‘Enough is enough’: NSW Government Under Pressure to Compensate Taxi Licence Owners
Steve Kamper MP (right) has been a campaigner for taxi licence owners like Kerry Koliadis (right) for years. Photo: John Veage.
The NSW Government is facing increased pressure by thousands of Taxi licence owners as they demand fair compensation for financial losses incurred since the introduction of rideshare services to the transport industry.
The NSW Transport Minister, David Elliot, has presented a new proposed compensation package to the state Premier, Dominic Perrottet, and Treasurer, Matt Kean, this week.
“I want to make something that’s going to be fair to the consumers, fair to the Taxi drivers and of course, see the transition as swift and as painless as possible for those that have lost money,” Mr Elliot told 10 News First on Tuesday.
This news comes after a proposed $1 billion compensation package by Mr Elliott was left out of the state budget handed down on Tuesday, June 21.
Under the proposal, compensation payments for NSW taxi licence owners who were impacted by the introduction of ride-share services like Uber to the transport industry, were set to increase from $20,000 to $200,000.
These increased payments would be funded by an extension to the $1 passenger service levy, currently applied to every trip in a Taxi or ride-sharing car.
The proposal was seen as a step in the right direction towards fair compensation for Taxi licence owners, but its exclusion from the state budget angered the Taxi industry, its members and supporters.