New regulations for

PREETI JABBAL gauges industry reactions

nder a new National Standard proposal, new taxi drivers in Australia will have to pass nine competency tests including English and local Geography before getting their Taxi Driver’s license. They will also need to show they know local main roads and attractions, competent use of wheelchairaccessible taxis, customer service and financial record-keeping. The proposal was agreed to by the nation’s transport ministers at the Australian Transport Council meeting in Sydney recently.

According to Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese “This is an important move forward when combined with issues that have been of concern to passengers, also of concern to the tourism industry”. These national standards will apply to all new drivers as of July 1 2010; however, it would be up to the states whether the standards could be applied retrospectively to current drivers, said Minister Albanese. Some states fear an exodus of drivers if governments retrospectively enforce the new standard particularly in Melbourne and Sydney. Considering that the taxi industry in Victoria and NSW is dominated by immigrants who may or may not have the desired language skill how welcome is the new proposal by people in the industry?

HOSNI SAMAAN

Liaison officer for Cabbie Activity and Recreation Association, Victoria Hosni is a taxi operator and driver. He operates a green top taxi (peak service taxi)

Most of the National standards agreed to, by the nation’s Transport Ministers, are already implemented in the state of Victoria - e.g. English, road Geography and Maths. How much can a new driver learn within a few days? New drivers can only become experienced drivers by hitting the road not by memorizing more maps. Perhaps the only thing needed in the taxi training courses is a tough driving test to make sure that the person behind the wheel is responsible enough to serve the public.

NITIN GUPTA

Member, Liberal Party

Nitin is a local businessman and operates under Ausindo Exim Pty Ltd. He has driven taxis in the past and is still involved with the industry as a supporter.

These new measures are a step in the right direction. But what is disappointing is that once again the Taxi Drivers have been kept out of the whole discussion/ decision making process. The Melbourne City Council led by Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and Cr Ken Ong has taken the right decision to involve taxi drivers in all taxi related meetings and discussions, and they are getting fantastic outcomes by the inputs from taxi drivers. The State Labor Government in Victoria needs to do the same. It should involve taxi drivers in active discussions, and take inputs from them. Some taxi drivers should have been appointed as Ambassadors, rather than just the bureaucrats. State Government Funding needs to be given to VTDA and CARA so that driver welfare activities can be started. And most importantly, the driver training in Victoria should be given back to the RTO/TAFE sector. At the moment most of drivers are being trained by Service Providers, so no wonder the quality of driver training is not of very high standard. Once the training goes back to RTO/TAFE sector, I think the training standards will improve remarkably.

ARUN BADGUJAR

President of the Victorian Taxi Drivers Association

VTDA

Arun hails from Kolkata, India and has been driving cabs in Melbourne for many years. He is actively involved in lobbying for Taxi drivers and their safety.

I feel for those who may be disadvantaged due to these new regulations however it will do more good than harm. Currently there are operators who run training schools and churn out new drivers within a short period of time. These regulations and focus on the taxi Industry will ensure these operators do not cut corners in the interest of making money and adhere to all safety procedures. This will ensure that there are fewer problems within the industry. The industry is rife with issues of bigger concern that need to be addressed and lack of language skills can result in further complications. Yes, it may affect some drivers adversely, yes, it may reduce the response to joining the industry to some extent however in the long run it may actually help resolve some of the problems faced by taxi drivers.

Hardev Virk

Hardik owns a taxi and motel business in Melbourne

The taxi industry is dominated by immigrants a lot of them who come from India do not have a problem with English however there are other nationalities that struggle with the language and that has resulted in some incidents. On one hand I think it is an over- reaction to these few incidents that have been publicly reported in the media and the Government is being too harsh. On the other hand I feel this may help alleviate public concern to some extent. It is yet to be seen how much these