Page 4071 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 24 October 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
means that the person who owns the licence has to operate the business. There may be a very good reason why a person is unable to operate a licence for a period of time, and I think it is probably quite appropriate that that particular licence be allowed to continue to operate so that that vehicle can still be available for hire.
This amendment Bill will relax this requirement to allow the licence holder, another person notified to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, or an employee of either the licence holder or this other person to use, control and manage the vehicle. This second option - another person notified to the Registrar, for example - gives the licence holder an opportunity to transfer control of the vehicle to another person, but only if the Registrar of Motor Vehicles is properly informed of the arrangement. This is an essential safeguard - for the Registrar to be notified of the person in control of the vehicle - to ensure that the operation is in compliance with the Motor Traffic Act and associated regulations.
This Government feels that, to be effective, it is by no means essential for a taxi or hire car to be operated by the licence holder. In fact, in many cases it would be advantageous to the community at large if leasing occurred. It is anticipated that a lessee would be more committed to keeping a taxi on the road for longer periods than the casual licence holder or part-time operator. Current operators who, for one reason or another, cannot operate their vehicles to full capacity can allow someone else to do so whilst retaining the value of their capital investment. In short, leasing arrangements of this type should encourage improved services to the community.
I seem to recall that my maternal grandfather, in fact, was the owner of such an arrangement for a taxi in Brisbane. This enabled him to maintain the ownership of the licence while allowing his son-in-law to operate the taxi, so that two families, in fact, could benefit rather than just the one.
Removing the prohibition on leasing of plates also allows entrepreneurs to control larger numbers of taxis than the present legislation allows, which opens up the possibilities of greater efficiencies associated with larger scale business. It also provides a more fertile environment for development of a second cooperative for Canberra. Clearly, any decision to develop a second cooperative will be made by the private sector on normal commercial principles.
Both these developments - permitting efficiencies of scale and a more fertile economic environment - could be expected to provide a better taxi service to the ACT community and the all-important tourist industry. A degree of competition, I would suggest, does not go astray as Canberra increases and develops in size.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .