Regional taxi operators across Western Australia are calling for a fair go and parliamentary inquiry into the WA Government's handling of its buy back and regional assistance schemes.
In April 2020, regional taxi operators were offered a relief package after the industry was deregulated by the state government to compensate them $20,000 per plate at a cap of five plates or $110,000.
However, the compensation package fell short of what was offered to their metro counterparts in 2018, in which the state government's buy back scheme paid operators $100,000 per plate.
A petition with more than 800 signatures will be tabled in the Legislative Council by South West MLC Adele Farina this week calling for an inquiry.
The petition has requested that the Standing Committee on Public Administration investigate the inequities between the the two schemes and the action needed by the state government to fix any wrongdoing.
Bunbury Taxis owner Navdeep Kumar said the difference between the two schemes was inequitable and unjust and that country operators had invested similar amounts to purchase taxi plate licences.
Mr Kumar said while compensation paid to country plate owners was capped at a maximum of five plates, no legislative restrictions were applied to the number of licences they could own.
"The schemes were inconsistent and unfair," he said.
"We have not been treated well.
"In 2007, licences would have sold for around $174,000, one operator in Bunbury bought a licence for $140,000.
"Licence values have been similar in the metro and regional areas since 2005.
"In 2010, metro values suddenly jumped from $180,000 to $280,000 even in Bunbury it jumped up, but since that time Uber came in."
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South West MLC Adele Farina said regional taxi operators were not asking for special treatment, just equal treatment.
"Deregulation of the taxi industry has resulted in taxi owners losing their investment in the taxi plates," she said.
"This is not something they chose, with many working for most of their lives to build up profitable saleable taxi businesses only to have the value of their business cut from under them.
"Many took out loans to purchase the taxi plates and now they have been left with a debt they will struggle to repay due to decisions made outside their control.
"The issue going forward is that we need it resolved.
"The Minister for Transport has relied on the advice from the Department of Transport and that advice maybe flawed."
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the state government has provided financial assistance to regional taxi drivers.
"Earlier this year we announced a $9 million relief package to support the on-demand transport industry through the uncertain COVID-19 times," she said.
"Of the $9 million, regional taxi drivers received over $5 million of assistance payments based on their individual circumstances following consultation with the industry.
"This is in addition to the $3.4 million Regional Taxi Transition Support Package announced in 2019.
"Extensive consultation was undertaken with industry before the introduction of the on-demand transport reforms.
"If petitioners wish to call for a parliamentary inquiry into the on-demand transport reforms and buy-back scheme they are welcome to discuss this with their local Member of Parliament."
The issue has caused Busselton Taxis owner Jeff Devenny constant stress after operating his business for 27 years.
"When this all erupted three years ago we were told we would not receive any compensation whatsoever," he said.
"We were also told we had to pay a 10 per cent levy so we kicked up and said no, why should our customers in regional areas pay a 10 per cent levy to provide the metro buy back scheme.
"We were then told we did not have to pay the levy but we were still not going to be included in the scheme.
"Had we been treated under the same umbrella we would not be here three years down the track.
"It has been extremely stressful it has been going on for a really long time, it has been handled poorly and we have been treated badly.
"It needs to come to an end, for the last three years it has virtually been all my wife and I talk about, we live and breathe it and it's all people want to talk about, it is not good."
Country taxi plate owner Colin Wilson said in areas like Bunbury and Kalgoorlie there was a secondary market for taxi plates.
"Plates were around $175,000 in Bunbury and $180,000 in Kalgoorlie," he said.
"Now those plates only attracted $20,000, there is a real disparity in the way they have treated regional areas.
"You could probably understand it would be difficult to put a price on each area's particular plates because they all operate under different circumstances
"The calculation was not done on that, it seems to be some airy fairy figure they just pulled out of nowhere."
