❓ The government has increased taxi plates, implemented a leasing system to reduce operator costs, and launched initiatives to attract new drivers, including younger people and students, by offering training subsidies and reduced lease costs.
AnsweredQoN 663Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TAXI SERVICES - NEW PLATES
Exactly what has the government done to provide better taxi services for Perth, especially as we head into the busy festive season? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN
Exactly what has the government done to provide better taxi services for Perth, especially as we head into the busy festive season? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. I am pleased to say that not only have we very dramatically increased the number of taxi plates in the Perth metropolitan area, but also, because of our innovative leasing system, we have been able to drive down the cost of being an operator of taxis and we have generated a fund that has enabled us to implement a raft of very innovative projects that encourage more people into the industry. We have already increased the taxi fleet by 110 new plates that have been issued this year. Today we are announcing that an additional 100 peak-period plates will be released immediately. We are not just putting out the plates; in this climate of full employment we are conducting an advertising campaign that is designed to entice new people into the industry. We want to entice younger people in particular who might be a little more tolerant of the people they will have to pick up at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. We want to entice into the industry those with full-time jobs or full-time students who are prepared to drive a cab on Friday and Saturday nights, and earn good money doing it. We are also prepared to provide to the new operators 50 per cent of the cost of training to become a taxi driver. We also will give them a three-month free lease period, which will massively reduce the cost of establishing the businesses. In addition, we are reducing the minimum age of a taxi operator from 21 to 20. We are doing a helluva lot to get more cabs on the road. By the time that those 100 plates have been issued, we will have increased the number of cabs over four years from around 1 100 to about 1 700, giving us one of the best performance rates in Australia.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: I thank the member for the question. I am pleased to say that not only have we very dramatically increased the number of taxi plates in the Perth metropolitan area, but also, because of our innovative leasing system, we have been able to drive down the cost of being an operator of taxis and we have generated a fund that has enabled us to implement a raft of very innovative projects that encourage more people into the industry. We have already increased the taxi fleet by 110 new plates that have been issued this year. Today we are announcing that an additional 100 peak-period plates will be released immediately. We are not just putting out the plates; in this climate of full employment we are conducting an advertising campaign that is designed to entice new people into the industry. We want to entice younger people in particular who might be a little more tolerant of the people they will have to pick up at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. We want to entice into the industry those with full-time jobs or full-time students who are prepared to drive a cab on Friday and Saturday nights, and earn good money doing it. We are also prepared to provide to the new operators 50 per cent of the cost of training to become a taxi driver. We also will give them a three-month free lease period, which will massively reduce the cost of establishing the businesses. In addition, we are reducing the minimum age of a taxi operator from 21 to 20. We are doing a helluva lot to get more cabs on the road. By the time that those 100 plates have been issued, we will have increased the number of cabs over four years from around 1 100 to about 1 700, giving us one of the best performance rates in Australia.
I thank the member for the question. I am pleased to say that not only have we very dramatically increased the number of taxi plates in the Perth metropolitan area, but also, because of our innovative leasing system, we have been able to drive down the cost of being an operator of taxis and we have generated a fund that has enabled us to implement a raft of very innovative projects that encourage more people into the industry. We have already increased the taxi fleet by 110 new plates that have been issued this year. Today we are announcing that an additional 100 peak-period plates will be released immediately. We are not just putting out the plates; in this climate of full employment we are conducting an advertising campaign that is designed to entice new people into the industry. We want to entice younger people in particular who might be a little more tolerant of the people they will have to pick up at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. We want to entice into the industry those with full-time jobs or full-time students who are prepared to drive a cab on Friday and Saturday nights, and earn good money doing it. We are also prepared to provide to the new operators 50 per cent of the cost of training to become a taxi driver. We also will give them a three-month free lease period, which will massively reduce the cost of establishing the businesses. In addition, we are reducing the minimum age of a taxi operator from 21 to 20. We are doing a helluva lot to get more cabs on the road. By the time that those 100 plates have been issued, we will have increased the number of cabs over four years from around 1 100 to about 1 700, giving us one of the best performance rates in Australia.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: I thank the member for the question. I am pleased to say that not only have we very dramatically increased the number of taxi plates in the Perth metropolitan area, but also, because of our innovative leasing system, we have been able to drive down the cost of being an operator of taxis and we have generated a fund that has enabled us to implement a raft of very innovative projects that encourage more people into the industry. We have already increased the taxi fleet by 110 new plates that have been issued this year. Today we are announcing that an additional 100 peak-period plates will be released immediately. We are not just putting out the plates; in this climate of full employment we are conducting an advertising campaign that is designed to entice new people into the industry. We want to entice younger people in particular who might be a little more tolerant of the people they will have to pick up at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. We want to entice into the industry those with full-time jobs or full-time students who are prepared to drive a cab on Friday and Saturday nights, and earn good money doing it. We are also prepared to provide to the new operators 50 per cent of the cost of training to become a taxi driver. We also will give them a three-month free lease period, which will massively reduce the cost of establishing the businesses. In addition, we are reducing the minimum age of a taxi operator from 21 to 20. We are doing a helluva lot to get more cabs on the road. By the time that those 100 plates have been issued, we will have increased the number of cabs over four years from around 1 100 to about 1 700, giving us one of the best performance rates in Australia.
I thank the member for the question. I am pleased to say that not only have we very dramatically increased the number of taxi plates in the Perth metropolitan area, but also, because of our innovative leasing system, we have been able to drive down the cost of being an operator of taxis and we have generated a fund that has enabled us to implement a raft of very innovative projects that encourage more people into the industry. We have already increased the taxi fleet by 110 new plates that have been issued this year. Today we are announcing that an additional 100 peak-period plates will be released immediately. We are not just putting out the plates; in this climate of full employment we are conducting an advertising campaign that is designed to entice new people into the industry. We want to entice younger people in particular who might be a little more tolerant of the people they will have to pick up at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. We want to entice into the industry those with full-time jobs or full-time students who are prepared to drive a cab on Friday and Saturday nights, and earn good money doing it. We are also prepared to provide to the new operators 50 per cent of the cost of training to become a taxi driver. We also will give them a three-month free lease period, which will massively reduce the cost of establishing the businesses. In addition, we are reducing the minimum age of a taxi operator from 21 to 20. We are doing a helluva lot to get more cabs on the road. By the time that those 100 plates have been issued, we will have increased the number of cabs over four years from around 1 100 to about 1 700, giving us one of the best performance rates in Australia.
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