Miranda's Xmas and Taxis

NSW TAXI DRIVERS ASSOCIATION
FOR BAILEE DRIVERS, OWNER DRIVERS AND LESSEE DRIVERS
Inc. No. 9882558 ABN: 98 653 928 763
PO Box 322, Alexandria NSW 2015
Mobile: 0431 585 944 or 0432 665 822

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nswtdaforum

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Media Release
Miranda's Xmas and Taxis

Miranda has put her elegant finger squarely on the problem of taxis at Xmas (SMH 8Nov07). Each year in November and December it becomes increasingly impossible for office and Xmas party goers to get a taxi home late into the night.

This is despite most taxis working flat out those months to make up for their paltry earnings during the year, when too many taxis are idle. The Xmas taxi problems are a major issue for the NSW Taxi Drivers Association which is concerned about driver earnings as much as taxi services to passengers whence drivers derive their earnings.

The problem at Xmas is that taxis can generally carry only take 4 persons per cab. Unfortunately, two or 3 times as many cabs or "gypsy" cabs are a Miranda mirage, idle the rest of the year. In any event they could still not carry the Xmas crowds. The millions of Xmas revelers that arrive by trains and buses during the day, can only get home if those trains and buses are running to get them home again late at night.

And there Miranda lies the answer. Trains and buses must run until 4am during the Xmas season to get people home. Then the taxis can cope with the "mopping up" and the other fares.

Faruque Ahmed

Media Manager

Mobile: 041 091 4118, Email: union_faruque@...