Page 1103 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 29 May 2007
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MR GENTLEMAN: Yes, Mr Speaker. Minister, what have the reforms delivered for the Canberra community?
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, I apologise for my voice. I am just hoping that I do not follow in Mrs Burke’s footsteps. The reforms deliver a number of benefits to the Canberra community. In particular, for hire cars, in redesigning the regulation of the industry the focus is to ensure that the industry meets community objectives of safety, consumer protection and choice, and transport efficiency—not to protect licence holders’ investments.
By offering hybrid vehicles with low greenhouse emissions, those in the community who are environmentally conscious have the choice of travelling in a green vehicle.
More hire cars are now available for hire. Clearly, hire car operators have welcomed the significant reduction in the cost of a hire car licence, the availability of the additional licences and the opportunity to enhance their services. New operators have also entered the industry.
This industry is a totally deregulated one. We have not seen an explosion of hire cars in this system. We have not seen a dramatic reduction in the incomes of those operators. What we have seen is a very healthy industry responsive to the needs of Canberra consumers. And that is all down to the initiatives that this government introduced.
In relation to taxis, competition in the taxi industry should result in an improvement in the efficiency of taxi services for customers and in operators being more responsive to consumer needs. The micro management of hirings for wheelchair users has improved services for people in wheelchairs. In recent times, we have seen a significant increase in the service. The waiting times have been dramatically reduced and reliability has been increased. Of course, it was this government that put $100,000 into the micro management of that system.
The community consultation with WAT users through focus group discussions and the reference group has enabled the community to report on service standards and to identify new issues. Again, the conversation between this government, the community and the people who rely on this particular part of the transport system has, I believe, resulted in a much better product.
The taxi subsidy scheme initiative provides a further subsidy to TSS members as the waiting time fee cannot be charged while the wheelchair is being lifted and should make WAT services more sustainable. In increasing the fee to $10, what we have in mind is to assist the operator by making sure that the arrangement is still economically viable and make sure that the passenger is not disadvantaged. The introduction of single WAT vehicles allows for a more comfortable and safer ride for wheelchair users.
We have introduced 40 new taxis onto the roads since the beginning of 2006. I would like to commend the industry for its enthusiasm. Some 170 people put their names in the ballot for 20 licences. That shows that there is a very healthy interest out there in
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