Media Release
October 24, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) has labelled the State Government “naive in the extreme” if they believe that their new rideshare regulation is about Uber, and has urged MPs and the media to look at the wider ramification of the new regulatory changes.

TCQ Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Wash said he was shocked to hear Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe recently say that rideshare was safe because people could see the picture of the driver on an app.

“It appears that they have made these changes under the assumption that it is about one foreign company. This is unprecedented.

“Surely they are aware that the legislation is far wider reaching and that now, anyone of any age and experience with any vehicle in any location can start a rideshare business whether they have an app or not.”

Mr Wash said the changes now make it legal for anyone to start transporting passengers with no consumer protection guidelines, no pricing boundaries and no service standards.

“This is what passenger transport has become, and many people have already started running their own dodgy services, putting people in danger with the full support of the Queensland Government.”

Mr Wash said even the media have fallen into the trap.

“Journalists ask me about Uber, but they must realise that Uber is one player and there will be others as well as many individuals. It’s a free-for-all.

“Who is going to take responsibility for the inevitable deaths, assaults, thefts and rip-offs that will occur under a system where anyone can do whatever they like?” he asked.

“The Government could have made rideshare legal by putting in place sensible safety based regulations, but instead they decided to eliminate all safety and service measures.

“There will be severe consequences.”
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Media Release
October 11, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) says taxi companies across the state still offer drivers high levels of training despite the State Government removing this requirement in its recent regulatory changes.

TCQ Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Wash says the Government’s changes were a poorly thought out attempt to level the playing field in order to accommodate rideshare, with the result being lower service standards and the removal of consumer protection.

He said rideshare companies don’t have to adhere to any standards and can “basically do what they like”.

“The taxi industry did not ask for and does not want lowering of standards.

“The big question is whether the Government will continue to allow rideshare vehicles to operate with no guidelines whatsoever, putting public safety at risk.”
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Media Release
October 11, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) says their continued warnings about the dangers of new rideshare regulations have unfortunately been proved correct following revelations on ‘A Current Affair’ that an 18-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by an Uber driver.

TCQ Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Wash said it is vital that the Government, community and media note three very important points in the story that highlight the huge danger to consumers.

“The Uber driver turned the phone off and disabled the app; there was no camera in the car, preventing police from obtaining evidence; and the alleged victim had no one to contact and was forced to deal with someone in the Netherlands.”

Mr Wash said the taxi industry has warned of these exact risks numerous times but no one listened.

“We’ve said time and time again that rideshare vehicles are not properly GPS monitored – and this was shown when the driver simply turned off the phone and was off the grid.

“We’ve also said cameras are necessary for evidence, and we’ve explained that you can’t deal with an anonymous app managed by an overseas company when something goes wrong.

“We were ridiculed by some members of the media and organisations like the RACQ when we pointed these things out, but I’d invite those same people to speak to this young girl and tell her how safe rideshare is.”

He said it was time for the Government to wake up and make urgent changes to protect Queensland consumers.

“If there are still occasional incidents in taxis that have safety protection like cameras and GPS monitoring, how on earth can removing these measures make anything better?

“More young women will be raped and more people will be assaulted unless the State Government immediately takes its head out of the sand and amends these poorly drafted regulatory changes and increases protection in rideshare vehicles.”

Original ACA story – http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/10/05/20/32/queensland-teenager-claims-uber-driver-sexually-assaulted-her
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Media Release
September 26, 2016

A recent incident which saw two elderly women mistakenly get in the wrong rideshare vehicle highlights the inherent dangers customers now face under changes to passenger transport legislation.

The incident forced the Melbourne women to complain to ridesharing service uber, claiming a driver tried to force them out of the vehicle in a deserted street late at night.

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Wash says customers are putting their safety at risk by thinking any vehicle could be their booking, because the cars are not clearly identified.

“Sadly we will see more and more instances of customers getting fooled and mistakenly getting into the wrong ridesharing vehicle – or a car pretending to offer rideshare – and being put in harm’s way. It is happening overseas and is becoming common in some jurisdictions.”

Mr Wash said taxis are clearly marked, driver identification is on display, and all cabs are equipped with cameras, unlike rideshare vehicles which, “can be operated by just about anyone”.

“The State Government has released the genie from the bottle and more serious safety incidents will occur as these watered down regulations allow rideshare vehicles to operate under flimsy protection guidelines.”

Original article can be found here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-08/uber-trip-for-two-older-melbourne-women-ends-in-complaint/7827610
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Media Alert
September 5, 2016

Taxi drivers, owners and operators will descend on Queensland’s Parliament House today for a silent rally to protest the State Government’s ham-fisted new regulations that will lower taxi safety standards and affect over 16,000 small business operators. Taxi Council Queensland has offered its support to this protest.

Where: Parliament House George St Brisbane
When: 11:30am
Media spokespeople available at rally – including Bill Parker, General Manager Yellow Cabs.

This is a silent rally to show strength in numbers, and disruptive noisy attendees will be asked to leave. Drivers on shift have been asked not to attend so customer services are not disrupted.
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Media Release
September 5, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) says the claim by Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe that the taxi industry has been paid $4.3 million in immediate financial relief is “a total lie”, revealing that not a cent has been provided.

Furthermore, TCQ chief executive officer Benjamin Wash says the entire $100 million package is a “fairy tale” that will never be paid.

“We have email correspondence from the department telling us that not a cent will be paid until late 2017 at the earliest, and the Government may not even be in office then.

“Queenslanders will also be shocked to learn that only around 20 per cent of taxi owners will even be eligible because the compensation is not going to be paid to anyone who has their licence in a company name.

“In other words, this figure of $100 million sounds good and gives the impression that the industry is being looked after, when in fact it’s a $100 million sham.”

Mr Wash said the Government’s proposed regulations are a mess.

“Nowhere in this regulation does the Government make rideshare legal, nowhere does it bring clarity on rank and hail business – this is government mismanagement at its worst.”

He said TCQ acted in good faith throughout the review yet the minister and premier have showed “unprecedented arrogance to the industry”.

“Put simply, the minister is fabricating these figures. None of this so-called red tape reduction will save the industry a solitary cent and it’s time someone called out this government for its ineptitude and shameless mistruths.

“He must think we are stupid. Waiving fees that have already been paid is not a saving.

“The minister is lying. There is no nicer way to put this.”
ENDS

Media Release
August 30, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) says proposed new legislation that will deregulate the taxi industry and prevent the public from identifying taxis will lead to an increase in sexual assaults in this state, just as it is doing overseas.

A recent Associated Press (AP) report in the USA revealed that a man posed as an uber driver to assault a woman in Atlanta; with similar cases being reported in several US cities including Los Angeles, where “a man was arrested and accused of luring a woman into his SUV and then raping her and choking her until she became unconscious”.
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The reports states that, “within the past 12 months, police in Washington, D.C., and in Chicago also have issued public alerts to warn residents about people pretending to be uber drivers and preying on unsuspecting customers.”

TCQ chief executive officer Benjamin Wash said the council has been warning about such attacks since the start of illegal rideshare services in Queensland but had been accused of scaremongering.

“It goes without saying that if the public cannot identify vehicles that are genuine taxis, there is opportunity for predators and people with criminal intent to easily exploit this, particularly when dealing with drunk and vulnerable customers.”

He said uber is not to blame, but “any system that allows unmarked cars to pick up passengers is a recipe for disaster.

“While rideshare drivers should only accept pre-booked rides, we know many cruise around nightclub precincts and schools trying to pick up passengers, and this will get worse with the new legislation that allows anyone to run their own taxi service.”

The AP report quotes police as confirming that “some uber drivers wait outside bars anticipating that people will need rides, much like taxis do.”

“This Government has given criminals and predators an opportunity to masquerade as rideshare drivers, offering lifts to passengers at their most vulnerable, and all Queenslanders should be outraged.”

AP article referred to above – http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/26/atlanta-police-seek-man-who-posed-as-uber-driver-attacked-woman/
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Media Release
August 29, 2016

Queensland’s taxi peak body has accused the State Government of targeting taxi drivers as payback for the industry’s lack of support for the deregulation of the industry, announced recently following the Varghese Review into personalised transport.

Taxi Council Queensland CEO Benjamin Wash revealed that police were breath testing all drivers on a major city rank on Saturday night, disrupting taxi services.

He said this had never happened before on this scale and that police informed drivers that they were acting on the direct orders of “Queensland politicians”.

“We feared that the Government would target law abiding taxi drivers because we didn’t jump for joy when they deregulated our industry, and it appears they are doing exactly that.”

Mr Wash said the review was a whitewash and it was clear that the Labor Government was more interested in supporting illegal multinational operators that don’t pay tax in Australia, over Queensland small business.

“Every small business in Queensland should be worried that not only did the Government abandon the 16,000 small business operators that make up the taxi industry, but are now vindictive enough to target them and ensure they lose more business.

“By deregulating this industry, they have stripped consumers of protection, ignored their responsibility to put safety first, and supported a breakdown of the rule of law.”

He said that under the new era of deregulation, anyone can start their own taxi service with no checks or balances, no rules and no quality standards.

“The Queensland public should be aware that this is not about a company called uber, but about opening up public transport to anyone with the bar set so low it’s scary and dangerous.

“Sadly something very serious will have to happen before the Government wakes up.”
ENDS

Taxi Council of Queensland Inc.
Media Release
August 15, 2016

The RACQ’s credibility is in tatters after it “played” the Government and media by running a dishonest campaign in support of uber for the sole purpose of entering the rideshare market itself, according to Queensland’s peak taxi body.

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) CEO Benjamin Wash says while the RACQ can conduct any legal business it wants, it was dishonest by providing comments under the guise of being a peak motoring body while not publicly declaring its interest in creating its own rideshare company.

“The RACQ has sold out Queenslanders by supporting a foreign multinational that sends its profits offshore at the expense of thousands of Queensland small businesses, and even worse it has been caught lying about its intentions.

“We called their management out last week and their response has been an embarrassing and confusing mix of admitting their intent and denying it all at the same time.”

RACQ executive manager Michael Roth has told the Sunday Mail that the organisation intended to ‘investigate the business opportunities presented by becoming a (rideshare) provider’.

“This is something that RACQ could do in the future,” he was quoted as saying.

Mr Wash said TCQ’s concerns were not about competition, but about integrity.

“It’s a big deal because the RACQ’s so-called ‘independent’ voice carries weight with the media and public who assume it speaks from a public benefit perspective, not from commercial self-interest.

“Tens of thousands of small business people associated with the taxi industry across Queensland who operate honestly, pay their taxes and abide by regulations will rightly feel betrayed, and many will have membership and insurance with RACQ.

“We call on all within the taxi industry and all other Queenslanders to immediately send them a message by cancelling their membership and insurance policies and changing to companies that support local business and display integrity.”

TCQ said the RACQ’s “doublespeak” is not fooling anyone. “The organisation must now come clean and be honest, or its contribution to future public debates won’t be taken seriously.”
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Media Alert
August 11, 2016

Taxi Council Queensland Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Wash will respond to the announcement by the State Government on the Varghese Review recommendations today. He will be accompanied by Rob Pyne MP.

Details:
Time – 2.15pm
Date – TODAY Thursday August 11
Where – Outside the office of Rob Pyne MP – 46-50 Spence St, Cairns
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