Victorian government have announced a $22.7million COVID-19 assistance package for the CPV industry – one of the largest support packages in the country for the taxi and hire car industry and it will be implemented in August 2020.

It includes:-

• Doubling the wheelchair lifting fee from $20.80 to $41.60 per lift for accessible vehicles
• Increasing the MPTP fund from 50 percent to 70 percent
• Subsidising taxi drivers $250 per month for each active operational taxi vehicle

Nelson Bay Taxi driver Meri Robinson went above and beyond the call of duty recently and the result of her actions is a life saved.

Meri who works for Nelson Bay Taxis in NSW was scheduled to pick up a regular elderly client at 8.15am in the morning. The client had booked the pickup the night before to get to her medical appointment.

When Meri turned up at the residence to pick up the passenger, things did not look quite right. Meri Robinson would usually arrive at the residence of her passenger and normally the front door would be
open with the walker ready to go at the bottom of the stairs.

The overhaul of the taxi and on-demand transport industry in Western Australia has entered its third and final stage.

The transition to passenger transport driver (PTD) authorisations completes the reform package that has been implemented over the last two years under the Transport (Road Passenger Services) Act 2018.

The reform has seen on-demand booking services, vehicles and now Passenger Transport Drivers require authorisation and to accept new safety obligations and responsibilities.

WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti says, "The historic on-demand transport reforms we have implemented have delivered a safer and more accountable industry for passengers, drivers and other road users."

Every Australian State and Territory has rules regarding the calibre of people allowed to work regularly with children. ACT and Tasmania even extend this rule to include those who work with adults who are disadvantaged, and the applicant must pass a Working With Vulnerable Persons (WWVP) check. In the other States the applicant must undergo and attain a Working With Children Check.

The government requirement for drivers of taxis, hire cars, limousines and ride-share vehicles (industry drivers) in Australia varies from State to State. ACT, South Australia and Tasmania require all industry drivers to have a WWVP or WWCC. Yet in all other States and NT the industry drivers are only required to have a current WWCC or WWVP if they are providing a service that is specifically for children.