It’s been
almost 6 years since I drove a taxi. A number of things have changed within the
industry since that time. First and
foremost, there are now three taxi companies operating within the region. Aerial Capital Group, the former majority
player in the industry, which operates Canberra Elite and Sliver Service, is
still operating but is no longer the major player. The major player is ACTCABS, which started
operating 8 years ago, has approximately 45% of taxis operating in the
region. EZYCABS, another new player, has
around 25% of the taxis on the road. There
are also a small number of independent taxis (around 10) which are not linked
to a network. Cabexpress, which was a
small company operating up until recent years, has folded.
How is
business? Not as bad as I was expecting.
I thought UBER would have totally killed the point to point transport
market for taxis but there a number of passengers who have told me they hate
UBER not only because profits go out of the country, but also because they don’t
like price surging and that UBER drivers don’t have the same regulatory
requirements that taxis have to comply with.
Also
relevant is the fact that 90% of fares are either been paid by the government
or company, not by the passenger themselves.
And if they are paying, they can claim the fare on tax. I have also noticed that there has been an
expansion of the Taxi Subsidy Scheme (TSS) , whereby the government pays 50% or
75% of the fare for the elderly or disabled.
When I was driving 6 years ago, I would did around 2 TSS fares a week, but now I do 2 TSS fares,
on average, per shift.
Another thing
I have noticed, is the increase in fares from the Canberra Hospital and the
North Canberra Hospital. I have been out
to Yass Hospital from the Canberra Hospital, transporting an elderly gentleman. Another driver has been down to Bega from the
Canberra Hospital, a fare that is over $600.
It seems that hospital management
have decided that it is cheaper to transport passengers home and between
hospitals, rather than by ambulance patient
transport.
