Rogue taxi drivers are still being caught refusing to use meters and demanding upfront and excessive payments from customers across Sydney, with calls for the New South Wales government to increase penalties for those fined for the illegal behaviour.
A crackdown on taxi drivers attempting to negotiate fares with customers has so far resulted in compliance officers issuing 155 fines to cabbies, after the former Perrottet government passed laws to give the state’s point to point transport commission stronger powers in November.
Plain-clothed officers are now able to issue the $300 fines. A 24-hour hotline has also received 1,469 fare-related calls during this period.
The enforcement exercise proved successful in dampening the peak in offending behaviour at the end of last year – but while 96 drivers were pinged between late November and the end of December, just 59 fines have been issued this year.
The NSW point to point commissioner, Anthony Wing, has warned a minority of taxi drivers are continuing to breach the law despite his crackdown. Wing said his commission’s “two fronts” approach to the issue, which combined compliance officers hailing cabs on the streets and following up on complaints received through the hotline, “worked very well together”.
However only on-street compliance officers can issue fines. The majority of allegations raised with the commission – through its hotline – are considered resolved once a taxi company has been contacted about a complaint, investigated it, and reported back to the commission and the complainant.
The commission does not fine the company, and a case can be marked resolved without a refund being issued.
Of the 1,469 fare-related calls made to the hotline, 1,106 were considered specifically regarding illegal behaviour including fare refusal, overcharging and failure to use a meter. Just 594 of these cases have been marked resolved.
While complaints peaked late last year, Guardian Australia is aware of multiple reports of meter refusal and overcharging in recent weeks.
Wing said while the spike in noncompliance had been blunted, his commission is still dealing with drivers breaching the law. Taxis hailed from a rank or on the street cannot refuse to use their meter, charge more than the meter amount or demand a fixed fare upfront.
Wing said his commission’s officers have been out in force at taxi ranks and recent major events, such as sporting fixtures and concerts including those from Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran. The upcoming Fifa women’s world cup will be a focus in coming months.
“A driver who wants to do the wrong thing will never know when one of their passengers will be one of my compliance officers. One of the reasons drivers are still doing this is because they think no passenger ever complains,” he said.
“This is a subset of drivers doing the wrong thing. It’s a very popular crackdown with most taxi drivers because the actions of a few are tarnishing the brand of all drivers.”
Natalie Ward, the opposition transport spokeswoman who served as the metropolitan roads minister in the Perrottet government, said the crackdown should be strengthened if needed.
“If the penalties are not acting as a sufficient deterrent, the government should consider how to better enforce them, including increasing penalties as well as any need for additional deterrents to meet community expectations,” she said.
“The vast majority of taxi drivers do the right thing. However, there are clearly some bad apples that need to be weeded out,” Ward said.
NSW’s new transport minister, Jo Haylen, has not indicated she is considering tougher punishments for offending taxi drivers.
“It is good to see that the point to point commission is cracking down on bad operators,” a spokesperson for Haylen said.
“We’ll continue to support the point to point commission’s enforcement actions, and we’ll work with the commission to make sure passengers know their rights, particularly in the lead-up to major events.”
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