'Loophole' in taxi regulation leaves disabled passengers at the kerb
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Adrian O'Malley and his daughter were ready to leave Sydney's international airport after coming home from a holiday in April when the taxi driver took their luggage out of the boot and left them at the kerb.
Mr O'Malley, who lives with half-blindness in both eyes and has not been able to legally drive since having a stroke 19 years ago, says the driver told him he didn't have to accept his subsidised taxi card as payment.
The payment, called the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme (TTSS), covers 50 per cent of the fare to the value of $60 using a smart card or paper voucher.
"When the scheme works well, it works well," Mr O'Malley told 702 ABC Radio Sydney.
"When it doesn't, it works terribly. It means people with disability experience refusal of service, they receive abuse, they get kicked out of taxis."
He says this was far from an isolated experience, and it had happened to him at least four times since April.
Mr O'Malley, who works in the disability services sector, says there is a loophole in taxi regulation that allows for the refusal of the TTSS as payment.
He wants to see a clause added to the regulation to prevent taxis from rejecting the TTSS.
"Give me power," Mr O'Malley said.
"There are clauses about not putting the meter on, there are clauses about not accepting fares.
"There’s no clause to make it illegal to accept TTSS in whatever way, be it paper voucher or by card."
Mr Abrahim told ABC Radio Sydney it was more common for drivers to take passengers and then claim to not be able to take the TTSS, which is paid for using a smart card on Cabcharge technology or a paper form carried by the passengers.
Mr Abrahim said he'd like to see what he describes as a "loophole" closed.
"It’s not necessarily a fare refusal, because he’s taking the passenger," Mr Abrahim told 702 ABC Radio Sydney.
"I do not believe there are specific laws in place that target the TTSS refusal itself."
Mr O'Malley said fines for refusing service should apply to both the driver and the taxi provider.
"Industry will very quickly clean up its act," Mr O'Malley said.
He told 702 ABC Radio Sydney that they would be willing to see if there was a loophole in the legislation that needed fixing.
"Our expectation is that all drivers are expected to take, either the physical TTSS vouchers, or the TTSS smart cards as payment for taxi journeys," Mr Clark said.
"We're happy to consider looking at whether there are changes needed to the legislation for some of the incidents we've heard about."
Mr Clark said complaints should be made to the 1800 500 410 Taxi Fare Hotline if riders had issues with fare refusal.
Ride-share operator Uber said it had been running a 12-week trial of subsidised trips for passengers with disabilities.
Written by Declan Bowring, ABC News.
Mr O'Malley, who lives with half-blindness in both eyes and has not been able to legally drive since having a stroke 19 years ago, says the driver told him he didn't have to accept his subsidised taxi card as payment.
The payment, called the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme (TTSS), covers 50 per cent of the fare to the value of $60 using a smart card or paper voucher.
Mr O'Malley says there is a gap in the legislation addressing refusing TTSS payments. (ABC Radio Sydney: Declan Bowring)
"When the scheme works well, it works well," Mr O'Malley told 702 ABC Radio Sydney.
"When it doesn't, it works terribly. It means people with disability experience refusal of service, they receive abuse, they get kicked out of taxis."
He says this was far from an isolated experience, and it had happened to him at least four times since April.
Mr O'Malley, who works in the disability services sector, says there is a loophole in taxi regulation that allows for the refusal of the TTSS as payment.
He wants to see a clause added to the regulation to prevent taxis from rejecting the TTSS.
"Give me power," Mr O'Malley said.
"There are clauses about not putting the meter on, there are clauses about not accepting fares.
"There’s no clause to make it illegal to accept TTSS in whatever way, be it paper voucher or by card."
The head of the NSW Taxi Council says a loophole allowing drivers to refuse payment via the TTSS needs to be closed. (ABC News: Simon Amery)
Taxi council calls for loophole closure
NSW Taxi Council CEO Nick Abrahim said taxi drivers were not fined for refusing to take the TTSS because they were still accepting a fare, just not the TTSS method.Mr Abrahim told ABC Radio Sydney it was more common for drivers to take passengers and then claim to not be able to take the TTSS, which is paid for using a smart card on Cabcharge technology or a paper form carried by the passengers.
Mr Abrahim said he'd like to see what he describes as a "loophole" closed.
"It’s not necessarily a fare refusal, because he’s taking the passenger," Mr Abrahim told 702 ABC Radio Sydney.
"I do not believe there are specific laws in place that target the TTSS refusal itself."
Mr O'Malley said fines for refusing service should apply to both the driver and the taxi provider.
"Industry will very quickly clean up its act," Mr O'Malley said.
Transport for NSW looking into issue
Lewis Clark, from Transport for NSW, apologised for Mr O'Malley's negative TTSS experiences.He told 702 ABC Radio Sydney that they would be willing to see if there was a loophole in the legislation that needed fixing.
"Our expectation is that all drivers are expected to take, either the physical TTSS vouchers, or the TTSS smart cards as payment for taxi journeys," Mr Clark said.
"We're happy to consider looking at whether there are changes needed to the legislation for some of the incidents we've heard about."
Mr Clark said complaints should be made to the 1800 500 410 Taxi Fare Hotline if riders had issues with fare refusal.
Ride-share operator Uber said it had been running a 12-week trial of subsidised trips for passengers with disabilities.
Written by Declan Bowring, ABC News.
