Taxi customers to fork out more under proposed fee increase

The NSW Taxi Council is calling for a four per cent fare increase across the board, 2GB revealed this morning.

This would mean the initial fare amount would increase from $3.60 to $3.74, while the per-kilometre fee would increase from $2.29 to $2.38, host Ben Fordham said.

And wait times would rise from 94 cents per minute to 97 cents per minute.’

NSW Taxi Council CEO Nick Abrahim said in the time taxi drivers had not had a pay increase, the consumer price index had lifted 27 per cent.

“Let’s just give (taxi drivers) a modest relief to at least help them,” he told 2GB.

He said recent years had been among the hardest ever to run a small business, including for taxi drivers.

“We want to ensure that we maintain financial security for the passengers, that’s absolutely paramount,” he said.

But he said taxis were operating at an unfair disadvantage compared to ride-share operators.

Abrahim told Fordham that a ride-share operator in Temora was paying $4000 in comprehensive insurance for a three-car operation, while a cab company with the same amount of cars in the area was paying $10,000.

There are likely to be changes on the way for NSW taxis regardless of the fare increase outcome.

Abrahim said state Transport Minister Jo Haylen had referred to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for a broader review of rank and hail fares in the coming months.

“It’s probably going to be the biggest review of fares in taxi history,” he said.