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Taxi drivers

Posted by: Michael Smith | 12 June, 2009 - 2:22 PM

Lee Sims represents taxi drivers.

I’ve had him in the studio.

He seems like a very intelligent well spoken bloke.

Driving a cab is something that a lot of Queenslanders have fallen back on when other work dries up.

IN times like this – when local people are losing their jobs.

If you’ve been a good driver, with 3 years of local driving experience and a clean record – you could get a cab licence.

Well all that changed a few years back.

The regulations were watered down.

You now don’t have to have 3 years local driving experience.

As we have heard time and time again, you can arrive here with a foreign licence, pass a test and start driving.

You may not have driven at all – that’s a story we often hear.

It seems like a very sensible idea that we call for a minimum of 3 years experience.

Why not.

This is all about standards.

We have seen the proof that people were driving taxis in Queensland without ever prooving that they have driven anywhere before.

Likewise no one in Queensland transport checks relevant criminal or driving histories.

There is strong evidence the immigration laws, in particularly the student visas laws are being flouted.

This isn’t a time for another enquiry.

Rachel Nolan is the minister. She should act like a minister and make a decision.

The Taxi drivers have put a sensible proposal forward. The condition for holding taxi drivers licence should be this.

Hold an open queensland driver’s licence for 3 years.

Simple. Improve standards. Improve local knowledge. Make sure we know who we are licencing and their historyl. It seems very sensible to me.

We await the minister’s response.

In the meantime have a look at some examples of Brisbane driving.

Links submitted by listener Jamie.

This first clip will give you an idea what it can be like. It starts at the 28 second mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seEuljRm-II&feature=channel_page

This one starts at about the 1.10 mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN7tY7EtWAw&feature=channel_page

This guy just stops on the road and gets out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL6gIOA12a4&feature=related

Running red lights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjrBkVporjM

And if you get some time here is the list of all his clips.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=videos&search_query=roadmonitoroz&search_sort=video_date_uploaded&page=1

Blog comments

Michael,
The issue re: conversation on telephone this morning regarding fatal crash at Coopers Plains last Monday is, had there been passengers in this taxi this would have been on the front page of Courier Mail, the other more alarming issue Michael is that unfortunately these young Indian drivers are pushing themselves to extreme levels with excessive hours behind the wheel such as I explained to you. That anyone can be allowed behind the wheel of a car for 16+ hours, let alone a taxi is an issue that has concerned me as a cab driver for the past twelve years. It is an issue of public safety that many taxi drivers are driving excessive hours in the current economic downturn which endagers not only the cab drivers life but also the public's. Ask a specialist in fatigue and I believe the figures equate to someone driving in excess of twelve hours is equivalent to someone being over the limit to the level of .1

Paul Henderson Monday 22 June, 2009 - 9:48 AM
Picked up a taxi with a young Indian driver. Wanted to go from Hamilton to the Mater Hospital. He did not have a clue how to get there so we had to direct him. I thought they had to have a basic knowledge of the City and suburbs.

Frank Friday 19 June, 2009 - 8:46 AM
Hi

I challenge anyone reading this to take a drive around the Valley between 1am and 3am on a Sunday Morning, then you will understand how bad our taxi drivers really are. They park across intersections, double park, block roads and lanes, pull out or change lanes without warning, run red lights, and list goes on. I've even seen police stopped behind taxi's double parked, they jsut honk their horn and are of course just ignored by our friendly taxi driver. No one seems to ever be out enforcing the road rules, not even the police. Can someone please remind the local authorities that we are in Brisbane .... Not Mumbai.

Chris Limmer Sunday 14 June, 2009 - 8:15 AM
michael, about overseas taxi drivers, ive driven trucks for 30yrs now buses ihad the misfortune to have to catch a cab i was only going about 4ks first up he could not understand a bloody word i was saying when i did get through to him where i wanted to go away we went he was driving in the bloody parking lane, i said to him are you thinking about getting on the bloody road,no understand just kept driving in the parking lane, by this time i was starting to wonder weather i was going to get back home alive, it was the finish when he went accross a busy intersection still in the parking lane i just yelled stop this bloody cab hh must have known what i meant and pulled up, i paid him the fare and bailed out of that car as fast as i could calling him a bloody idiot as i did so, what did he do took off and was still in the parking lane when he went out of site, i walked the rest of the way but at least im still alive, maybe hes not.Not only that nearly had one hit me in the bus last week went through a red light i stopped just before hitting his drivers door then he had the cheek to shake his fist at me they bloody colour blind as well.

ken Saturday 13 June, 2009 - 11:37 PM
Michael, I do like listening to you on the radio, but fairdinkum, stop saying fairdinkum in every sentence.

Terry Saturday 13 June, 2009 - 5:58 PM
As someone in the industry I'll let you know a secret. The taxi companies are paid by the owners of the taxi (usually not the driver) a fee to have the mobile data terminal (about $600 / month)x 1500 taxis = 10.8 million / year. (per company) The driver is just someone who has done the course (watered down course for certain drivers from what I hear). The taxi company does not care who drives the taxi as they are only really a booking agency / call centre. (only own a few taxis) For this reason it's not a concern for the taxi companies since they get paid their $600 odd / month regardless.. $600 x 1500 odd taxis per company = $900,000 / month = 10.8 million dollars a year.
Due to this the taxi company can treat the driver however they wish (even depriving them of work willy-nilly) . This happens daily. They can because a the law states you must be affiliated with b&w or yellow.

While here I will also point out how there are an excess of taxis on the road. Drivers are vacant 70% of the time (day shift) and earn about what a 15yr old does at Mcdonalds.
The above comment does not excuse their bad driving behaviour / double parking / illegal u-turns, or no english in any way. Asking the passenger to enter the address in to the gps because they can't spell is very poor. I'll also mention that some passengers are only there to harass / rip off drivers which is very low.

Peter Friday 12 June, 2009 - 6:23 PM