Sydney Taxi Drivers To Be Fined $1000 For Refusing To Turn On Metres

Taxi drivers who refuse to turn on their metre will receive a $1,000 on-the-spot fine, up from $300, to tackle dodgy taxi drivers breaking the law.

NSW transport minister Jo Haylen said the vast majority of taxi drivers were working in a tough industry and were trying to earn a living.

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“The fact is there are rogue taxi drivers out there who are refusing to turn on the metre, who are refusing fares and are negotiating fixed prices.”

On today’s episode of This Arvo In Sydney, we talked to Mike Smart, chief economist from IPART NSW, to find out more details about the new penalties.

A recent annual point-to-point survey by IPART shows that both taxi and rideshares companies use in Sydney has bounced back from the pandemic.

The finding shows that rideshares are more popular in Sydney, with 55 per cent of respondents having used one in the last six months.

While 44 per cent of those surveyed this year said they had used a taxi in the past six months.

Mr Smart said the competition between ride-sharing and taxis had created more choices for customers. 

You know there are more different options, more pricing options, more convenience options, and that’s made things better off for the travelling public,”

Mr Smart said.

The 2023 new survey also shows that rideshare has gained more positively than taxis, particularly in terms of waiting times and satisfaction with fares and values.

However, taxis outraged rideshares in perceptions of navigation and route knowledge and driving skills. 

There are different kinds of service models that work better in different situations, so people who like taxis point to the better route knowledge of the drivers and improve driving skills”.

Hosted by Sacha Barbour, This Arvo in Sydney is a 10 to 12 minute daily news podcast made just for Sydney! Listen now on the Listnr app.