Yesterday Melbourne Airport announced provisions for the access of ride sharing providers effective today, following the changes to licensing resulting from passage of the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Bill 2017.
In an environment where ride sharing services have been legalised, Melbourne Airport must make provision for the access of all legal commercial passenger vehicle services.
Taxis will continue to have exclusive access to the prominent curb-side location on the inner lane of the forecourt.
UberX will be charged a fee of $4 plus GST to access the public pickup lanes, which is greater than the fee imposed on taxis ($3.58). More information here.
Access arrangements announced yesterday represent a fair outcome for all providers of commercial passenger vehicle services, by far the most favourable of any announced at airports around Australia, and position taxis to compete strongly for the customer.
We urge drivers considering protest action to focus on customers - inconveniencing passengers will only encourage them to seek alternatives.
Media coverage on the issue last night and today, talkback and emails received by the VTA reflect the disgust of passengers who feel taxis are punishing customers for simply having to compete with new competitors.
We understand this has been a long road and the changes underway in the industry are very confronting.
However, with the legalisation of ride sharing services, their access to the airport is inevitable and the conditions that have been imposed on them are fair. Any response which pushes customers into the arms of our competitors will only worsen the impact on taxis.