Over 50 state and federal members of parliament have signed the NSW Taxi Industry pledge, seeking to secure a better operating environment and compensation for taxi license owners impacted by state government reforms.
The NSW Taxi Council said taxi licence owners lost the value of their licences after the NSW Government changed the rules governing the point-to-point transport industry in 2016 and legalised rideshare operations.
The NSW Taxi Industry pledge supports the continuation of the Passenger Service Levy to ensure taxi licence owners receive “fair and proper compensation” for their losses on all licences and demands a “viable, affordable, regulated and reliable taxi industry that is available to all passengers in all areas of NSW”.
Some local members who have signed the NSW Taxi Industry pledge include State Member for Wallsend Sonia Hornery, State Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp and State Member for Charlestown Jodie Harrison.
State Member for Wallsend Sonia Hornery lamented the loss of the licence value that NSW operators had experienced and said many licence holders were people who had come to Australia to build a better life for their families.
“They planned on using the value of their licences to fund their retirement after a lifetime of hard work,” Hornery said.
Craig Richards from the Taxi Owners Small Business Association explained that taxi businesses first encountered difficulty when rideshare companies entered the market in 2014 before the state government “pretty much deregulated the industry overnight”.
“All business models in the point–to–point transport industry should have the same rules and regulations, and the legislation to date hasn’t provided for that,” Richards said.
An independent report commissioned by the NSW Taxi Council and the Taxi Owners Small Business Association concluded that over $1.5 billion was decimated from the value of licences across NSW due to the government’s 2015/2016 deregulation reform process.
He said the solution to repay operators and “restore the financial dignity for 5,000 small businesses” within the industry was simple.
“We’ve created a funding model of how that money can be paid to the industry through the government over the next 15 to 20 years without any net cost, and that’s through the Passenger Service Levy,” Richards said.
The Berejiklian Government introduced the Passenger Service Levy in 2018 that adds one dollar to every taxi and rideshare fare across NSW.
“In a good year that brings in 75 to 80 billion dollars to the NSW Government,” Richards said.
Hunter cabbies describe disappointment
Richards said rideshare companies entering the market saw some plates in Newcastle worth $225,000 to $250,000 reduced to zero.
“We’ve had locals in the business who eight years ago were looking to retire, however now some of those people are still working 50 to 60 hours a week in a business that they can’t compete in due to the rideshare model,” Richards said.
“They’re still trying to pay that debt off.
“Sadly, I’m aware of instances in the Hunter where some of those people have passed away, and their taxis are sitting out the front of houses with a family left with a business now worth zero, nobody to operate the licence for them … some families still have a debt on that business.”
Selena Harp, who owns two licences and has operated in the industry for over a decade, said government decision-making had caused “nothing but heartache” for local cabbies.
“Overnight it went from a brilliant business to something that was losing money … licence values dropped immediately, and our takings halved,” Harp said.
“For two plates, I paid $380,000, and overnight some people were offering me $30,000 for one and $10,000 for another.”
Harp lamented the painful process to access compensation so far and explained that it was too difficult for local drivers where English wasn’t their first language to fill out basic forms.
For some licence holders, the process had proved too overwhelming.
“Taxi owners have taken their lives, people have lost their homes … everyone is in so much debt over the reforms,” Harp said.
She said that when owners initially bought licences, they were under the impression that their investment was secure.
“You looked at licences like superannuation or an investment property – when you retire, you can lease the plates out,” she said.
“We know there’s no guarantee when you buy a property, but when we bought the plates, we signed a contract with the government that said we would be the only point–to–point service provider.”
She said the worst part of the mental anguish was the “betrayal” of the state government, who heavily regulated the taxi industry while giving the green light for rideshare competitors to operate freely.
A fellow plate owner, who only wishes to be known as Rod, urged Novocastrians to support local taxi services.
“You’ve got to consider that all those fees that rideshare charges, like their 25 per cent surcharge, all that money is going overseas whereas when you catch a taxi, that money is staying in Australia,” Rod said.
Licence owners reject newest reform proposals
Richards said the two owners were among 5,000 small businesses affected across NSW.
“These businesses employ drivers, operators, and if you include their families, we’re looking at this poor policy setting affecting more than 100,000 people across NSW,” he said.
He criticised recent reform proposals and said one of the latest examples the government had offered was the cancellation and compensation of $50,000 per cancelled licence, capped at two licences.
“It’s akin to the government saying to the people of NSW we’re going to take your house off you, but we’re going to offer you less than 15 per cent of the market value of that property, but if you want to, you can lease it back off us for an annual fee.”
Among other proposals is the removal of the current cap on taxi licences state-wide and the elimination of current regulations restricting taxi movements throughout areas.
If adopted, Richards said many small businesses would fail, and the impacts would come full circle.
“And once those small taxi businesses collapse, who will be providing and funding transport in those areas?” Richards said.
“The government will have to step in and pay the bill.
“If the taxi business model collapses, or the reform process isn’t right, and people walk away from the industry, the rideshare business model will have the monopoly and prices could triple if there’s no competition in the marketplace.
“We need to get the reform process right to create a viable and sustainable taxi business model that can compete over the next 80 years.”
Maia O’Connor