Perspective needed in uber (so-called) “popularity”

Queensland’s peak taxi body has called on politicians and regulators to keep perspective when talking about the popularity of illegal taxi services.

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) CEO Benjamin Wash said he supported comments from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday calling for a level playing field across the taxi industry.

However he is concerned by some comments from politicians and journalists that the illegal taxi service was “incredibly popular”, stating that the figures showed “Queenslanders overwhelmingly don’t want private taxis that ignore safety regulations”.

“While uber talk about their 150,000 customers, the Queensland taxi industry has 110 million customers.”

“By their own figures – which are likely inflated and cannot be proved, uber transports around 0.13 per cent of the amount of customers who catch taxis. You can’t make public policy on that,” he explained.

Mr Wash said while uber talk about transporting 100,000 customers per year, taxis transport over 250,000 customers per day in Queensland alone.

He also pointed out that the 100,000 “downloads” of the uber app claimed by the company are dwarfed by the hundreds of thousands of downloads of apps from taxi companies in Brisbane alone.

“The popularity of uber doesn’t exist, but they have done a good job of spinning the facts and influencing some gullible journalists to preach their message in a messianic fashion.”

He said TCQ was about the facts, not the hype, and re-emphasised that the 15,000 small business owners that made up the Queensland taxi industry were committed to high customer service, safety based regulation and servicing all areas at all times.

“uber is operating illegally and Queenslanders – by the actual numbers – are rejecting this.”

The Premier has weighed into the debate over whether Queensland cabbies need protection from the controversial ride-share service Uber. Katrina Blowers reports.

Last week’s report of an alleged sexual assault of a female passenger by an uber driver in Perth may be difficult to prove because the illegal taxi service refuses to abide by Government safety regulations that include cameras, according to the CEO of Taxi Council Queensland.

Benjamin Wash also predicted that sexual assaults by uber drivers will increase if the illegal taxi service continues to operate as they are less likely to be convicted, and pointed to other assaults in Melbourne and overseas.

“uber X is operating outside the law, meaning they have no safety measures, taking us back to the dark ages,” Mr Wash said.

“In Queensland there are over 250,000 taxi fares every day yet the incidence of driver misbehaviour is very rare, partly because the actions of drivers are captured on in-car cameras and taxis are GPS monitored.”

He said when there is an incident, police have video proof and can use camera footage from taxis to convict drivers that do the wrong thing.

“In every industry there are people from time to time who break the law. This includes police, teachers, lawyers and taxi drivers.”

“Some uber X drivers will break the law, but the driver can do or say anything and then deny it, and there’s nothing you can do.”

Mr Wash said while he cannot comment on the recent allegation, he has no doubt that uber will become a haven for sexual predators as well as drivers that are rejected or sacked by the taxi industry.

“If a driver inappropriately touches a passenger in a taxi we can prove it. But in an illegal taxi like uber X, it becomes a ‘he said – she said situation’, meaning it is far more difficult for prosecutors to secure a conviction.

“In fact I believe many victims of uber drivers will not even bother reporting it.”

Mr Wash warned that uber drivers don’t have daily criminal checks like Queensland taxi drivers and can turn off their phone, making their location untraceable, as an uber driver recently did when he kidnapped a woman overseas.

“Illegal taxis flout the law and are unsafe and uninsured. I appeal to the public not to risk their lives by using these services.”

Casino will breathe new life into small business – taxi industry

Queensland’s taxi peak body believes Brisbane’s new casino will stimulate local tourism and small business in a way the city has not seen since World Expo.

Taxi Council Queensland chief executive officer Benjamin Wash said the state’s taxi industry is made up of over 15,000 small business owners, who are just some of those that will benefit from projects like casinos and cruise ship terminals.

He said the industry has developed its tourism image over the past few years through close engagement with other tourism industry participants, and will be ready to be the ‘face of Queensland’ when the casino opens.

“Taxi drivers are often the first people tourists see when they arrive and the last they see before they depart, and we’ve been implementing a tourism ambassador program across Queensland for the past few years.”

Mr Wash is also expecting to see an increase in the number of taxi drivers, not only due to the casino but as major events like the Commonwealth Games draw near.

“There are around 250,000 taxi fares every day across Queensland and this will increase, meaning we will need more drivers, so I’d be encouraging anyone who wants a fulfilling career to come forward now,” he said.

“Many Queenslanders would be surprised to learn that while taxis might carry a brand on their cars, this is only a booking arrangement. Most cabs are owned by everyday people who have invested their savings into a taxi licence, and many are retirees.”

He said every driver is a small business person, making the taxi industry one of the largest supporters of small business in the state.

“We welcome development and congratulate both the Newman and Palaszczuk Government’s for their foresight in bringing a world class casino and lifestyle precinct to Brisbane.”

Date June 25, 2015 – 2:40AM
Brisbane Times
Amy Remeikis

Uber is helping to fill the state coffers, with drivers for the ride-sharing service fined more than $1.7 million in the past 12 months.

A cease and desist order has been in place on the app-based company since May last year, with transport officials slapping drivers with fines of up to $1707 for operating without authorisation.

Providing a taxi service without an appropriate licence can bring a fine of $1366.

In the past year, 1536 infringement notices have been issued against 538 drivers for a total value of $1,732,262. Of those, 1234 fines have been paid, reaping the state $1,415,213.

It is understood Uber pays the fines for its driver.

A spokeswoman for the company said Uber didn’t “believe anyone should be penalised for providing safe, reliable rides in their city and Uber will always stand by our driver partners”.

Governments across the world have been caught in a battle between the established taxi industry and ride-sharing apps.

The Taxi Council, which until recently was displaying a running total of Uber fines on a billboard in the Valley, has been very supportive of the government’s response to the ride-share app, lobbying for the state to impose the same licence restrictions on it as the taxi industry experiences.

But Uber has been lobbying just as hard, recently releasing its own advertising highlighting what it says are its safety advantages, in response from one from the taxi industry which highlighted what it said were its safety disadvantages.

Queensland has been negotiating a fine line with both.

In May, Uber wrote to each of the state’s 89 MPs asking the government to “enter into meaningful conversations about reform and recognise ridesharing as a new and distinct form of point-to-point transport that requires a new regulatory approach”.

The Queensland Taxi Council countered Uber was attempting to “bully” its way into the marketplace, with an unfair advantage.

The state’s taxi strategy, set down five years ago, expires this year.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/uber-fined-17-million-by-queensland-20150624-ghwugz.html

By SARAH MICHAEL FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

PUBLISHED: 01:09 EST, 17 June 2015 | UPDATED: 01:10 EST, 17 June 2015

Ride sharing company Uber has cut the prices of its controversial UberX service by 10 per cent in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Uber made the announcement on Wednesday that it would discount its fares until early August in an attempt to get more passangers using the app.

The app’s UberX service is operated drivers in privately-owner cars, with customers getting a cheaper fare than a regular taxi.

The taxi industry has labelled Uber – particularly its UberX service – ‘dangerous and illegal’ and state governments have issued fines to UberX drivers for ‘operating a commercial passenger vehicle without a licence’.

Uber made the announcement on Friday that it would discount UberX fares in the Victorian capital indefinitely, after dropping its price by 20 per cent in Perth last month

This comes after Uber dropped UberX prices by 15 per cent in Melbourne last month, and by 20 per cent in Perth in April.

Last month marked one year since UberX launched in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and the service has since also launched in the Gold Coast, Geelong and Perth.

Uber said more than 4000 people in Melbourne, 3000 in Sydney and 2000 in Brisbane had taken up jobs as UberX drivers over 12 months.

Simon Rossi said at the time: ‘We [dropped prices] four weeks ago in Perth and the results were amazing, we saw tremendous trip growth which meant more riders are coming to the platform to ride.’

He said Melbourne was the biggest market for UberX in Australia, with more than 4000 drivers operating.

The app’s UberX service offers customers cheaper fares than taxis for rides in drivers’ privately-owned cars

Uber is considered the black sheep of the taxi industry in Australia, with state governments campaigning against UberX and fining drivers who take up jobs with the service.

But hundreds of thousands of Australian’s are using the ride-sharing app which not only promises cheaper taxi fares but has also pledged to create 20,000 new jobs Down Under in 2015.

Aside from stringent taxi licensing laws, a lot of the issues around Uber X stem from the fact people fear they are essentially climbing into a stranger’s car.

Reports of assaults allegedly committed by Uber drivers, especially in the US, have compounded that fear.

The Taxi Council Queensland last year began an anti-Uber campaign based on this theory, using the slogan ‘Don’t risk your life – Rideshare apps are unlawful, unsafe and uninsured’.

TCQ chief executive Benjamin Wash said: ‘You simply don’t know who is behind the wheel.’

However, this is somewhat untrue, as many Uber X users know. Before an Uber car arrives you are shown the details and a photo of the person who is picking you up on the app, allowing you to share the information with friends if you so wish.

‘From request to drop-off, the entire Uber experience is geared towards ensuring reliability and safety,’ Uber explained.

‘Upon requesting a ride, our technology provides the rider with their driver’s name, photograph, licence plate, vehicle type, and a contact number. The rider can see the vehicle approaching on a map, and share their journey in real time with friends or loved ones using our Share My ETA feature.’

And Uber spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia ‘every Uber partner must have passed a criminal background check through the Australian Federal Police’s Crimtrac database before they are allowed to drive on the platform’.

That does not mean there haven’t been horror stories so far. In Melbourne, a teenager was allegedly indecently assaulted by an Uber driver she hired to take her home on New Year’s Day.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3125885/UberX-slashes-prices-10-cent-Sydney-Brisbane-Gold-Coast.html#ixzz3dH3tRBbq

TCQ Radio Interviewer Taxi Services work with visually impaired Look around

Taxi Council says too much uberX spin and not enough honesty in media reporting

Queensland’s Taxi Council has accused sections of the media of “blindly following the spin” disseminated by illegal ride-hailing company uberX, and ignoring the legitimate safety concerns of experts.

Taxi Council Queensland (TCQ) chief executive officer Benjamin Wash was referring to an article that appeared in Fairfax media this week warning Australian businesses that allowing staff to use uberX instead of taxis risked heavy penalties under work safety laws.

The article stated that “workplace lawyers are voicing major concerns about employers that permit staff use of the controversial service because it could breach their duty of care.”

Law firm Holding Redlich said uberX “should be banned by employers because the service was unlicensed and unregulated and there were no in-car surveillance cameras, used in taxis, to deter assaults.”

Mr Wash said that TCQ had been voicing these concerns for a long while and that much was “common sense”, however some parts of the media were “spellbound” by the illegal operator and had become “a dangerous mouthpiece for misinformation by putting lives in danger”.

“The media should be placing Uber X and their claims under the same scrutiny and fact-checking guidelines by which they treat others including the taxi industry, but many do not,” he said.

“The media are complicit in an illegal operation that tells the public to trust them on issues of safety, insurance, driver checks, vehicle maintenance and other issues – yet never provides any evidence to show their service is safe.

“Put simply, Uber has been given a free ride by some of the media which has resulted in the public believing the service is both lawful and safe – when it is neither.

“We know uberX is not safe. We know it’s not properly insured and we know that every time someone gets into an uberX car, both the driver and passenger are at risk, yet it takes a legal firm to finally provide the motivation for some honest articles.”

-Ends-

Original article – http://www.smh.com.au/national/uberx-companies-face-penalties-for-use-of-rideshare-service-20150412-1mjb6r.html

Queensland taxi licence owners fear price drop as Uber gains traction

· ALEXANDRIA UTTING
· THE COURIER-MAIL
· APRIL 11, 2015 9:00AM

THE price of Brisbane taxi licences could fall by 20 per cent if Uber is allowed to gain further market traction, an academic warns.

Queensland University of Technology lecturer Nicolas Pontes said legalising ride-sharing services such as Uber and removing restrictions on the number of taxi licences issued would change Australia’s $5.5 billion taxi industry.

“We don’t know what exactly is going to happen in Brisbane but what happened in other places like New York in 2013 was that (licence prices) dropped about 70 per cent after uber started in the marketplace,” Dr Pontes said.

Dr Pontes, an advertising and consumer behaviour lecturer from QUT’s Business School, said licences in Victoria fell from $500,000 to $290,000 last year after the State Government removed restrictions on the number available.

“I don’t think that is the amount of (price) reduction we’re expecting in Brisbane, I’d say it’s about 20 per cent, but it depends if ride-share will be in the market.”

Australian Taxi Industry Association figures put the price of a new licence in Queensland metropolitan areas at $519,000 in 2014. However, many private sellers, who were unwilling to speak on the record for fear of being unable to on-sell plates, said they had received offers of no higher than $150,000 this year.

One licence holder said they were forced to lease their plates after being unable to onsell them.

IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst, Stephen Gargano, said licences in Queensland were no longer a good buy in light of recommendations made by the Australian competition watchdog’s Harper Review.

“It would be an extremely risky investment, with a lot of questions over which way regulation will go,” he said.

However, Taxi Council Queensland CEO, Benjamin Wash, reassured licence holders. “I think they remain a good investment and, in light of the Harper Review, I don’t anticipate any change in the Queensland taxi industry because the Harper Review had a fairly narrow scope,” he said.

A spokesman for Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport Jackie Trad said any legislative change based on review recommendations would be considered once the Queensland Government Taxi Strategic Plan expired later this year.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/queensland-taxi-licence-owners-fear-price-drop-as-uber-gains-traction/story-fnihsps3-1227299178966