Government cracks down on cabbies

Taxi drivers who charge illegally high fares and refuse passengers have been put on notice by NSW Transport Minister David Campbell, as he announced a state-wide crackdown during the holiday season.

“Between today and 3 January 2010, officers will undertake a blitz to assist people moving around the city,” Mr Campbell said.

Compliance Officers will be looking out for taxi drivers who take part in “taxi touting”.

“Taxi touting is when a taxi driver demands an illegally high fare, or when one is offered by a passenger,” Mr Campbell said. “Taxi touting is illegal and it won’t be tolerated.

“Touting also includes destination shopping, which drivers know is illegal.”

The NSW Taxi Council welcomed Mr Campbell’s announcement. “Most taxi drivers work in a professional and honest manner, but of course there are a small minority who don’t do the right thing,” a spokesperson said.

According to the spokesperson, the Taxi Council will be launching a public education campaign in the coming weeks that will aim to equip passengers with their rights as consumers. This will include information on correct meter settings.

Taxi driver Parham Bakhtiari said passengers rarely know what the correct meter settings should be and are vulnerable to being over charged. “I think they leave it up to the honesty of the taxi driver,” Mr Bakhtiari said.

“I think it’s very easy for a taxi driver to rip somebody off if they want to. It’s very rare for someone to know if there’s something wrong.”

He welcomed the government crackdown on shonky cabbies. “Because they are giving us all a bad name. So if they take them out, the public will have more of a trust in us,” Mr Bakhtiari said.

Minister Campbell urged people experiencing taxi touting to call the Taxi Hotline on 1800 648 478.

by Ehssan Veiszadeh