Tuesday, 5 April 2022

Economy and Infrastructure Committee

Inquiry into the Multi Purpose Taxi Program

Mr ERDOGAN (Southern Metropolitan) (12:25): Pursuant to standing order 23.29 I lay on the table a report from the Economy and Infrastructure Committee on the inquiry into the multipurpose taxi program. I further present transcripts of evidence, and I move:

That the transcripts of evidence lie on the table and the report be published.

Motion agreed to.

Mr ERDOGAN: I move:

That the Council take note of the report.

The multipurpose taxi program has been providing subsidised travel for Victorians with a disability since 1983. It is a crucial program which helps all Victorians live a full life, be that by supporting access to vital medical care or helping to maintain social contact with family and friends. More than 83 000 Victorians are MPTP members.

The Victorian government began to expand the multipurpose taxi program as part of its reforms to the commercial passenger vehicle sector. In addition to traditional taxi operators, ridesharing services such as Uber can now participate in the program. The expansion has led to greater choice for MPTP members and has delivered some benefits. However, the expansion of the program has also raised some concerns. One of the main areas of concern identified by this report relates to wheelchair-accessible vehicles, or WAVs. The committee learned that around 15 per cent of MPTP members rely on WAVs for their transport needs. The availability of WAVs is a longstanding issue, and there is a need to ensure numbers of WAVs are sufficient to meet community needs. The committee heard evidence that there has been some improvement in recent years. However, proper understanding of this issue can only be gained once the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.

The regulator, Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria, could not provide the committee with an accurate picture of how many WAVs are operating on Victoria’s roads or their distribution across regional or metropolitan areas of Victoria. This was attributed to a number of factors, including poor data management and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee has made a recommendation that CPVV immediately undertake an audit of how many WAVs are currently operating in Victoria and their geographic distribution. It has also made recommendations regarding CPVV’s ongoing responsibility to the sector.

The committee has made recommendations in a number of other areas, including: safety and driver training; the commercial viability of the sector, including the appropriate increase of lifting fees for WAV drivers; concerns about surge pricing; the expected impact of the national disability insurance scheme; and complaints handling processes. The committee believes that the issues identified by this report are integral to the ongoing success of the multipurpose taxi program, ensuring that the public continues to have trust and confidence in this important program.

The inquiry received 22 written submissions from stakeholders and heard from 17 witnesses across three days of public hearings. As chair of the committee I would like to thank all those who contributed to this inquiry through written submissions and who appeared at our public hearings. I would also like to thank my fellow committee members: deputy chair Mr Bernie Finn, Mr Mark Gepp, Mr Lee Tarlamis, Mrs Bev McArthur, Mr Tim Quilty and Mr Rod Barton. I thank Mr Andy Meddick also, who participated during this inquiry. I appreciate the cooperative approach adopted by all members. Mr Barton has a particular interest and passion for this subject, and I would like to acknowledge the significant amount of attention and robust feedback he gave us at the committee. I am pleased the committee has been able to present a non-partisan report, supported by all members of the committee, without a minority report. This is a report that our entire committee can be proud of.

Finally, I would like to thank the parliamentary staff who have supported this inquiry, including the Hansard unit, the community engagement unit and especially the committee secretariat—Justine Donohue, Caitlin Connally, Vivienne Bannan and Patrick O’Brien—for their assistance in producing this report. I would also like to thank my office staff. I commend this report to the Parliament.

Mr TARLAMIS (South Eastern Metropolitan) (12:29): I would also like to contribute on the report on the inquiry into the multipurpose taxi program. The multipurpose taxi program provides a service for people with a disability or mobility limitation who cannot drive or safely and independently access other transport. It assists them in living a full life by enabling them to access vital health appointments and services, shop for food and maintain connections with family and friends within their community. The ability to maintain personal mobility and have transport options are major enablers of health management, ageing in place and the prevention of social isolation and loneliness.

This inquiry investigated the expansion of the multipurpose taxi program and the relevant concerns that arose as a result. One of the main areas of concern identified during this inquiry was related to the wheelchair-accessible vehicles, or WAVs. The committee learned that 15 per cent of multipurpose taxi program members rely on wheelchair-accessible vehicles for their transport needs; hence it was concerning to learn that the regulator, Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria, does not know how many wheelchair-accessible vehicles are currently operating on Victorian roads. The committee has made recommendations to address this problem immediately to ensure that CPVV are capturing accurate and ongoing data necessary to understand how many wheelchair-accessible vehicles are operating at any given time. This information is important in determining if action is necessary to ensure there is sufficient supply of wheelchair-accessible vehicles available to service those who require them. I was also concerned that operators like Uber, who are now operating in the multipurpose taxi program, made it clear during the inquiry that they had no intention of adding wheelchair-accessible vehicles to their fleet.

There are a number of other important recommendations in this report, including in areas such as improving safety, surge pricing concerns, lifting fees and improving response times. I would like to acknowledge the work of my fellow committee members throughout this inquiry, as well as the secretariat staff for their assistance and hard work. I would also like to thank Mr Barton for bringing this important inquiry forward. I commend the report to the Parliament.

Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (12:31): I would like to thank our chair, Enver Erdogan, for his patience and my fellow committee members. I would also obviously like to thank the staff of the secretariat, who did an incredible job, and those who came along and spoke at the public hearings.

This report is damning for Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria (CPVV). The failure of data collection and other matters is staggering. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, when the government was supporting the industry to the tune of $22 million to keep taxis and particularly wheelchair-accessible vehicles on the road, while the government was proactively supporting the industry, the regulator opened up the multipurpose taxi program to another 80 000 vehicles. They thought this was a good idea. The report has shown the damaging effect on the financial viability of the wheelchair-access vehicles. Wheelchair-access vehicles provide an essential service to the community.

We discovered during the inquiry that Uber had actually trialled providing wheelchair-access vehicles and found it simply financially unviable. At the public hearing they declared they had no intention or plan to provide these vehicles in the future. They merely want to cherrypick the cream of the work. This is a company the CPVV wanted to open up our disability transport program to—a decision almost beyond belief. The CPVV came kicking and screaming to this inquiry. Their recalcitrant attitude to accountability at the parliamentary inquiry did not do them any favours. I was pleased to see the report remind the CPVV of not just their responsibility to be accountable to both the Parliament and the public but their responsibility to protect Victoria’s most vulnerable and provide them with accessible and safe transport. I will be having more to say, obviously, at a later stage.

Motion agreed to.