QTLOA is against TMR’s key focus points
By Kirra Livingstone
The Queensland Taxi Licence Owners Association (QTLOA) says it would be premature to issue an additional taxi licence in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland without significant reforms to the taxi and rideshare sectors.
QTLOA CEO Paul Scaini said that while one taxi licence is available in Maleny, there are already sufficient rideshare drivers servicing the area. He added there is enough demand to keep the current licence holder profitable.
“I understand that Maleny’s taxi service is quite profitable, and when people say there needs to be another service, I’m telling you it doesn’t,” Mr Scaini said.
He noted an extra licence would financially benefit the owner—who receives an additional $1000 per month for every cab on the road—but it would not be viable for drivers operating in the area.
“If there was another taxi service working in Maleny, it would affect the viability of the existing service,” he said. “The exception would be if the additional taxi service was granted to the guy who owns the taxi licence.”
Mr Scaini also argued that rideshare platforms like Uber should be subject to the same regulatory framework as taxis.
“We contended to the government and to TMR that what they should do is say from Bribie Island and north, that Uber should not be allowed to operate unless they operate through a licensed taxi,” he said.
He said stronger regulation for rideshare services would better support drivers.
“I think TMR needs to limit the amount of commission that booking companies like Uber can charge their workers,” he said. “At the moment there is no cap, and they normally fall around the 30-odd per cent.
“We advocate that 10 per cent is a more reasonable amount, and this would allow the drivers to keep 20 per cent more of their takings each trip. Maybe 5 or 10 per cent of that could come to owners to pay for their investment in the entire transport scheme.”
Mr Scaini was critical of the state government’s ongoing review into the taxi licensing framework.
“The review is nonsense. It’s been going for years and was started by the Labor party, and we told them that the parameters and the scope of the review was so narrow they couldn’t address or fix anything,” he said.
“They need to ensure workers get paid a reasonable rate of pay and ensure licence owners are compensated for their investments.”
A Translink spokesperson did not confirm if they will change regulations so rideshare service drivers need to hold a taxi licence.
“All personalised transport operators, whether they are taxis or booked hire service providers such as Uber, must comply with transport regulations to provide services safely in Queensland,” they said.
These regulations include holding a valid driver’s licence, obtaining a booking entity authorisation, and mandatory security camera installation in their vehicles.
