Brisbane Times, By Felicity Caldwell
20 February 2018
​
The Sunshine Coast is among the worst-hit regions in the state by the savage collapse in the value of taxi licences.

And the pain was not only felt in cities where ride-sharing app Uber was available.

Fairfax Media analysis revealed Brisbane standard taxi licences were selling, on average, for more than $503,000 in 2014.

That dropped to $113,003 in 2017, a decrease in value of 78 per cent.

On the Sunshine Coast, licences were selling for $391,250 on average in 2014, but there were only two sales in 2017, averaging $46,000 – a drop of 88 per cent.

On the Gold Coast, sales averaged $552,693 in 2014 and dropped 68 per cent to $175,766 in 2017.

In Ipswich, licence values dropped 64 per cent to $120,000.

Toowoomba licences dropped 80 per cent to $71,000.

No standard cab licences have been sold in Cairns, Gympie or Bundaberg since 2015, while none have sold in Townsville or Gladstone since 2014, in a sign of skittish market and a dearth of buyers.

Uber operates in south-east Queensland, from Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Brisbane, Logan and the Redlands; Cairns; the Gold Coast; Sunshine Coast; Toowoomba and Townsville.

But the effect on taxi licences was even felt in regional areas such as Mackay, Rockhampton and Mount Isa, where the ride-sharing app was not yet available.

In 2009, seven Mount Isa taxi licences changed hands for between $184,840 and $220,000, but the three sales in 2017 were for $35,000, $40,000 and $100,000.

Uber came to Brisbane in 2014 and was legalised in Queensland in September 2016.

Taxi Council of Queensland chief executive Blair Davies said there were very few buyers for taxi licences in the market.
​
READ MORE: ​https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/value-of-taxi-licences-plummets-across-queensland-even-without-uber-20180220-p4z0yo.html

Brisbane Times, 19 February 2018, By Felicity Caldwell

Brisbane taxi licences have plummeted in value by 78 per cent in just three years.

In 2014, standard taxi licences in the city were selling, on average, for more than half a million dollars.

Last year, that figure dropped to $113,003, as the dominance of ride-sharing service Uber sounded a near-death knell for Brisbane taxi licence owners.

The value of wheelchair-accessible maxi-taxi licences nosedived 60 per cent in three years to $111,179, on average, in Brisbane in 2017.

Across Queensland, the value of limousine licences dropped 76 per cent to $16,529, on average.
The plunge in the value of taxi licences can be revealed following Fairfax Media analysis of Queensland government open data.

Uber came to Brisbane in 2014, and ride-sharing was legalised in September 2016, shaving thousands of dollars from the sale price.

​While 58 standard cab licences were sold in Brisbane in 2014, caution seemingly swept the market in 2015, with only 11 transfers, with 30 transfers in each of the two following years.

Taxi Council of Queensland chief executive Blair Davies said many licences were owned by “mum and dad” investors, whose investment was damaged due to the arrival of ride-sharing, which created an oversupply in transport options.

“Many of whom put their whole life into the taxi industry, and the taxi licence was their superannuation,” he said.

Mr Davies said there were very few buyers for taxi licences in the market.

“Until we can get some certainty back into the market … then it’s going to be difficult for the people who hold those licences to get a reasonable price for their asset,” he said.

“People who are selling those licences are doing so because their situation is desperate.”

The second stage of ride-sharing reforms has passed Queensland Parliament.

Moves to put GPS and security cameras in Uber fails

Mr Davies called on the government to level the playing field in compulsory third party insurance, as taxi licence holders paid $4461.80, while ride-sharing drivers paid $585.30.

He said $20,000 compensation paid to taxi licence holders, capped at two licences, was “completely inadequate”.

“They need to find some more money to help out people who have seen their superannuation assets devastated by this government policy,” Mr Davies said.

“The government really now needs to start getting serious about reviewing what it’s done and fixing the problems.”

READ MORE: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/the-graph-that-shows-exactly-when-uber-wounded-brisbane-s-taxis-20180219-p4z0vq.html

2/12/2018

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/drive/drive/9399026

Taxi Council Qld CEO Blair Davies Interview 1:40:53 – 1:45:42

By Hayden Smith, The Cairns Post
November 29, 2017

ALAN Tucker was driving his cab through the Cairns CBD one evening and spotted a handicapped man in need of a ride.
​
“He had no money and needed to get to Woree, so I took him home anyway,” he said.

“There was no way I could just let him stay there by himself all night.”

This level of customer care and service is why Mr Tucker was one of two Cairns Taxis team members to recently land major industry gongs.

The Mooroobool resident was named Driver of the Year – Wheelchair Accessible Taxis at the recent 2017 Taxi Council Queensland Awards.

His colleague Tejinder Dhother took out the award for Operator of the Year (1-20 cabs), while Jacqueline Sykes was also a finalist for Driver of the Year – Conventional Taxis.

After years in the banking sector, Mr Tucker said driving cabs specifically designed for handicapped passengers had given him a new perspective on life.

“I like the sense of community … but it can also be quite sad sometimes, seeing people in all sorts of different predicaments,” he said.

Mr Tucker said he decided to become a taxi driver because of the “opportunities”.

“I have a family to look after and also enjoy being my own boss,” he said.

Mr Dhother, a Bentley Park resident, has operated two taxis for the past six years.

Amid the rise of controversial ridesharing company Uber in the Far North, he said local cab drivers were working “harder than ever”.

“I’ve always tried my hardest,” Mr Dhother said.

“I can see a good future for myself in the industry.”

In taking out the awards, Mr Dhother and Mr Tucker edged finalists from Queensland taxi powerhouses such as Black and White Cabs Brisbane and Yellow Cabs Brisbane.

Cairns Taxis fleet services manager Chris Balsom said having three locals in contention for state awards was “unheard of”.

“And for two to come back with awards, we’re just ecstatic,” he said.

“There has been a change in the quality of service … as an organisation, we are all about continual improvement.”
​
Originally published as Cairns taxi drivers win fare share of awards

By Hayden Smith, The Cairns Post
November 29, 2017

ALAN Tucker was driving his cab through the Cairns CBD one evening and spotted a handicapped man in need of a ride.
​
“He had no money and needed to get to Woree, so I took him home anyway,” he said.

“There was no way I could just let him stay there by himself all night.”

This level of customer care and service is why Mr Tucker was one of two Cairns Taxis team members to recently land major industry gongs.

The Mooroobool resident was named Driver of the Year – Wheelchair Accessible Taxis at the recent 2017 Taxi Council Queensland Awards.

His colleague Tejinder Dhother took out the award for Operator of the Year (1-20 cabs), while Jacqueline Sykes was also a finalist for Driver of the Year – Conventional Taxis.

After years in the banking sector, Mr Tucker said driving cabs specifically designed for handicapped passengers had given him a new perspective on life.

“I like the sense of community … but it can also be quite sad sometimes, seeing people in all sorts of different predicaments,” he said.

Mr Tucker said he decided to become a taxi driver because of the “opportunities”.

“I have a family to look after and also enjoy being my own boss,” he said.

Mr Dhother, a Bentley Park resident, has operated two taxis for the past six years.

Amid the rise of controversial ridesharing company Uber in the Far North, he said local cab drivers were working “harder than ever”.

“I’ve always tried my hardest,” Mr Dhother said.

“I can see a good future for myself in the industry.”

In taking out the awards, Mr Dhother and Mr Tucker edged finalists from Queensland taxi powerhouses such as Black and White Cabs Brisbane and Yellow Cabs Brisbane.

Cairns Taxis fleet services manager Chris Balsom said having three locals in contention for state awards was “unheard of”.

“And for two to come back with awards, we’re just ecstatic,” he said.

“There has been a change in the quality of service … as an organisation, we are all about continual improvement.”
​
Originally published as Cairns taxi drivers win fare share of awards

​http://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/mornings/mornings/9078644

Taxi Council Qld CEO Blair Davies Interview 1:38:45 – 1:58:40

A CURRENT AFFAIR, 17 Oct 2017

When Uber launched in Australia, taxi drivers hated the competition and customers loved the cheaper fares.
But some now claim passengers’ safety is at risk.

Alexandria Utting and Emily Selleck, Gold Coast Bulletin
October 2, 2017

THE Queensland Taxi Council have called on the State Government to force Uber drivers to fit security cameras in cars after a 20-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a ride-share driver on the Gold Coast.

The calls come as transport reforms announced yesterday by Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey requiring cameras to be fitted in vehicles with a “certain risk profile” does not cover Uber.

Only vehicles where drivers deal with cash and completely anonymous customers must comply, a spokesman for the minister said yesterday.

On Saturday, the Gold Coast Bulletin revealed a local Uber driver allegedly locked the doors of his car and raped a 20-year-old woman in Surfers Paradise in the early hours of the morning.

The 24-year-old Coombabah man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was refused bail in the Southport Magistrates Court at the weekend after being charged with rape and assault relating to a shocking incident that allegedly occurred at 1am in the heart of the city.

Police allege the Indian hospitality student, who had only been driving for the ride-sharing company for two months, stopped the car, locked the doors, reclined the woman’s seat and began kissing her before he raped her in the early hours of the morning.

Duty lawyer Sam Jackson, of Bamberry Lawyers, told the court the 24-year-old denied the allegations.

Read More: www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/taxi-council-calls-on-state-gov-to-force-uber-to-put-cameras-in-cars/news-story/b7524921e6c166e1f917c3a515e7873c

1st Sep 2017 8:38 AM
Daily Mercury

MACKAY taxi drivers and Queensland Taxi Council have said they would welcome the competition of Uber, even in regional towns, if the playing field was equal for both services.

Taxi Council Queensland CEO Blair Davies said at the moment Uber was a huge issue for both customers and taxis, with government regulations not ensuring Uber is safe and fair to consumers, or in the same competitive market as taxis.

“Uber is a huge problem and very much a problem for regional centres like Mackay, mainly because typically those booked hire services will cherry pick the good work and not be too interested in the work that is hard to do,” Mr Davies said.

“Consequently small centres that don’t have good public transport systems in terms of buses and trains will then rely on the taxi services.

“As we are put under financial pressure it can well be that the level of service taxis provide gets degraded because the money isn’t there to provide the service, it’s a bad cycle and a major issue.”

READ MORE

31st Aug 2017 1:06 PM
Daily Mercury
​
MACKAY motorists seem to be getting the message about drink driving with recent figures showing a dramatic drop in interceptions by police.

From July 2016 to July 2017 a total of 785 drink driving offences were recorded.

While that figure might seem high, it is a distinct decrease in the number of apprehensions from the previous two years.

From 2015 to 2016 Mackay police intervened in 954 drink driving offences, while in the year prior a whopping 1135 incidents took place.

This year from the 785 drivers caught, 70 were driving with a reading of 0.15 and higher, while 255 had a reading between 0.10 and under 0.15.

A further 395 were caught driving with a reading between 0.05 and 0.10, and 61 below 0.05, four failed to provide a specimen of breath of blood for testing.

Mackay Whitsunday taxi drivers believe the drop could be due to more residents choosing their services in recent years, particularly on their nights out.

“The greater amount of work for us is definitely during the night now, whether it be for meals, drinks or out,” driver Trevor Moore said.

READ MORE