On 14 September 2024 “Canberra Times” correspondent, Lucy Bladen posed the question –

“Will integrity matter on October 19?”  

In response I drafted the following to enlighten her of the government’s non caring attitudes and plight of a number of people who had been playing a vital role in the provision of public transport, in the form of taxi services, that thereby satisfied a basic government responsibility for them to do so.

Therefore, on behalf of 170 odd business people (owners of 217 taxis) and their families, who were badly treated by Messrs Barr and Rattenbury and the ACT Labor Green Government, their treatment by these men now needs to be told.

One should understand some background and appreciate the governments’ position with one of its primary responsibilities being among others to provide public transport went resulted in the creation of transport networks for both the operation of buses and taxis.  The government bought buses which they continue to own and staff them with drivers who became members of the ACT owned “company” now known as the ACTION bus company.  Conditions of service of the drivers was / is determined by the government always answering to the demands of the strongest and most powerful union in the territory.

The other form of government public transport responsibility lay in the provision of a regulated taxi service owned and operated by private enterprise.  The number of taxis was strictly controlled by the government’s periodic release of plates to meet growing public demand.  Initially, some (very few) taxi plates were allocated by ballot.  Later it was determined to release plates in parcels at periodic public auctions.  The government at all times controlled, by regulation, the operation of taxis to ensure standards of public safety by ensuring both vehicles and driver standards of performance.  They also determined from time to time, upon application, taxi fare increases to meet running costs in keeping with CPI increases.  Drivers had to be trained, tested and licenced to government standards to ensure public safety.  It was an industry in which plates were bought and sold with government backing for their future continuance as being on-going ventures with appropriate returns for those investing in plates.

Annual excessive registration and insurance costs were required to be met by owners.  Yet plates sold by the government or later transferred in ownership were regarded as being “perpetually” owned private numbered taxi plates.  With population growth, (most marked between 1970 to 2010) the number of taxi plates released and sold by government also increased.  Their values also increased over that time too from $80-90K to $250-300K and it was stipulated that ownership was to be limited to just two plates per owner.  Plates were also allowed to be leased by owners to drivers for terms ranging from 2-5 years with annual lease fees climbing to around $20K pa.

Plates sold at the last auctions conducted in 2007 for as much as $300K for it was understood, as stated above, that the taxi industry had government backing and assurances for future operational benefits.  Many owners mortgaged their residence and /or sought bank loans to purchase plates with banking support and understanding of there being a soundness in their investment.

As the population grew from less than 20,000 in 1926 to what it is today so too the number of plates from around but a few (ten) to 217 perpetually owned plates up to 2007 that, without any increases since, remain the number today.  With the growth of the number of plates the need for drivers needing continual training to standards was also necessary.   Plates could be leased out to drivers who earned an income from 50% of the fares taken during their shifts worked.  They could also be leased to drivers wanting to undertake the full operation of plates over terms of 2-3 years.  Such lease fees were set at around 20K per annum.  Owners and / or operators of the plates were required to provide the vehicle and meet all other running costs, fuel maintenance base fees etc.

Then, around 2010 the ACT government decided to enter the ACT taxi industry as a player by releasing some taxi plates periodically directly to drivers to lease for token lease fee amounts of around 50% of that usually paid and sought by private owners at the time.

This situation continued until the unexpected announcement by the ACT government that they intended UBER to operate legally in the ACT territory.  The “feather bedding” of the UBER operations became quickly apparent by the government demonstrating a disparity in the absence of regulation of both UBER vehicles and drivers.  (It was strongly rumoured at the time that UBER executives “sold” their case to the ACT government after some monies had changed hands to close the deal that allowed UBER a much sought after victory in having a government body accept their presence in their territory which permitted them to operate legally for the first time internationally.)

CHECK OUT UBER GATE, Mark MacGann, Uber’s former Chief lobbyist in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa leaked a staggering 124,000 records spanning 2013 to 2017.  It was during that period 2015 that the small inane (on world standards) government of the ACT – Messers Barr and Rattenbury beat their chests claiming to be the first jurisdiction in the world to permit UBER to operate legally within their territory.  The modis operandi for UBER was to seek out small not very powerful jurisdictions where they were heavily regulated to burst through government and their red tape.        

As the government had by that time decided that they would not sell any future plates at auction or otherwise the need for more taxi plates needed to meet public transport demands would in future be released by the government for their own control and lease in competition with the small number of remaining plates privately and permanently owned by members of the ACT public.  Those were/are the plates still owned but struggling to survive under what can only be seen as government maladministration, lack of integrity and morals in the absence of any acceptable business acumen whatsoever.

Here is a case where the ACT Government became a major player in the taxi industry by releasing plates for their direct release to drivers for lease at their ridiculously low set annual leasing rate of just $5K pa undercutting industry leasing standards that had been long set.  They became a major player by having more taxis plates at their disposal to release at their leisure thereby outnumbering those privately and perpetually owned by people who had bought their plates from the ACT Government with assurances of their longevity as worthwhile and ongoing enterprises.  The plates leased by the government resulted in a surge of nationals arriving from outside the territory with little or no driving experience or skills with little or no training as taxi drivers.

Similarly, with the arrival of UBER to operate saw many gravitate to the territory with the view of prospering using their own car in an environment fostered by the ACT government.

In very short time from the arrival of UBER and the flooding of taxi plates at ridiculously reduced lease fees the ACT government rendered perpetually owned and operated taxi plates worthless and economically unviable.  The plates, sold by government for as much as $300K, then owned and once valued like any property have fallen dramatically in value to as low as $20K.  With no buyers wishing to take up ownership in competing with a monopoly government, in full operational control of the taxi industry, it is not at all a bright picture for the future of those owners who had suffered losses and financial ruin.

At that time the government was asked to consider just two responsible options that would be seen as being both reasonable, ethical and appropriate (given their original sale of the plates with assurances).  They were: –

1. To enter into negotiations to “buy back” the 217 privately and perpetually owned plates at varying valued amounts from owners. This would allow the ACT Government to then entirely own the taxi industry as they do the buses in their responsibility to provide public transport.  The figures of $150K – $200K could have / should have been seen as being just compensation for those indebted with monies still owed to creditors.  But NO, the government was of the view then that their priority lay with the creation of a tram line from Gungahlin to Civic and later beyond and have no such financial resources to cope with what would have amounted to a sum of about $32-44M.
2. In the event of their deciding not to “buy back” then the second option was to compensate 217 owners for losses of income from the reductions in lease fees that then became applicable with the government setting lease fees at just $5K PA. That figure of just $4.34M one would have thought possible for government to meet.

Against those options presented one should consider the appropriateness of their response given the ACT government, since the arrival of UBER and their becoming a major player in the taxi industry, they: –

1. Received annually from the Federal Government over $1 billion in the form allocated GST revenue raised for the benefit of taxpayers in the ACT. It would seem that Messrs Barr and Rattenbury became very heady and clouded for better judgement given the thought of establishing and spending all their new found monies on trams to nowhere.
2. Also given if they had agreed to Buy Back plates as proposed at the time then they would not be so concentrated in undercutting the privately owned plates as they then did to render them valueless but they could then set more appropriate lease fees in the amounts previously set instead of the ridiculous $5000 pa that would have then generated continual regular income from taxi operators’ lessees they then leased directly to. Where once lease fees would amount to some around 2K pm, or 26k pa. the initial fees set by the government, when they began leasing directly, was half of those amounts.  Given ownership of 400 – 500 taxis under their control one has to consider how much the ACT was /is prepared to sacrifice as legal income revenue raising from lease fees they would have then gleaned – something in the order of $2-5 million pa.

You see in the world outside the ACT Government i.e. in the world of private enterprise – there are provisions in the ACCC Act for court action to be taken, when a player in an industry becomes a major player in the market place, and then, sets rates that then determine what the market rates will be, and those new imposed rates result in forced undercutting of the rates of all others in the market place, for them to seek compensation, penalise and rectify unjust situations that arise in the industries market place at large.

But alas the ACT government as such is beyond the scope of the ACCC Act and cannot be prosecuted under it being a government body. 

What the government did was to announce to the world that they were the first territory or state in the world to legalise the running of UBER.  They may have been thinking about the tram that may be thought as being the way of the future and that they were being progressive in providing new novel types of public transport much of which is now unregulated and operates with less safety assurances as drivers, new and untrained, take up residence in the territory.

The ACT government, as taxi operators themselves, who had opened the door for UBER to operate, then had a clear and more responsible option to simply buy back the taxi plates that they had sold to people and the take full ownership of taxis operations.  That option they ignored.  An alternative would also have been to compensate owners for their losses, particularly those left to pay back loans with less income to do so.  That option, they also decided not to do.

Turning their back on those who had bought from them, and been regulated by them, the way they did was /is unpardonable, unacceptable and totally lacking any remorse or integrity. It is the reason why I left the territory after 50 years to take up residence away from them.

What has happened with the now global arrival of UBER to the taxi industry has also been a globally tragedy.  In 2015 when Barr and Rattenbury beat their chest announcing UBERS legal arrival into the territory plans to cut the taxi services once commonly praised and accepted as being the best in Australia were set in place.  Their control and entry into the market place grew and undercut the taxi plate services of those plate owners who had bought their plates from them.

The saddest aspect of the ACT government’s conduct is found when one understands that all other Federal Labor Government administered states DID compensate taxi plate owners and the numbers involved were considerably more in their thousands that the 170 or more private owners of perpetual plates granted in Canberra.

Philip M. Button

Former Founder and Chairman

ACTTPOA

(ACT Taxi Plate Owners’ Association)

Ph Mo. 0451 683 683

(Please feel free to contact me if you need to query or need more information.)

(One should understand the unethical method adopted by UBER executives and their connivence to burst through small naïve governments (such as the Barr and Rattenbury government) was doubly distressing as the impact resulted in the undermining of what was considered nationally as being one of the best taxi services in the country.  The plates owned and operated proudly by their owners were immediately devalued as the government turned away from their previous regulated standards and showed less concern about the public travelling in safety and service.

The financial management abilities of both Barr and Rattenbury leave me chilled.  Their holier than thou attitude to flit away taxpayer monies as they have over their extended terms together in government have thrived without integrity or moral fibre.)

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ARTICLE EXTRACT:

The ACT Government has increased its offer for the buyback scheme for hire car licences.

Last September Canberra’s Limousine Association rejected a $2.2 million plan to buy back plates, saying it was not enough.

Urban Services Minister John Hargreaves says the new offer increases payments to between $100,000 and $120,000 depending on the initial price paid.

He says the buyback is voluntary and those who do not want to sell their plates can continue to operate.

“What we’ve seen now is a recognition that the hire car industry ought to receive proper compensation for the lack of confidence in that industry, which has resulted in the need to restructure it,” he said.

PRIMARY SOURCE: ABC NEWS – Posted 11 Mar 2005 

The post Govt stretches hire car buyback offer in 2005 but ACT taxis BUYBACK REJECTED by Minister Steel appeared first on ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association (ACTTPOA).

The post 25 perpetual plates not registered in ACT – on the shelf 1 July 2023 appeared first on ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association (ACTTPOA).

TAXI FARE RAISE HAS NOT HELPED PLATE OWNERS PAID IN LEASE FEES!!

The new fares commence 22 November 2022.

Please see attached Schedule to the Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Maximum Fares for Taxi Services determination 2022 (No 1) for details regarding the pricing for the new fares or see instrument at Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) Maximum Fares for Taxi Services Determination 2022 (No 1)

https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/View/di/2022-252/current/html/2022-252.html
Schedule 1 – Increase in Taxi Fares

Schedule 1

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In response to this NSW announcement, ACTTPOA is calling on the Barr Labor Government to repair the damage done by the on demand transport passenger vehicle reforms stated in the 2015 Taxi Industry Reforms. For taxi licence lease fees, they were halved in 2016, and halved again in 2017.

The consequences of the reforms have been far-reaching. Today, the industry is in mayhem, with illegal touting plaguing public events, widespread non-compliance, and a severe shortage of drivers in Canberra ACT.

Taxi licence holders in ACT continue to face financial devastation when the Government dropped government lease fees down to $5000 per annum. This has negatively impacted on taxi plate values, now only a fraction of their value. Plate owners have lost their financial independence, their superannuation, and their incomes. Many are still paying legacy debts for an asset that is virtually valueless.

NSW has set the standard that ACT should rise to meet and offer equitable compensation or a non-taxable assistance package of $76 million. A small price to pay by the ACT Government for the damage caused. This can be accommodated by a $1 levy which has been successfully implemented in NSW, Victoria and WA.

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Portfolio Committee No. 6 – Transport was established to inquire into and report on any matters relevant to the public administration of:

Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport

Metropolitan Roads, Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence

Regional Transport and Roads

Transport, Veterans, Western Sydney

Please note, following the establishment of the Portfolio Committees in the 57th Parliament portfolio allocations between committees have changed. Please contact the secretariat if you need assistance to find information from a previous Parliament.

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/listofcommittees/Pages/committee-details.aspx?pk=198

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What happened to the to compulsory third-party insurance (CTP) reforms for ACT  commercial ride-sharing vehicles to ensure there is a  real level playing field for taxis, hire cars and ride-sharing vehicles?

The extreme importance of hard-working Australian taxi owners in ACT areas being united, communicating with each other, placing pressure on the State Government and other politicians to change their position and keeping you up to date with developments and other parties who become involved in our plight.

Taxi Owners cannot live off their investments in retirement

The truth is that hard working Australians who purchased taxi plate licences in ACT as part of their superannuation and retirement are financially and emotionally suffering due to the ill advised decisions made by the ACT State Government. And to make it worse, to date have continued to fail on the delivery of any assistance package or compensation. Many of our ACT taxi licensees have been under tremendous pressure due to this onslaught of an unequal level playing field competition from app-dispatched services.

The harsh reality

ACT Taxi place license holders/owners in the Canberra now realise that the value of their investment, livelihood and income are being destroyed by the lack of consultation, transition, and proper planning by the ACT State Government and other politicians influenced by the multinational conglomerate UberX and other commercial ride-sharing transport suppliers.

The post What happened to a fair CTP for taxis in contrast to ride-share? appeared first on ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association (ACTTPOA).

But in a flash, his investment lost more than 75 per cent of its value and now he risks losing his house.

Taxi drivers claim the ACT Government’s decision to slash the cost of leasing plates from $20,000 per year to $5,000 per year massively devalues their investments.

Perpetual taxi plates, like those owned by Mr Ngep, have not been sold to individuals since 1995, and many owners saw them as a safe investment for their futures.

Despite paying more than half a million dollars for his two plates, Mr Ngep would be lucky to sell them for $125,000 today.

Mr Ngep said he did not want a government handout and thought he was doing the right thing by investing in a business.

“What skill do I have now? I put my life into taxi driving and investing in the plates for my superannuation and my retirement,” Mr Ngep said.

“I can’t imagine lining up for a pension payout at Centrelink and I couldn’t live on it anyway.”

Mr Ngep has been driving taxis in Canberra for more than a decade and said he now had to work harder than ever to make ends meet.

“I’m paying very minimal repayments at the moment because I need my house for my kids to live,” he said.

“I get up at 4:00am every morning to come out and drive for 10 to 12 hours just to keep the repayments going.

“It’s put a lot of stress on my life.”

Mr Ngep was just one of 170 people who had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, seemingly overnight.

Andrew Demetrios originally bought his plates for almost $280,000, but said they were now worthless.

“I could have bought a house instead,” Mr Demetrios said.

“But instead my life savings has disappeared.”

Government accused of devaluing investments

Minister for Business and Regulatory Services Gordon Ramsay said the Government’s decision to reduce cost of leasing the plates added more competition to the market and gave Canberrans more options.

“We want to make sure that people here in the city, who live here and travel to here, are able to get around the city,” he said.

But the ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association accused the Government of using manipulative tactics to “dominate” and “monopolise” the taxi industry.

The post Canberra taxi drivers despair as Government decision sends plate values plummeting appeared first on ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association (ACTTPOA).

Reported in Canberra Times by Steve Evans February 19, 2019, earlier, the members of the ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association heard Opposition Leader Alistair Coe address their meeting and promise that if the Liberals gained power the territory government would compensate them for the cut in the value of their assets.

The devalued assets consist of the right to run a taxi – the taxi plate.

Way before Uber hit the taxi industry, the investors, many of them now far beyond working age, bought taxi plates for up to $250,000 each. Some bought several plates, sinking more than a million dollars into what seemed like a rock-solid investment.

They say they aren’t blaming Uber, but are blaming the ACT government for reacting to it and other car-sharing enterprises by, as they see it, flooding the market with more taxi plates.

The ACT government said it released more plates to make it easier for taxi drivers to compete with Uber and similar enterprises.

The taxi plate owners argued that they acted in good faith on the basis of a promise made by the government.

They said people in a similar situation in other states had been compensated.

And they said that social clubs which surrender pokie machines will be compensated for their loss under a different government policy, and so asked why the same wouldn’t apply to them.

Earlier, the members of the ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association heard Opposition Leader Alistair Coe address their meeting and promise that if the Liberals gained power the territory government would compensate them for the cut in the value of their assets.

The devalued assets consist of the right to run a taxi – the taxi plate.

“The actions of the ACT government amount to theft of people’s life savings for no good reason,” association chairman Petar Ivanovski said.

He was particularly angry at the Greens, who he said had social justice enshrined in their charter.

He said the ACT government owed the plate owners $76 million.

The protesters left invoices for that amount in the assembly.

Mr Coe told the group that if he and his Liberal colleagues were in power, compensation would be forthcoming.

“The government has broken faith with ACT taxi plate owners who are now looking for justice and a fair go,” he said.

“The Canberra Liberals recognise the valuable contribution of taxi drivers in the ACT. That’s why today we are committing to compensate taxi plate owners on just terms, if elected.”

The post ACT Taxi investors lobby for $76 million compensation appeared first on ACT Taxi Plate Owners Association (ACTTPOA).

That package of reforms and their impacts have been formally evaluated, with extensive input from industry and the community.  The ACT Government has taken up most of the formal evaluation’s recommendations for follow-on reforms. 

We would like to invite you to provide input on the following questions regarding four potential follow-on reforms:

1. What factors should the Government consider when thinking about increasing or removing the regulated caps on standard-taxi and wheelchair accessible taxi (WAT) supply?
2. Should any environmental conditions, such as fuel type or efficiency, be applied to future on-demand transport vehicles?
3. Can booked services fares be deregulated now, with the deregulation of the taxi licence cap, or later?
4. How should we determine the annual increase in regulated taxi fares? Cost composite model, CPI or another method?

These are complex issues, which could have impacts for on-demand transport industry users and members across the ACT. Given this, we have decided to conduct a dedicated consultation process with a focus on these four key questions.

You can read more about this consultation and background information in a discussion paper [pdf] [word] (also attached), and at the following YourSay link: https://yoursay.act.gov.au/on-demand-transport-reform.

The following roundtable session is being held for members of the on-demand transport industry:

Date:                     Wednesday 5 December 2018

Time:                    11.00AM – 2.00PM

Location:             Level 1, Bullan Meeting Room 4

Nature Conservation House

Cnr Emu Bank and Benjamin Way, Belconnen

To RSVP for the session, please respond via return email to RegulatoryReform@act.gov.au by Friday 30 November. We strongly encourage you to read the discussion paper prior to the session to enable informed discussion.

The Government would like the on-demand transport industry in the ACT to provide the safe, affordable, accessible and quality services that consumers want now and in the future.

We welcome your views and strongly encourage you to participate in this consultation.

Regards,

The Regulation and Productivity Team

Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate

ACT Government

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