600 fines issued during crackdown on taxi, rideshare drivers

Hundreds of rule-breaking cab and rideshare drivers have been caught out flouting the law following a crackdown on the industry.

The crackdown was on taxi and rideshare drivers. Most of the 613 fines issued went to rideshare drivers. Picture: Generic/file photo

Hundreds of rule-breaking cab and rideshare drivers have been caught out flouting the law following a crackdown on the industry over the Christmas period.

Between December 2 and January 15, transport authorities dished out 613 fines off the back of 2056 intercepted vehicles – which means more than one in four compliance checks resulted in a penalty.

Fines were issued for 31 different types of offences, including for not displaying a compliant booked hire sign and for not carrying the appropriate driver authorisation.

Drivers were also penalised for stopping on yellow lines, for stopping in bus zones, or for stopping in a taxi zone while providing a booked hire service – such as Uber.

The fines varied in amount, with the maximum infringement notice hitting $575.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said there were too many drivers trying to “rip people off” and doing things that were “quite frankly quite dodgy”.

“Every time someone orders one (a ride), they should have confidence that they are offered a fare in the usual way, looked after by the driver with no shenanigans,” Mr Bailey said.

“We will continue our compliance operations, but we also ask the public to report any taxi or rideshare driver doing the wrong thing to help stamp out illegal behaviours.”

The Minister said transport authorities mainly targeted nightlife precincts as part of the blitz, with compliance work also undertaken on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

During the blitz, drivers were also busted using unregistered or defective vehicles, using “unapproved” security camera systems, and not displaying a security camera system sign.

Mr Bailey suggested it was important for rideshare drivers to display the relevant signage to indicate they were a booked hire service to ensure passengers entered the correct vehicle.

The government confirmed the majority of the fines issued during the compliance ramp up were given to rideshare drivers.

Taxi Council Queensland chief executive Blair Davies said they were encouraged by the figures.

“When the government started this blitz back in November, we had a real problem with some rogue drivers out there refusing fares and overcharging customers,” he said.

“What we now understand is cab drivers have taken notice. They have gone back to obeying the rules and the incidents of overcharging and refusing fares has dramatically reduced.”