Queue jumping taxi and hire car drivers targeted at Sydney Airport
Five taxi and hire car drivers will face court this week charged with “touting” for business at the expense of taxis queuing at Sydney Airport. It comes as the state government has been forced to step in as the war between operators heats up.
NSW
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It gives new meaning to taxi wars.
Five people will face court this week charged with trying to lure passengers away from Sydney Airport’s taxi queue and into their own hire vehicles.
It comes as the state government has been forced to step in to stamp out an escalating war between dodgy cab and hire car drivers and legitimate operators at Sydney’s airports.
Officers from the Point to Point Commissioner have been conducting undercover stings at Mascot’s domestic and international terminals to stop tourists and travellers being harassed to use a cab or hire car which hasn’t lined up in the official queue.
The practice, known as “touting and soliciting” is illegal and attracts a $5500 fine, and can also increase the chances of being ripped-off after leaving the terminal.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal four men and one woman will appear in Downing Centre Local Court this week charged with touting and soliciting for passengers.
The charges relate to five separate instances of cab and hire car drivers attempting to offer unlawful passenger services for a fee in November last year.
“Passengers getting into unknown vehicles when approached at the airport risk travelling with a driver or vehicle that hasn’t undergone safety checks, and other standard vetting procedure by an authorised service provider,” Point to Point Transport Commissioner Anthony Wing told The Sunday Telegraph.
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“Passengers can feel harassed and unsafe when approached by touting drivers, and are susceptible to being exploited, including through overcharging on fares.”
The increase in enforcement activity comes following a flood of complaints from passengers, the NSW Hire Car Association and the NSW Taxi Council.
These organisations say their members have become “incredibly frustrated” that their profits are being compromised by cars that don’t join the queue for passengers.
The NSW Hire Car Association director of government relations and strategy Ritta Khoury said they’ve told their members “not to have confrontations with touters and reminded them that they are not officers of the law”.
“In a recent case one legitimate operator was videotaping this touter and then they (the alleged touter) have gone up to them and had some very heated words,” she said.
“It’s to the point of direct confrontation. We’ve told them not put themselves in the line of fire.”
Ms Khoury said many touters operate in teams, with one to harass the traveller, one to drive the car and a third to keep an eye out for enforcement officers.
Others work alone.
She has also called to increase fines and enforcement activity.
NSW Taxi Council deputy CEO Nick Abrahim said “tourists are not the only targets but are potentially more vulnerable because they are not aware of the local laws and regulations”
“It’s generally a more premium service, like limos and high end vehicles, that is involved in this type of activity,” he said.
“It’s frustrating for people who are doing the right thing seeing touters getting business.”
Despite industry figures saying the practice happens every day, there has only been one conviction for touting since the Point to Point Commissioner was created in 2017 to regulate the rideshare and taxi industry.
In 2013 taxi driver Md Iftekhar Uddin – quite possibly Sydney’s dodgiest cabbie – pleaded guilty to touting at the airport.
He had also lost 43 demerit points for a string of driving offences. Roads and Maritime Services successfully cancelled his cab and hire car driver’s authority in 2014 in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said “the last thing we need is tourists being confronted at the airport”.
“People need to feel confident that they are going to be using a service that is properly regulated,” he said.
Originally published as Queue jumping taxi and hire car drivers targeted at Sydney Airport