Transport Alliance Australia (TAA) held a free Operators' Forum last month and its keynote speaker was Bill Faeth. Bill teaches entrepreneurs, business owners and high performance leaders how to build and scale profitable businesses without sacrificing family.

At the TAA Operator's Forum, Bill highlighted the fact that we need to keep in touch with our clients. He even suggested that we should call our top 20 clients this week and ask them how they are doing. How they are coping and offer to help them in any way possible. It is this phone call that will be remembered post COVID-19, and it just might be for your betterment. ​

COVID-19 Passengers should travel in WAV or HOV

"There are quite a number of Victorian taxi and ride share drivers who are feeling frightened/put in danger, by transporting passengers in the front seat of the vehicle and also those who are going to a COVID testing station.

I think that Victorian passengers should not be allowed to travel in the front seat of a taxi or rideshare - just like it is in many other Australian states.

Also if there are more than 2 passengers travelling
in the taxi - then they should travel in a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) or High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV). This way social distancing can be maintained...
​

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."