Australia’s tourism and transport sectors have called on the Federal Government to conduct a national review of the structure of the taxi industry.
Managing Director of the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF), Christopher Brown, today said a national review was needed to lift the standard of taxi services across the country.
“Tourism and Transport Forum has conducted a survey of 220 CEOs across the tourism, aviation, transport and events industries, and we found a high level of discontent with taxi services in Australian cities.
“Over two thirds of CEOs said they were dissatisfied with the taxi industry, and 83 per cent of CEOs said they supported industry reform to open up greater levels of competition.
“The consensus is that drivers are not properly trained, cars are not kept clean and tidy, and booking services are unreliable.
“State Governments have tied to lift industry standards, through the introduction of accreditation schemes and other measures.
“But the problem lies with the structure of the industry itself.â€
Mr Brown said the poor standard of taxi services was a major concern for the tourism industry.
“Visitors are particularly reliant on taxis to get around, and the tourism industry is sick and tired of having to apologise to visitors for the shocking inadequacies of taxi services.
“The taxi industry needs to shaken up from top to bottom.
“The industry has shown that it won’t reform itself.” “It’s time to wheel out the big guns.”
“The Federal Government can get the ball rolling by commissioning a serious national review of taxi operations, leading the way for meaningful structural reform of this underperforming industry.â€
A Report by The Mole
