P O Box – 349
Alexandria – 2015
Mobile: 041 091 4118
Review of 2008 Taxi Network Performance Standards Transport NSW
Locked Bag 5085
PARRAMATTA NSW 2124
A Submission Re Taxi Network Performance Standards
Preamble: All moving vessels like plane, trains, ferries, trucks, buses, taxis must be declared as workplaces and the Duty of Care Provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Acts must be enforced without any fear or favor. We taxi industry activists have been asking all relevant departments including the NSW WorkCover Authority, NSW Attorney General, NSW Minister for Industrial Relations and NSW Minister for Transport to remove any and all ambiguity and enforce the Duty of Care Provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Acts for the last twenty years. It appears our cry for help has fallen to deaf ears.
Then again Australia got a tradition to send her own children to die for somebody else like Afghanistan, Iraq, … and thus in a way the militaristic jingoism overtaking the reality. Unfortunately taxi workers’ fundamental rights like working in a safe workplace and safer work practices were also sacrificed for greedy taxi companies’ profit!
This is harsh, unjust, oppressive and unacceptable. Sadly, current review ignores the most vital issues such as the Duty of Care Provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Acts and it is fundamentally flawed.
Historical Information: Justice Edwards, Justice Beatie and many decent authorities consistently made recommendations to provide protection to bailee taxi drivers similar to all other workers.
Earlier we made submissions to appropriate law reform committee to remove any and all ambiguities regarding the Duty of Care Provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Acts in the taxi industry and enforce them without any fear and favor.
Mr. Ian Ramsey, the then General Manager of the NSW WorkCover Authority wrote me to assure that we bailee drivers are covered by the Duty of Care Provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Acts. However, the then Attorney General Jeff Shaw QC wrote to me and he informed that due to bailor bailee relations the law is not clear.
Today, we are in a limbo and we do not know whether we are covered or not!
Vital Issues
Bailee Taxi Drivers’ Safety: Taxi Networks/Communication Networks are the lifeline of baile taxi drivers. Properly functioning safety and communication equipments, well trained network staff and user friendly procedures can save life. The long overdue LAW must ensure that the taxi networks adhere to this fundamental principle.
Legally Sanctioned Protection: Taxi Networks/Communication Networks are protected species. Whether someone likes it or not the compulsory network membership and thereby financial gain of the networks are guaranteed. However, these networks are not answerable to anyone. They can charge whatever they like and they do not justify their charges.
Anti-Public Elements Enshrined in Law: The networks rundown their services to maximise their profit margins contrary to public and bailee drivers’ interests. Legally Sanctioned Protection to the Taxi Networks/Communication Networks guarantees their income. Therefore Anti-Public Elements Enshrined in Law must be removed to bring some fairness and public good.
To the best of my knowledge, the “contractor” failed to contact all stake holders and therefore the closing date of the submission should be extended for a good public participation.
Asking taxi networks to broadcast this information to ensure mass participation is also a good idea.
Sincerely Yours
Moderator
Friday, November 12, 2010
--- In Sydney_TaxiCorruption@yahoogroups.com, "Biplobi Faruque"
Review of 2008 Taxi Network Performance Standards
ISSUES PAPER October 2010
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Context to this paper 3
3 Key Issues 6
Appendix A Key Performance Indicator current definitions 19
Review of 2008 Taxi Network Performance Standards PricewaterhouseCoopers
1
Introduction
Terms of reference
Transport NSW has engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to carry out a review of current taxi network performance standards to ensure that taxi services provided by networks are reliable and timely, thereby encouraging passenger demand and taxi use, and flowing through to improved returns for drivers, operators and the industry generally.
The key tasks for the proposed review are:
1. What should the standards be?
2. Should standards be different for peak and off peak times or for different geographic areas (within or between different areas of operation)?
3. How should performance against the standards be measured?
4. Are the current key performance indicators (KPIs) still relevant; should some be amended, deleted or some added?
5. Should some of the current KPI definitions be further clarified to ensure consistency in reporting by taxi networks?
6. Should the bar be raised in some cases?
7. Should standards differ for small, medium and large networks?
8. Should authorised country networks be required to comply with performance standards? If so, what standards should apply to them?
This Issues Paper has been prepared by PwC on behalf of Transport NSW to obtain views on the appropriateness of current standards by reference to the above issues. Feedback is encouraged from all sections of the taxi industry, taxi passengers and user groups.
The questions in the Issues Paper have been prepared to assist the public in their written submissions.
Review of 2008 Taxi Network Performance Standards PricewaterhouseCoopers
1 Introduction
How to participate
Interested parties are invited to make written responses to the questions raised in this Issues Paper.
We would prefer to receive them by email: taxinetwork@....
You can also send comments by fax to (02) 9891 8999, or by mail to:
Review of 2008 Taxi Network Performance Standards Transport NSW Locked Bag 5085 PARRAMATTA NSW 2124
Submissions will be received until 5.00pm, 16 November 2010.
Submissions will be published on the Transport NSW website so please indicate if you wish your submission not to be published.
Review of 2008 Taxi Network Performance Standards PricewaterhouseCoopers 2
Context to this paper
Context to this paper
Typically, taxi networks are cooperatives or companies which operate or access a booking service to receive bookings from intending passengers and dispatch those bookings to taxis attached to the network or offload them where necessary.
It is estimated that network bookings (whether made by phone or online) represent 20% of total taxi hirings (IPART, 2008 review of taxi fares in NSW-final report), with a higher proportion in country areas. Other taxi trips are made by hiring a taxi from a rank, street hail or a private booking made directly between the passenger and the driver.
Taxi networks may also provide a range of other commercial and support services to the taxi industry. However, the focus of regulation relates to delivery of services to passengers and for the safety of taxi drivers.
Network providers are required to be authorised by the Director-General of Transport NSW and all taxis must be affiliated with an authorised taxi network to support the provision of booked taxi services that are timely and reliable.
As part of their authorisation, urban taxi networks are required to report their performance against various standards and levels of service on a monthly basis by the 14th of each month.
The authorised urban taxi networks operating as at August 2010 are:
| Sydney Taxi Networks | Standard Taxis | Wheelchair Accessible Taxis | Total Taxis attached to taxi network |
| Taxis Combined Services | 1,817 | 205 | 2022 |
| Silver Service | 918 | 70 | 988 |
| Premier Cabs | 874 | 82 | 956 |
| Legion Cabs | 448 | 52 | 500 |
| St George Cabs | 198 | 12 | 210 |
| Manly Cabs | 153 | 20 | 173 |
| RSL Cabs | 145 | 4 | 149 |
| South Western Cabs | 83 | 9 | 92 |
| ABC Cabs | 68 | 2 | 70 |
| Lime Taxis | 14 | 50 | 64 |
| Yellow Cabs | 50 | 2 | 52 |
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