Made a mess in a cab? Now you'll be asked to pay for it
Taxi fares in Victoria will not rise, but messy cab users have been put on notice after the state's pricing regulator ruled that grubby passengers will be slugged with a cleaning fee.
The Essential Services Commission has ruled that taxi operators cannot increase their maximum fares for passengers who hail a ride from a taxi rank or the street. Taxi operators had been pushing for an increase to "unbooked" fares.
Marcus Crudden, the commission's director of price monitoring and regulation, said increasing the fares could stop people using taxis.
“In the context of all the changes under way in the industry, and noting taxis can already lower their fares as a way of attracting more passengers, the commission decided to leave maximum fares unchanged for now,” Mr Crudden said.
The decision covers fares in metropolitan Melbourne and urban and large regional zones including Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Frankston, Dandenong and the Mornington Peninsula.
In a submission to the commission, taxi operator 13CABS recommended an 11 per cent increase to the maximum unbooked taxi fares in Victoria.
"This movement accounts for the 4 per cent levy adjustment plus a 7 per cent increase to ensure that returns to drivers are increased in a way that is consistent with both the increases in the general level of costs and the average wage level," the submission reads.
"Only with an increase of this nature will we be able to ensure that taxi drivers are treated in the fair and equitable way that most Australians assume is reasonable."
Meanwhile from October 1 this year, passengers can be charged a $120 fee if they leave a mess in a cab that forces the driver to take their vehicle off the road for cleaning.
“Passengers who vomit, or spill food or drink are costing providers time and money and it’s only fair for them to be compensated for that time,” Mr Crudden said.
“Allowing unbooked taxis to also recover these costs will put our taxis in line with those in other states,” he said.
Drivers will have the power to add a cleaning fee of up to $120 to a fare if a passenger "soils the vehicle with: food, drink or bodily fluids".
"If applied, the cleaning fee should be itemised as a charge on the receipt provided to the hirer," the commission's ruling reads.
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