Catalogue of complaints reveals wretched state of Victoria's taxis

Fiona Hudson

March 14, 2009 12:00am


THE wretched state of Victoria's taxi system is revealed in a dossier of official complaints filed against cab drivers.

The Herald Sun obtained case notes from the industry watchdog for all complaints lodged in a single, randomly chosen week.

The catalogue of allegations over just seven days included fraud, negligence, abuse, theft, repeated fare refusals, dangerous driving and a potentially lethal vehicle fault.


1 Frankston Taxis 63.5%
2 Dandenong Taxis 62%
3 West Suburban Taxis 59.3%
4 Yellow Cabs/ Black Cabs 56.9%
5 North Suburban Taxis 56.8%
6 Silver Top Taxis 56.3%
7 Embassy Taxis 54%
8 Arrow Taxis 50%
SOURCE: Department of Transport


Among the most aggrieved passengers were three young women driven to an outer suburb against their will.

And a wheelchair-bound passenger said he was not restrained properly, thrown around the cabin and told: "It's OK, we got here alive."

Details of the horrors some Victorian taxi passengers endured came as a Herald Sun investigation also found:

TWO-THIRDS of cabs checked in recent safety blitzes failed to meet State Government standards.

THE "worst of the worst" cars were working late-night and weekend shifts to dodge inspectors.

FRESH government surveys showed a third of taxi passengers felt like complaining about their journey.

HALF of passengers said they struggled to get a cab on Friday nights and weekends.

TAXI inspectors had launched undercover operations aimed at drivers refusing short fares, committing Eftpos fraud and touting for rides at the airport.

TWO illegal taxi operators were recently detected, including one with six fake cabs on the road.

The Victorian Taxi Directorate has received an average of 45 complaints a week so far this year.

The industry regulator admits dozens more complaints are lodged each week directly with taxi companies.

The watchdog was planning an audit of operators because anecdotal evidence suggested many were not taking passenger complaints seriously.

VTD spokeswoman Liza McDonald said the industry regulator encouraged passengers to expose bad rides.

"They need to make sure they take down the car number, the driver number and the time," she said.

"If it is a case of 'he said, she said,' we might not be able to take immediate action, but we will put the driver on a watch list. All complaints are treated seriously."

The dossier of complaints obtained under Freedom of Information laws was for the first week of November 2008.

Ms McDonald said the complaints that week were representative of a "normal" week.

"That's the kind of thing that we do actually see. It's fairly representative of what we see," she said.

Ms McDonald said the most common complaints received were abusive language, driving infractions, fare disputes, refused fares and drivers who took the long way or got lost.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky also urged passengers to complain if taxis weren't up to scratch.

"We want to make sure that passengers can have a safe, convenient and reliable trip every time they jump in a cab," Ms Kosky said.