drive to catch public transport, is an ineffective use of a car.

“While train stations are supposed to be only 800 metres or so away from the populations they service, the reality is quite different. For many train users, the distance from home to the station is too far to comfortably and safely walk. That’s why we are hearing that at many stations, where lighting, designated pathways and security are limited, commuters are becoming increasingly frustrated and resorting to parking illegally to stay near the stations. They are literally preferring to risk a fine rather than put their own safety in jeopardy.

“We can’t have the community being forced into this kind of illegal predicament or unsafe circumstances when feeder services such as taxis could be made available 24/7 to ensure passengers get home safely.”

Mr Davies, believes the taxi network and system is an untapped resource for the Government to better service Queensland Rail’s limited car parking infrastructure at stations and the transport needs of Queenslanders.

“Taxis are an important complement to the scheduled mass transit services provided by other forms of public transport. There’s a great opportunity for the Queensland Government to better utilise taxis, a proven transportation network, to connect more people and ensure their commute is the most efficient and safe it can be.

“Taxis can take commuters directly between their front door and the nearest train station via a pooling service, to provide a safe, efficient end-to-end journey for the traveller. It’s a simple variation to the service we already provide and due to the nature of our operations, with our 24/7 availability, multi-occupancy taxis are a great way to address safety concerns and an idea the Government should consider actively exploring. Passengers would no longer have to walk through unsafe conditions to get to their private vehicles and perhaps not even bother with owning a vehicle.

“TCQ would welcome the opportunity to discuss ways to improve the safety of all Queensland commuters and to work closely with the State Government and Translink exploring different options to increase public safety with situations such as this,” concludes Mr Davies.

ENDS

Media release
26 July, 2018

The Taxi Council of Queensland (TCQ) is calling for the Queensland Government to urgently start checking the use of cameras and other recording devices in booked-hire vehicles following an incident in the United States where a driver for an Uber type service (Lyft) was secretly recording unsuspecting passengers and then broadcasting the footage online.

Since 2005, Queensland taxis have been equipped with Government approved security cameras that take high quality images, which are encrypted and stored in tamperproof, fireproof “black boxes” inside the vehicle. It is an offence for a driver or passenger to interfere with the cameras or access the stored images. The encrypted images can be only be downloaded by an authorised officer using special hardware and software, and they can only be used for a very narrow range of purposes, such as by Police investigating an official complaint.

CEO of the TCQ, Blair Davies says the incident in the US is just one more reason for the State Government to stop standing on the sidelines and get onto the field when it comes to enforcing its law. It is illegal for a booked-hire driver in Queensland to do what the Lyft driver did in the US, but that only matters if there are enforcement officers out on the road catching the people who want to ignore such laws.

“We have been calling on the Government to get serious about protecting passengers’ safety and privacy in booked-hire vehicles for some time now,” says Mr Davies, “yet little seems to be happening.  Uber drivers in particular are regularly seen touting for cash jobs where there will potentially be no trace of the trip whatsoever if something goes wrong.

Under Queensland law, booked-hire drivers accepting payment in cash are required to have an approved security camera system fitted to their vehicle.

“Customers getting into a taxi can have confidence that there will be an approved camera system in the vehicle and that the camera is there for their safety. The cameras are highly visible and there are stickers on the doors advising about the operation of the cameras,” Mr Davies continues.

“Taxi customers don’t need to have any concerns for their privacy because the images and recordings taken by approved camera systems are encrypted and they are only available for downloading by authorised officers. The cameras in taxis make riding in a cab a lot safer for drivers and passengers.

“However, there are probably only a handful of booked-hire vehicles in Queensland that are fitted with approved camera systems. That means there is no real protection of passengers’ privacy and safety in any of the other booked-hire vehicles, either where there is no camera, or such in the US case, where the passenger is unaware of a non-approved camera.”

Under Queensland law, booked-hire drivers are only allowed to accept jobs that are dispatched to them from an Authorised Booking Entity so any form of touting is illegal.

“Our cabbies are on the road 24/7 and they are telling us that touting by booked-hire drivers is rife in Brisbane as well as other parts of the State. That means there are Queenslanders getting into vehicles and paying the driver in cash but there is no approved camera system. It’s a risky business for customers, risky business for drivers, and it’s simply unsafe for everyone. This is happening in plain sight of our cabbies so we’re asking, when are the authorities going to act?

“We view security cameras as an investment in driver and customer safety. They also protect everyone’s privacy because we understand that no image from an approved security camera has ever been used for anything other than the investigation or prosecution of offences, or suspected offences, occurring inside a taxi.

“On the other hand, anyone jumping into a booked-hire vehicle can be pretty much assured that there won’t be an approved security camera protecting their privacy and safety. Especially for the consumers accepting trips from touters, they are putting themselves wholly at the mercy of unscrupulous drivers and you don’t need to be an Einstein to know how badly that can end,” concluded Mr Davies.

ENDS

Media release
06 July, 2018

The Taxi Council of Queensland (TCQ) has called for State Government to follow Victoria and make urgent changes to address unfairness in its Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance scheme.

Queensland taxi operators are greatly disadvantaged under the current CTP scheme, having to pay Class 3 premiums at $4,120 pa per vehicle while booked hire competitors, Uber and Ola drivers, only pay $576.20 pa for their vehicles’ (CTP Class 26). This is despite taxis and booked hire vehicles operating with similar risk profiles as they go about providing passenger transport services to their respective customers.

TCQ CEO Blair Davies says Queensland has been left behind by the other states, principally Victoria but also New South Wales, when it comes to establishing a level playing field for all competitors in the Personalised Transport market. Local Queensland businesses in the taxi industry cannot afford to wait while our Government sits on its hands on the issue and the Government’s approach of creating a new CTP class, Class 26, for booked hire vehicles last year isn’t working to promote a level playing field.

“Under the current Queensland CTP scheme, taxis are paying a far higher CTP premium than all other operators in the personalised transport sector. We’re operating with almost identical risks to booked hire vehicles, so there should be no reason why our operators should be forking out more,” said Mr Davies.

“We have ordinary Queenslanders in family-run businesses who have invested their life savings into making taxi services available for their communities and now they’re struggling to keep those businesses on the road. When they are hit with a common renewal date for Rego and CTP, they can be up for tens of thousands of dollars that they simply cannot afford and that their competitors don’t have to pay.

“We’ve already seen one large taxi operator go into bankruptcy and more will likely hit the wall unless the Queensland the Government doesn’t act urgently to fix the current CTP scheme for the personalised transport sector.  If the Victorian Government can put taxis, limousines and booked hire vehicles all on a premium of $510.40 pa in Melbourne, and $396 pa in regional areas, from July 1, what’s stopping the Queensland Government from doing something similar?”

As of July 1, the Victorian state Government dropped premiums from $2,586 pa to $510.40 pa for Melbourne taxi, limousine and booked hire operators and from $1,289 pa to $396 pa for regional operators to level the playing field for all competitors in the sector. Earlier this year, the NSW Government reduced taxi premiums by an average of 40 per cent and it is moving to premiums based on kilometres travelled.

“It’s not a level playing field when a small business taxi operator has to pay thousands more per vehicle for CTP than their competitors running booked-hire vehicles. Queensland’s CTP scheme isn’t keeping up with the realities of life in the personalised transport sector. The Government has to take responsibility for the unfairness in the regulated scheme, own the problem, and commit to fixing it.”

Mr Davies said with more booked-hire providers looking to enter Queensland, time has run out for the Government on CTP. It needs to catch up to the Southern States and remove the regulatory distortion in the scheme that is badly disadvantaging Queensland taxi operators.

“TCQ isn’t objecting to competition in the personalised transport market, we’re simply calling for a level playing field for all businesses operating in the sector. There is a huge disparity between the premiums taxis are forced to pay versus booked-hire vehicles and that has got to stop, and stop now, not sometime next year or the year after,” concluded Mr Davies.

ENDS