Page 1739 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 6 June 2006
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taxi service. Every Canberran who books a cab needs to be confident that that cab will turn up within a reasonable time, five minutes here or there, depending on what time of the day it is. But to ensure that that minimum service standard is enshrined, the government is going to have to regulate. I therefore urge the government, with this bill, to seriously consider tightening up that aspect of legislation.
DR FOSKEY (Molonglo) (11.34): The Canberra taxi market, indeed, the whole public transport market, is quite specific. There is a high level of demand at particular times and large periods of listlessness in between. When it comes to our mass transit systems, the intertown connections are good; the outreach is either deficient, underutilised or a combination of both. This is not likely to change until people choose not to use their own cars as personal transport for purposes of economics or convenience.
There are many reasons why it would be good to see a shift away from the current situation. Obviously our high level of greenhouse gas emissions is one disadvantage. Moving us towards a healthier way of living is another. Part of the solution will come through developing a more efficient, more convenient mass transit system. Planning for a public transport corridor between major town centres needs to be part of that. It is well known that it is my view that a light rail network eventually will be a key part of that process, both in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per person per kilometre and as a part of a strategy to create a more walkable, sociable city.
Taxis or taxi-style transport is the other part of the equation. For fairly obvious reasons, the frequent use of cabs is not a great part of everyday transport culture across Australia, and especially here. Most people have their own cars and consequently avoid the use of cabs, except when they have to catch a plane. People who have to get to and from the airport, people who want to get somewhere quickly in the early morning or in the late evening, people from interstate and people for whom time and not money is the issue are quite prepared to catch cabs.
It is my view that this legislation is a response to a problem that has recently been given attention in the media about the difficulties experienced by our visitors in getting to and from the airport. There is congestion on the road and often there are not enough taxis at the times of aeroplane arrivals. Consequently, people who are in a hurry get quite upset. I think that the problem we are looking at is one of how to get people to and from the airport efficiently, rather than a taxi service problem.
However, what we have got before us is a bill that is focused on taxi services. One of the proposals that I put forward for the Centenary of Canberra celebrations is that we should leave Canberra with something that is sustainable and that will benefit our children into the future, as well as making it a much more liveable city. The proposal that I put asked the ACT and commonwealth governments to get together and invest in a light rail system that connects the airport to the major points of destination, which, for most of our visitors, are shown to be the Russell defence headquarters, the Parliamentary Triangle and Canberra city.
I believe that would be a wonderful gateway to our city. It would reduce hugely the congestion on our roads, to which this legislation is a very partial solution. However, the ACT government did not take up my suggestion or take it to the commonwealth government. But it is still on the books and I believe it is something Mr Snow should
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