August 2007

THE BOTTOM LINE IS PEOPLE

By the time this edition of Taxi Talk is “in your hot little hand”, the Minister for Public Transport, Lynne Kosky, should have announced the eagerly awaited taxi driver safety initiatives package. If she hasn’t, then it won’t be far away.

At the time of writing this article, the final briefing of the VTA is yet to take place and hence the ever important detail is a little unclear.

But it does seem that a commonsense approach has been taken by recognising that taxi driver safety is not something that can be improved and maintained with a “click of the fingers”.

It appears that it has been recognised that the relationship which exists between a taxi driver and his or her passenger or passengers can be extremely different for hire to hire, and that no one “fix” covers all circumstances.

More work can be done to identify progressive improvements in the physical environment within a taxi, but more importantly, much more work needs to be done in respect to the far more fundamental and complex societal environment.

After all, the major driver safety issue is the anti-social behaviour of a small number of passengers, and the lack of resources within enforcement agencies to adequately respond to incidents.

We shall soon see.

Taxi Talk readers will have noted that I have written much about the role the VTA has to play in the wider spheres of transport (particularly people transport), infrastructure, planning, and the environment.

In the people transport sphere, it is essential that the taxi industry recognises that it plays an important role, but not a lone role. The transport sphere today is complex and requires service type providers to be innovative, collaborative, integrated and focused on the transport for people outcome.

This why I continue to browbeat taxi operators and depots across Victoria to get out and about with their local transport providers, organisers and users. This why local involvement with the new Transport Connections projects should be right at the top of the “must do” list.

One only has to see what has happened in the Newcastle region of New South Wales.

ComfortDelGro Cabcharge Australia (CDC) (of which Cabcharge owns 49%) has now acquired the business and associated assets of Toronto Bus Services. This acquisition brings together Toronto Bus Services, Sugar Valley Coachlines and Morisset Bus Services together into the growing CDC operation and increases CDC’s share of the NSW commercial bus transport to 24%.

In announcing the acquisition, Cabcharge executive chairman, Reg Kermode, said there are a number of synergies in the joint acquisitions of Newcastle Taxi Cabs by Cabcharge and Toronto Bus Services by CDC. Mr Kermode said that the opportunities to integrate our Public Transport services in the Region are almost endless.

Whilst I have been an advocate of providing people transport as an integration of modes, ComfortDelGro Cabcharge is actually doing it. No doubt Australia, and probably many other places, are watching with extreme interest to seeing the theory is put into practice.

In the meantime, the VTA will continue to press for the inclusion of taxis in the wider people transport sphere and will continue to browbeat country taxi operators and depots to get involved in their local transport arrangements.

Neil Sach
VTA CEO