NEWS

11 November 2009 (downloads)

Industry Briefing Note re 2009 Taxi Reform Package

Independent Opinion re 2009 Taxi Reform Package

Independent Opinion re PWC Report

2009 Taxi Reform Package Update

27 November 2009

Letter to Members

I would like to personally thank all those members who responded to my letter of 15th October and wrote to and telephoned their local members of the NSW Parliament to express their concerns about the government’s proposed reform package.

As you are probably already aware, our combined and carefully planned efforts have been rewarded in the best way possible with a revised reform package that represents a genuine improvement over the previous system and something we have been advocating for very many years.

I firmly believe that the effort put in by individual members was a key ingredient in convincing the government to continue the negotiations with your industry representatives to resolve the problems that existed in the original proposal.

It was particularly pleasing to see such a large number of members at the Annual General Meeting give unanimous endorsement to the Executive for the steps being taken in dealing with the situation we faced.

Once we were finally able to reach an agreement on the reform package, the necessary amendments to the Passenger Transport Act were passed by both houses of parliament this week, with support from the government and the opposition parties.  Such a positive result would not have been achieved had we not been always advocating a position that was in the interests of the public, our taxi drivers  and of course,  our members.

Key aspects of the revised reform package that apply to the Sydney Metropolitan Transport District are:

• Removal of the previous unproductive open door policy whereby the government could issue any number of taxi licences irrespective of the impact on the industry or the public;
• Adoption of a requirement that the Director-General use measures of demand,  likely  growth for taxi services and industry performance measures in deciding on an annual basis, the ongoing sustainable number  of new unrestricted taxi licences to be issued (after the transitional period to July 2010);
• New licences issued in Sydney will be leased licences only, renewable annually for 10 years.  No further licences will be sold by the Government in Sydney;
• New licences will be issued through public auction or sealed tender at a fee that establishes the  true competitive market price for these leased licences;
• The Director-General will be able to restrict the number of licences issued to individuals or related entities and will be able to determine whether some licences will only be issued to current  taxi drivers (provided they have operator accreditation);
• Grandfathering rights have been given to existing licence holders with licences able to be transferred and sold on the open market;
• A transitional period to allow 100 new licences to be released in the Sydney Transport District prior to July 2010;
• The number to be released in each financial year thereafter will be determined by the Director General and announced in March each year.

The current reform package will not have any immediate impact on the issue of new licences in areas outside the Metropolitan Transport District. However, once the reforms have been introduced to the Metropolitan Transport District, it is the intention that similar reforms, tailored for Country and other urban areas will be introduced. Such reforms will further underpin the stability and financial surety in these areas.

Clearly the revised reform package has resolved the two fundamental concerns we had with the original proposal which involved  the potential release of unlimited numbers of licences, irrespective of demand, at a lease rate fixed by the government.

Once these issues were addressed, we knew the financial viability of the taxi industry, particularly taxi driver earnings and the underlying value in our members’ licences, would be protected.

We believe this represents the most significant reform to occur in the industry in NSW in the past 20 years and we expect that this will set the industry up for sustainable growth for many years ahead.

Full details of the reform package will be available from the NSW Taxi Council website: www.nswtaxi.org.au.

Thank you again for your support and assistance in enabling us to arrive at this solution.

Yours sincerely

Brian Wilkins
President