Taxi changes will improve services

[Buzz Killington]

Released 17/01/2011

A range of new measures to provide Canberrans with an improved taxi service have been announced by the ACT Government following a comprehensive review of the ACT industry.

Chief Minister and Minister for Transport Jon Stanhope said the changes will significantly improve services to the ACT community, visitors to the Territory and users of wheelchair accessible taxis, in particular.

Key measures to be implemented include:

    * the release of at least 25 new standard taxi plates and four new wheelchair taxi plates in 2011;
    * annual increases in taxi licence numbers to ensure that taxi supply meets demand;
    * the introduction of a centralised booking service for wheelchair-accessible taxis to improve reliability and service quality;
    * improving taxi driver training standards; and
    * enhancing compliance activity to ensure high standards of service to taxi users.

"Canberrans and visitors to the ACT deserve the best taxi service possible and these measures will help us achieve that," Mr Stanhope said.

"At the end of last year, TAMS provided me with the Taxi Review Report which set out 61 recommendations, the overwhelming majority of which have been adopted by the Government, drawing on analysis provided by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and stakeholder views," Mr Stanhope said.

Mr Stanhope said he appreciated the concerns within the taxi industry about increasing the number of taxi licences. However, the number of taxis per capita in Canberra was low compared with most other Australian capital cities and there were still opportunities for the taxi industry to recover lost market share and meet latent demand.

"The number of new licences the Government will initially release is slightly lower than the 30 recommended by PWC, in recognition of the viability concerns the taxi industry has raised," Mr Stanhope said.

"However, the Government has reserved the right to release more licences if the industry's performance is not meeting the reasonable expectations of residents and visitors to the Territory."

Mr Stanhope said improving services for users of wheelchair taxis was one of the major objectives of the taxi review.

"The new centralised booking service, which will be funded by the ACT Government and modelled on a similar arrangement in Adelaide, is expected to provide significant improvements in wheelchair taxi services," Mr Stanhope said.

"It will ensure that operators and drivers of all wheelchair taxis provide disabled taxi users with a reliable taxi service.

"It is simply not acceptable that users of wheelchair taxis are not able to fully participate in community life because they cannot be sure if a wheelchair taxi will be on time, or even show up at all."

Mr Stanhope said the review had been a highly consultative process with valuable participation by the taxi industry, taxi users, including groups representing people with disabilities, and the business and tourism sectors.

"I would like to thank all those who provided submissions and information to the review."

Mr Stanhope added, "I understand there may not be unanimous support for some of the recommendations coming out of the review.

"However, I look forward to continuing to work with the industry and taxi user groups to implement the review outcomes as effectively as possible. It is in the interests of all parties that we have an efficient, reliable and viable taxi industry and work collaboratively to achieve that."

[Buzz Killington]

Followed today by this:


Released 18/01/2011

The Canberra Liberals' shadow member for transport has shown he has no grasp over even the most basic aspects of his portfolio after comments he made to the local media on the ACT Government's review of the taxi industry, Chief Minister and Minister for Transport Jon Stanhope said today.

"Alistair Coe is supposed to be the Canberra Liberals' 'go to man' when it comes to transport issues but apparently cannot even get the basics right," Mr Stanhope said.

"Yesterday, he told members of the media that the ACT Government had yet to release the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) analysis of the Territory's taxi industry; this is the same report that is on the front page of the Department of Territory and Municipal Services website.

"This is the same report which, in draft version, the Government made widely available to taxi industry, wheelchair accessible taxi user groups and business sector participants during the taxi review.

"And this is the same report which formed the basis of the taxi roundtable meeting of all stakeholders in September last year.

"It seems that everyone in Canberra who has an involvement or interest in the taxi industry is well aware that this report has long been in the public domain in one form or another - everyone that is except Mr Coe.

"How can Canberrans have any faith in the ability of the Canberra Liberals' transport spokesman when he gets something as basic as the release of a report so comically wrong?"

Mr Stanhope said Mr Coe's uninformed comments were the latest in a worrying trend of Canberra Liberals making jaw-droppingly inappropriate statements.

"Only earlier this month we had the Opposition's spokesman on health and corrections, Jeremy Hanson, claiming that the transfer of HIV and Hepatitis C was only a 'small problem'," Mr Stanhope said.

"With Mr Coe's comments on the PwC report, it must be worrying for the leader of the Canberra Liberals, Zed Seselja, to see two of his senior colleagues showing they are completely out of touch and out of their depth when it comes to their portfolios."

[Buzz Killington]

And Coe hits back:

Another blunder by Mr Stanhope...
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

This morning, the Chief Minister put up a pathetic release on his website.

You would think Mr Stanhope would have better things to do than write releases like that. It was simply a ploy to try and distract the media from the Auditor-General's report slamming the ACT Government on its management of the health system and the Health Minister.

Mr Stanhope's pathetic release included:

Yesterday, he [Alistair] told members of the media that the ACT Government had yet to release the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) analysis of the Territory's taxi industry; this is the same report that is on the front page of the Department of Territory and Municipal Services website.

Mr Stanhope, when was the PricewaterhouseCoopers report put on the TAMS website?

A few clues:

   1. The document properties of the files on the TAMS website say the files were created yesterday
   2. The report was only put on the front page of the TAMS website yesterday after I had called for its release
   3. In spite of the Chief Minister saying that the report was available since November, members of the taxi industry hadn't seen the report in December and had to demand a copy

This is yet another example of deception and shocking consultation by ACT Labor.

The taxi industry and the Canberra community deserve a better response from the Government.

[p_stampy]

When is the next election? Can't we sms to remove people or something...