With shady tactics employed on both sides, which service do Aussies prefer: Uber or taxis?
The taxi industry wants to stamp out drivers who refuse short fares. Picture: Damian HofmanSource:The Daily Telegraph
The New South Wales Taxi Council wants to rid the industry of rogue drivers who refuse to take short fares but admits it could take a tougher stand on the issue.
13CABS provides tailored transport solutions to businesses and organisations. The first available taxi will be sent to your pickup address. Your IP Address will be stored for booking security 40.77.167.118. MTData Online Driver Training. If you have a genuine concern about a person's medical fitness or competency to safely drive a motor vehicle, you can confidentially report them by completing an Unsafe Driving Report. The report can be submitted at a service centre.If you've witnessed unsafe driving and the driver is unknown to you, you need to raise the matter with the NSW Police Force.
News.com.au has been inundated with stories from readers who have criticised cab drivers for driving off on jobs that aren’t going to get them a decent fare.
But readers say the problem was complaints often fell on deaf ears.
“The ‘Taxi Council’ is actually a huge part of the problem,” said one reader.
“Did absolutely zero for years — them and their partners never disciplined drivers. As an owner I can tell you that there are drivers working for the biggest Sydney taxi company who have multiple complaints.”
Another reader said, “The moral is the taxi industry has no shortage of feedback on what needs to change for them to remain competitive but they refuse to act.”
The industry’s peak body admitted the regularity of taxis rejecting short journeys and leaving passengers stranded was widespread and pleaded with customers to report rogue drivers in an industry that faced fierce competition with ridesharing apps.
The NSW Taxi Council says it could take a tougher stance on drivers refusing fares based on their distance. Picture: iStockSource:istock
“People have been complaining about this for years and been raising it with the taxi industry,” another reader said.
“You know what, you didn’t care then so what’s going to be different now?
“The only difference now is that there is a better model that you DON’T want to compete with because you're a lazy expecting industry.”
But the body’s deputy chief executive Nick Abrahim told news.com.au there were procedures in place to stamp out the behaviour.
He said drivers who wanted to be affiliated with them had to complete a one-day education and training session on order to get their driver ID.
Mr Abrahim said any driver who was reported for avoiding short fares would be pulled in and given a counselling session if they were a first-time offender.
Repeat offenders could face instant dismissal.
![Complaints Taxi Drivers Sydney Complaints Taxi Drivers Sydney](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125806889/218729254.jpg)
RELATED: Taxi drivers launch $500 million class action court case against Uber
Mr Abrahim admitted that ever since the transport regulations were changed in November 2017, the complaints process had been harder.
“The rules of the game have changed with regards to how a customer makes a complaint,” he said. “It’s a tighter and more informal process.”
Complainants used to be able to report issues to the NSW government directly but now they have to go straight to the taxi company.
Mr Abrahim said he’d like to see the system introduced again.
“Everyone in the chain needs to do their part,” he said.
“The accountability needs to happen on all levels. The message needs to get through that we want to stamp out this behaviour and in some cases we need to get tougher.”
Mr Abrahim implored people to ensure they were taking down as many details of offending drivers as possible so they could be found.
Before raising a safety issue with the Commissioner, constructive steps should be taken to contact the service provider with a view to them addressing the matter. That is why it is important for you to note the details and name of the service provider that you booked the service through or to take note of the name of the taxi service provider when you hail a taxi or take one from a rank.
These steps include:
- reporting the issue verbally to the service provider
- reporting the issue through the service provider's website/online feedback mechanism
- reporting the issue to the police of the safety issue was serious, for example, you believe the taxi driver had been drinking.
If these courses of action are unsuccessful, you can contact the Point to Point Transport Commissioner's Industry Contact Centre for assistance on 131 727 or by using the Industry Contact Centre online feedback form on the website www.pointtopoint.nsw.gov.au/contact
In order to action your complaint, the Commissioner will need information that allows us to:
![Complaints Taxi Drivers Sydney Complaints Taxi Drivers Sydney](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125806889/782470438.jpg)
- Identify the service provider (such as the taxi company or hire vehicle/rideshare company) - please include any action that you have taken to resolve the issue with the service provider.
- Identify the exact nature of the safety issues/concerns for example:
- the date, time and place where the issues arose
- what actually occurred and who was involved
- the identification of the driver
- the identification and contact details of any witnesses
- any photos taken including details of who took the photo, time, date and place where the photo was taken
- if the driver issued you with a receipt, a copy of the receipt
- any other information that will assist us to respond appropriately to the safety issue is also appreciated.
Authorised Officers will not reveal the source of the complaint/request to the service provider involved unless you consent or unless this is required in order to resolve the issue. If you choose to remain anonymous when speaking to us, it is not possible for an Authorised Officer to seek further information from you or provide feedback.