The Outcome of the NSW Upper House Inquiry

They double dip the Taxi Drivers and the public!?!

You are welcome to examine the entire Submissions to the NSW Upper House Inquiry re Taxi Industry at your convenience.

Specially please pay attention to this little calculation!

Some lucky people were given 100 taxi plates for free by the government!

Say each plate is making $500 per week.

100 plates making 100 X $500 = $50 000 per week

Now the question is where are the money?

These good Samaritans supposed to be assisting the disabled people! But, they do not!!

They double dip the Taxi Drivers and the public!?!

When disable people do not get taxis, the good Samaritans blame the “wogs” and workers! Thus in a way they are getting away with murder.

NSW Upper House Inquiry re Taxi Industry submissions are interesting!

This is your country. Stop this injustice and day light robbery.

--- In Sydney_TaxiCorruption@yahoogroups.com, "komolarani@..." wrote:

Re: Summary of Recommendations

Recommendation 7 was voted 3:3! Mostly Labor party voted against further Inquiry because they may fear something! Anyway, later the President of the Inquiry did cast his vote with the negative camp!! It is strange they voted against the public interest and to protect the mafia.

Summary of Recommendations

Recommendation 7 Page 55

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure take no further action in respect of the Nexus scheme licences.

Please remember most of our recommendations are accepted despite taxi mafia's billion dollar assets and illegal and immoral influence.

Labor Party President Steve Hutchins took the bribe and he is making desperate efforts to protect the taxi mafia and particularly Peter Hyer and Reg Kermode!

These criminals robbed public assets and NOT providing service to disabled people! They have been using racism, sectarianism and boring worker bashing to hide their crimes.

We have to expose their crimes further.

--- In freeamericanow@yahoogroups.com, "Biplobi Faruque" wrote:

NSW Upper House Inquiry re Taxi Industry

Summary of Recommendations

Recommendation 1 Page 40

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure limit the number of licences an applicant, or related applicants, can receive in future licence allocations, to one.

Recommendation 2 Page 40

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure disqualify individuals or entities that currently own 10 or more licences from participating in future allocations of new licences.

Recommendation 3 Page 40

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure adopt a ballot system for allocation of future licences to qualified applicants.

Recommendation 4 Page 43

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure investigate the establishment of a taxi licence seniority register for drivers with an exemplary service record that may be used in future licence allocations.

Recommendation 5 Page 45

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure employ more compliance officers to conduct regular and unannounced inspections of taxis in New South Wales and officers be provided with a comprehensive compliance checklist.

Recommendation 6 Page 45

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure conduct an audit of all vehicles in the NSW taxi fleet, with the audit commencing in January 2011.

Recommendation 7 Page 55

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure take no further action in respect of the Nexus scheme licences.

Recommendation 8 Page 65

That the Minister for Transport pursue an amendment to the Passenger Transport Act 1990 to remove the requirement that taxi networks must have the capacity to provide coverage to the entire Sydney metropolitan area, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and that taxi networks have a redirect mechanism for out of area bookings.

Recommendation 9 Page 66

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure undertake a thorough review of all of the regulations governing the operation of taxi networks, with a view to removing any further barriers that may preclude new networks from entering the taxi industry and encouraging the entry of new taxi networks into the industry.

Recommendation 10 Page 72

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure introduce varied changeover times as part of taxi licence conditions and regulations.

SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE NSW TAXI INDUSTRY

Report - June 2010 xxi

Recommendation 11 Page 75

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure examine the merits of allowing greater flexibility in the type of vehicle that can be used as a taxi, subject to safety and security requirements.

Recommendation 12 Page 75

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure explore the feasibility of introducing a greater number of peak period taxi licences.

Recommendation 13 Page 84

That, following consultation with industry stakeholders, NSW Transport and Infrastructure increase the number of taxi ranks in locations with significant passenger demand.

Recommendation 14 Page 84

That, following consultation with industry stakeholders, NSW Transport and Infrastructure increase the number of secure taxi ranks at weekends and during times of high demand for taxi services, such as during the festive season or special events.

Recommendation 15 Page 87

That, subject to the successful trial on the NSW Central Coast, NSW Transport and Infrastructure introduce pre-payment of fares for late night travel across the Sydney Metropolitan Area.

Recommendation 16 Page 87

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure undertake a community awareness campaign to inform prospective passengers of the introduction of pre-payment of fares for late night travel.

Recommendation 17 Page 91

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure determine what equipment is needed to automatically issue an itemised receipt at the end of each taxi journey, with a view to making this a requirement in all taxis.

Recommendation 18 Page 103

That the Minister for Finance request that the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation review, in light of general level of service fees charged across various industries, the 10 per cent surcharge levied on the electronic payment of taxi fares.

Recommendation 19 Page 103

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure investigate whether there are actions that can be undertaken by the Department to regulate electronic transaction fees within the NSW taxi industry.

Recommendation 20 Page 104

That a feasibility study be undertaken into a NSW government-run licensed and regulated payment system that is part of the planned integrated public transport ticketing system.

Recommendation 21 Page 119

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure develop a 10-year plan to increase the percentage of wheelchair accessible taxis from the current 11 per cent to a minimum of 50 per cent of the NSW taxi fleet, and that where there is only one licensed taxi in a geographic areas, it must be a wheelchair accessible taxi.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Inquiry into the NSW taxi industry

xxii Report - June 2010

Recommendation 22 Page 119

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure establish a service agreement for the use of taxi services in community transport programs.

Recommendation 23 Page 124

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure include in the key performance indicators for the wheelchair accessible taxi fleet a mechanism to accurately capture information on the experiences of wheelchair accessible taxi passengers, including waiting times.

Recommendation 24 Page 124

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure require providers of wheelchair accessible taxi services in regional and rural areas to provide six-monthly reports on their key performance indicators.

Recommendation 25 Page 130

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure immediately implement a revised Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Measurement Protocol, based on the three dimensional cube.

Recommendation 26 Page 130

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure conduct an audit of all wheelchair accessible taxis to identify vehicles that are non-compliant with the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport, and revoke the wheelchair accessible taxi licence if the vehicle is still non-compliant within three years.

Recommendation 27 Page 130

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure provide financial incentives to operators of noncompliant vehicles to modify their vehicle to meet the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport as soon as possible.

Recommendation 28 Page 130

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure conduct an annual inspection of the wheelchair accessible taxi fleet, to ensure continued compliance with the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport and the regulations.

Recommendation 29 Page 137

That the NSW Minister for Transport request the Australian Transport Council undertake a feasibility study into the introduction of a universally accessible taxi fleet in Australia, and as part of this study examine ways in which the standard taxi fleet can be upgraded to be wheelchair accessible taxi compliant, including financial incentives.

Recommendation 30 Page 141

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure direct the Zero200 booking service to create and implement ways to allow pre-allocation of booking requests at the time a booking is made and to allow pre-booking of regular trips.

Recommendation 31 Page 141

That, subject to privacy considerations and the consent of passengers, NSW Transport and Infrastructure request that the Zero200 booking service to investigate how to retain customer information, such as a requirement for a certain type of vehicle or pick-up procedure.

SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE NSW TAXI INDUSTRY

Report - June 2010 xxiii

Recommendation 32 Page 143

That the Minister for Local Government request local councils to undertake a review of taxi ranks in their area to determine rank accessibility, and identify areas where improvements can be made.

Recommendation 33 Page 144

That the Minister for Transport amend the parking regulations to allow wheelchair accessible taxis to stop for up to 15 minutes in disabled parking zones and in loading zones to set-down and pick-up passengers with disability.

Recommendation 34 Page 146

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure consult with Vision Australia to determine ways to improve the accessibility of taxis for people with vision impairment.

Recommendation 35 Page 150

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure increase the value of the subsidy provided by the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme to half the total fare, up to a maximum value of $50.00 per fare.

Recommendation 36 Page 150

That the Premier request the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to consider the value of the subsidy provided under the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme as part of its annual review of taxi fares.

Recommendation 37 Page 152

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure expedite the introduction of an electronic card system to facilitate payments made under the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme.

Recommendation 38 Page 155

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure require all taxi drivers to undertake disability awareness training, including training in assisting people with intellectual disability, vision impairment, and people using guide dogs and assistance dogs, as a compulsory component of the driver-training program.

Recommendation 39 Page 155

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure ensure that people with disability are involved in the development and delivery of disability awareness training programs for taxi drivers.

Recommendation 40 Page 158

That the Premier request the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to consider the value of the subsidy provided by the Taxi Driver Incentive Scheme as part of its annual review of taxi fares.

Recommendation 41 Page 160

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure establish a publicly available register of taxi licence owners by July 2011.

Recommendation 42 Page 163

That the Minister for Transport, through NSW Transport and Infrastructure, publish all of the reports and reviews that have been conducted into the NSW taxi industry.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Inquiry into the NSW taxi industry

xxiv Report - June 2010

Recommendation 43 Page 167

That the Minister for Transport investigate the feasibility of establishing an independent regulator to monitor administration and enforcement of the regulatory framework in NSW.

Recommendation 44 Page 175

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure undertake a community awareness campaign to encourage more people to provide feedback to the Customer Feedback Management System.

Recommendation 45 Page 175

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure establish a specific unit within the Customer Feedback Management System to deal with complaints about taxi services for people with accessibility issues.

Recommendation 46 Page 175

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure publish disaggregated performance data on the basis of network, geographic area and time of day.

Recommendation 47 Page 176

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure finalise and implement key performance indicators for regional and rural taxi networks, to commence in July 2011.

Recommendation 48 Page 176

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure undertake an annual, independent and random survey of customer satisfaction and publish the results of that survey on their website.

Recommendation 49 Page 176

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure examine ways to measure the performance of rank and hail taxis as part of its assessment of the performance of the entire NSW taxi industry.

Recommendation 50 Page 179

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure finalise the re-establishment of a taxi advisory committee, to meet regularly and report to the Director General of NSW Transport and Infrastructure on its deliberations, and consisting of a broad range of stakeholders, by December 2010.

Recommendation 51 Page 188

That the Minister for Transport pursue an amendment to the Passenger Transport Regulation 2007 to require all taxis in the NSW fleet to be fitted with GPS devices.

Recommendation 52 Page 201

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure review the current driver training program and increase the amount of time that is allocated to teaching about occupational health and safety as well as industrial rights issues.

Recommendation 53 Page 201

That the Minister for Industrial Relations request that the NSW Industrial Relations Commission review the Taxi Industry (Contract Drivers) Contract Determination 1984, to reflect the current needs of the NSW taxi industry.

SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE NSW TAXI INDUSTRY

Report - June 2010 xxv

Recommendation 54 Page 211

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure review the new specifications for security cameras to ensure that the most technologically advanced cameras are installed in all NSW taxis, and that footage generated by those cameras is retained for a minimum of 60 days.

Recommendation 55 Page 212

That the Minister for Transport pursue an amendment to the Passenger Transport Regulation 2007 to increase the penalties faced by taxi operators if their vehicle is identified as unroadworthy.

Recommendation 56 Page 217

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure, together with the Roads and Traffic Authority, undertake a review of current parking and driving regulations that affect taxi services, with the aim of facilitating greater ease of pick-up and set-down of passengers and enabling taxis to drive

along transit ways.

Recommendation 57 Page 219

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure review the content of the driver training course to include information about insurance rights and responsibilities as a compulsory component of the course.

Recommendation 58 Page 219

That NSW Transport and Infrastructure send information to all licensed taxi operators reminding them of their obligations in relation to insurance and their responsibilities in relation to insurance excess.

Recommendation 59 Page 219

That the NSW Transport and Infrastructure prepare plain English information sheets outlining a driver's rights and responsibilities in regard to insurance issues for distribution to drivers.