Victorian Taxi Families (VTF) – the group that has spearheaded opposition to the Napthine government’s reforms of the taxi industry – will ratchet up their protests next week by bringing traffic to a halt in Melbourne’s CBD.

VTF organiser Sandy Spanos told Neos Kosmos the group will blockade Exhibition Street outside the offices of the Taxi Services Commission (TSC) at 11 am next Friday; a move that will raise the stakes dramatically in the protracted dispute over the government’s plans for the industry.

The threatened action comes after months of rallies outside the Victorian parliament by taxi licence holders and their families who have seen the value of their licences slashed by new legislation.

Ms Spanos said that of particular concern to the VTF – beyond the issue of plummeting plate values – was the proliferation of illegal taxis operating in Melbourne.

“We provide evidence to the TSC and nothing is done,” said Ms Spanos, who says more than 800 illegal and unlicensed taxis are operating in the city, and that the Commission has turned a blind eye to the problem.

[We] would like to know why the regulator isn’t regulating but acts in a dictatorial manner. Why they don’t act on illegal behaviour?”

Cab It founder Harry Katsiabanis told Neos Kosmos that illegal taxis were rife in Melbourne, and little had been done to enforce regulations against them.
“It’s difficult to police, but it’s been a big problem for years,” said Mr Katsiabanis.

“With no licence, no proper insurance, and no safety checks, these unregulated cabs put passengers’ lives at risk.”

VTF has been critical of the level of consultation awarded to them by the TSC – including on the issue of illegal cabs, and is threatening regular blockades of Melbourne’s CBD.

“We will go further if we’re not heard,” said Ms Spanos.

Last month the TSC made available up to 60 new metro taxi licences via a lottery only open to existing taxi operators.

Commissioner Graeme Samuel said increasing the number of taxis was about improving customer service, but many in the industry have contested the view, saying the evidence shows there is no cab shortage in Melbourne.

VTF says the current taxi occupancy rate of 28 per cent – meaning cabs are empty 72 per cent of the time – proves the problem is not one of supply, but lack of demand.

The licence release is an attempt by the TSC to force taxi licence holders to reduce the price at which they assign their own licences to $22,000 a year.
A swathe of new taxi licences are to become available on July 1, potentially increasing taxi numbers again.

TSC Commissioner Graeme Samuel has defended the release, saying that if assignment prices were not reduced “there would be no choice but to release licences at what is considered to be a fair price. This is the point we have reached,” he told Fairfax Media.

“For too long this industry has thrived on limited competition, and because of that, powerful interests have been allowed to dominate and passengers and drivers have been penalised. The result has been poor service.”

The Victorian Taxi Association has also entered the debate, saying the most important boost for the industry would be to increase fares.
VTA CEO David Samuel said that an “artificially low fare rate” had contributed to a “less sustainable industry.”

Asked for their response to VTF’s allegations – and the planned blockade – a TSC spokesperson told Neos Kosmos the Commission respected the right to protest, but were “concerned if that activity/action prevents members of the public or others from getting on with their day to day business.”

The TSC said that they rejected “any assertion that the TSC has failed to consult with the industry, given the fact that the VTF is represented at the TSC Stakeholder Reference Group and Consultative Committee”, and added that while consultation was an opportunity to influence the outcome of a policy it “may not result in an agreed position”.