Taxi customers, taxi service providers and the community have been invited to provide feedback for a review by the State’s pricing regulator on the maximum fares for rank and hail services across NSW.
IPART chair, Carmel Donnelly, said fares for taxi services from ranks or hailed from the street are regulated through the Point to Point Transport Fares Order (2023).
“The Minister for Transport has asked IPART to investigate and make recommendations on the maximum fares for rank and hail taxi services which Transport for NSW will consider when setting the new maximum fares which will apply from 1 July 2025,” Ms Donnelly said.
“The first step is to determine the sector’s current conditions and whether healthy market competition exists. We’ve released a call for submissions highlighting key questions for stakeholders to help inform our review.”
“We’re inviting people to give us their views on whether current fare levels are appropriate, on the cost of providing taxi services, the industry’s ability to provide wheelchair accessible services, and on other issues outlined in the call for submissions.”
Fares for booked taxi trips were deregulated in 2017 under NSW Government reforms to create an equal playing field with booked trips for hire cars and rideshare.
Ms Donnelly noted the differences between the market for booked taxi services and rank and hail services. “Taxis are the only service able to pick up passengers from ranks or be hailed from the street, so maximum fares for these services have remained regulated to protect customers from being charged excessive fares,” she said.
“Our review will also cover maxi-taxis, wheelchair accessible taxis, availability, affordability and the differences between country and urban areas of NSW.”
“We will be consulting taxi operators, drivers, peak bodies, and existing and potential users of point to point transport services in a variety of ways over the coming months before we release a draft report in December for further feedback.”
Full details of the review are available at ipart.nsw.gov.au. The submission process will close on Friday 20 September 2024.
Media Contact: Mark O’Brien
0427 105 865
media@ipart.nsw.gov.au