Page 10 - drive a2b march 2020 web

NEW
SOUTH
VICTORIA
WALES TRANSPOR T ALLIANCE AUS TRALIA (T AA )
NEWS
NEWS

Independent

taxis in

Victoria total

around 2000

here are so many independent taxis
running around, plying for work,
looking for that elusive hail - which
Tappears to be getting rarer each day.
They are sitting on the CBD and inner suburban
ranks, waiting at Melbourne Airport, waiting,
waiting. There are approximately 2000 of these
independents, roaming the streets of Victoria.
André Baruch
President, Transport Alliance Australia
By independents I am referring to the unbooked commercial
passenger vehicles (aka taxis) that don't belong to one of
the major metropolitan Booking Service Providers, namely
Silver Top, 13cabs, Crown Cabs, Black & White Cabs, Oiii
and the major rural, urban and country Booking Service
Providers. By the way, Booking Service Providers is the fancy
name the regulator came up with to replace Network Service
Providers, which replaced Networks, which replaced Depots
and Groups.

Many owners have recently chosen to move away from the
big Booking Service Providers (BSP) because they are not
getting enough work to justify the fees they are paying to
belong to the BSP, and are optimistic that they can make
more money doing rank and hail work.
An independent taxi is not required to carry any external
signage - it only needs its VicRoads issued green taxi number
plate. Yet even though it is not regulation that they affix
a taxi dome light to their roof, many of the independents
choose to do so. I suppose that's a good thing. But any
other external signage on these independent taxis is virtually
non-existent.
10 DRIVE A2B magazine · March 2020