13 April 2011

Taxi ballot goes gangbusters

| johnboy
Join the conversation
5

Chief Minister Stanhope is rather pleased that despite the sob stories of the taxi industry 226 people applied for 41 taxi licences being offered.

“This demonstrates the strong interest in the ACT for people to operate a taxi,” Mr Stanhope said. “The release of these licences will help increase the number of taxis on the roads and provide a better taxi service for all Canberrans.”

The release of the licences follows a comprehensive review of the taxi industry and expert advice from PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Among the review’s recommendations were the release of at least 25 new standard taxi plates in 2011 and annual increases in taxi licence numbers to ensure that taxi supply meets demand.

Mr Stanhope said the ACT Government was committed to ensuring Canberrans and visitors to the ACT had access to a reliable taxi service.

For those trying to do the math there were 25 new licences being balloted and 16 surrendered ones being returned to use.

Join the conversation

5
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest
colourful sydney racing identity10:57 am 19 Apr 11

Jim Jones said :

Silverline said :

Furthermore the majority of people who applied in the ballot are drivers wanting to have a crack at the game themselves in which those cars will not have drivers.

Umm … WTF? Taxis with no cars?

Haven’t you seen total recall?

Silverline said :

Furthermore the majority of people who applied in the ballot are drivers wanting to have a crack at the game themselves in which those cars will not have drivers.

Umm … WTF? Taxis with no cars?

Word is the private taxi plates are leased out ranging between $22,000 and $26,000 +GST per year. So when the government releases plates at $20,000 inc GST some operators if they are lucky to get one in the ballot will swap plates on the cars and return their more expensive plate.

Furthermore the majority of people who applied in the ballot are drivers wanting to have a crack at the game themselves in which those cars will not have drivers.

So in reality due to the reasons mentioned above the amount of taxis on the road at any one time will more than likely be the same.

Felix the Cat11:26 am 14 Apr 11

A lot of people don’t do the sums properly before jumping into a new business. You know how the old saying goes – “A fool and his money are soon parted.”

On the one hand it’s a sign of a healthy industry if heaps of people want to enter it. On the other hand, why did 16 license-holders decide it was no longer worth their while and surrender their plates?

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.