IPART has invited community feedback on proposed maximum fares for rank and hail taxi services before making recommendations to the Government.
Tribunal Chair Carmel Donnelly said, “Maximum fares protect passengers who might not have the option to shop around for point-to-point transport alternatives”.
“If you catch a taxi at a rank or hail one in the street, the driver must activate the meter and cannot charge you more than the metered fare,” she said.
Ms Donnelly said IPART found that demand for services and supply of services are generally in balance at current fare levels, except for 3 situations:
- Drivers are reluctant to supply services to passengers travelling short distances;
- Passengers leaving Sydney Airport can get a taxi immediately, but taxis queue for excessive amounts of time and there are reports of over-charging; and,
- Passengers who require Wheelchair Accessible Taxis (WATs) are having to wait too long and may not get services at all.
Ms Donnelly said that IPART’s draft recommendations aim to address these 3 situations. The Tribunal has recommended:
- increasing flag fall from $3.60 to $5.11 in urban areas and from $4.10 to $5.11 in country areas, and reducing the distance rate after the first 12km from $2.29 per km to $2.11 per km,
- a trial of a fixed all-inclusive fare of $55 from Sydney Airport to the CBD (postcode 2000). IPART was specifically asked by the Minister for Transport to consider the pricing methodology for fares from Sydney Airport,
- allowing maxi taxis requested at Sydney Airport ranks to charge a surcharge even when carrying less than five passengers,
- requiring taxis to provide passengers itemised receipts including vehicle and driver identification.
IPART found that the additional ‘lift fee’ of $15 paid by the NSW Government to drivers for each wheelchair passenger trip taken was not enough to provide adequate service levels, especially for short trips. The Government is increasing the lift fee to $25 this month and IPART endorses that in their Draft Report.
IPART’s Draft Report is available at www.ipart.nsw.gov.au. Submissions on the draft proposals are open until 1 April 2025, and an online public hearing will be held on 10 March. IPART’s Final Report will be delivered to the NSW Government in May.
Media Contact: Candy Nahnsen, 0427 105 865, media@ipart.nsw.gov.au