A stink over our taxis
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun
Kate Adamson and Shannon Deery
August 12, 2007 12:00am
MELBOURNE cabs are often smelly, poorly driven and increasingly lost, a survey of the city's fleet of 3673 vehicles has found.
A Sunday Herald Sun survey of 100 journeys found that more than half of drivers did not know where they were going and drove recklessly.
Three out of four cabs had an unpleasant odour and one in two drivers were dishevelled and unkempt.
Shabby and dirty cabs in a poor mechanical state and drivers who could barely speak English were also prevalent.
The results show Melbourne's taxi industry is getting worse, compared with a similar survey 18 months ago.
In one incident, a driver did not know his way from the city to Punt Rd. Another did not know how to get to St Kilda from Melbourne airport.
One driver took a passenger on a detour across the West Gate Bridge on a journey from the airport to the city.
Another driver was unable to keep the car at a constant speed, drove perilously slow and could barely keep his eyes open during an afternoon journey from the city to Toorak Rd.
Cab driver "Nick", who has been driving taxis for 25 years, said an influx of new immigrant drivers who didn't know their way around Melbourne had given the industry a bad reputation.
"I don't begrudge people coming here driving cabs, but they shouldn't be doing it unsupervised because they can't do a good job," he said.
Low rates of pay -- $7.50-$8 an hour -- and poor training were the problems, he said.
"It takes only two hours to get a licence to drive a cab," he said.
"I can't just walk into Royal Melbourne Hospital and perform open-heart surgery, so why should untrained people step into my industry and start working?"
Najiib Hersi, who has been driving cabs for 10 years, said that most taxis were in good condition for passengers.
"I rent my cab from the owner and I make sure it is always clean, roadworthy and pleasant," Mr Hersi said.
"I think maybe 2 per cent of vehicles would be unsuitable."
City worker Meg Lukas was disgusted after enduring a 35-minute ride in a cab with a ghastly smell this week.
Ms Lukas said she was almost gagging despite opening all the windows.
"I was charged $40 for a 35-minute cab ride from hell," she said.
"It was revolting."
Complaints about taxis had increased in the past few months, the Victorian Taxi Directorate said.
Victorian Taxi Association operations manager Peter Garbellini said some drivers, many of whom were new to Australia, did not have a good understanding of Melbourne's layout.
"While they know where they are, they don't have a grasp of overall geography," Mr Garbellini said.
"They are challenged by the fact that English is not their first language."
A new training program has been designed to help improve driver knowledge, but it will take time to put in place, he said.
Drivers must live in Australia for one year and must pass a 90-hour training course to get a licence.
But they can fast-track the process if they pass a high-level driving test, Mr Garbellini said.
