Letter to Joe Spagnolo Re: His claiming 300 new Taxis was a big hit in Troy's Performance

Dear Mr Spagnolo,

The proverbial drover’s dog could have announced a plan to release 300 new taxi plates.   It is a poorly conceived plan which will send the Taxi Industry in greater crisis.  There are already way too many Taxis in Perth except for a few exceptional periods such as when the Pubs shut at the same time that train services are terminated.   Now if Mr Buswell was a big hitter he would risk government revenue to provide a better late night train service which the taxi industry could compliment.   That of course would be a risk because surveys say that people won’t catch late night trains because of the risk.   Funny thing is those that may be causing the risk will catch late night trains freeing up Taxis for those that aren’t so aggressive.

Now Mr Buswell wants to release 300  extra Taxi plates which will provide the government with a guaranteed revenue of $4.2 million per annum infinitum.   It will also give Swan Taxis an extra $2.1 million per annum in rank fees and about $1 million in training fees for the extra 1000 drivers needed to cover the shifts of the extra 300 cabs.  

Now you may say, ‘whoopee, less waiting time for cabs’.   But our income has dropped substantially over the past 5 years since Ms MacTiernan introduced 500 fulltime and 400 Part-time licenses.   It is now a battle to earn $14.00 per hour after you deduct all the trimming regular wage earners get (holiday, sick, super etc).   Another 300 cabs will mean earning less than a 14 year old at a hamburger chain.   So where do you think we are going to get good, knowledgeable, honest hard working drivers who are willing to work for what will be $12 per hour on average (as it will become)?    How many drivers do you think will take up these plates when they do the maths properly?   How many will return their plates?    Mr Buswell is now increasing policing of the cab industry because of all the poor drivers who have fraudulently entered the industry as it is (Is policing bad drivers less expensive socially and financially than providing trains?).

Announcing 300 plate is just playing the media game and you have applauded him for it.  But wait there’s more.    If he gets applause for releasing 300 why doesn’t he release 1000 or 2000 and just get rid of those pesky trains and buses which cost the government so much to maintain?   Hmmm… really big hit.

Want more including lots of pictures of those busy, busy taxis that make people wait all the time and then just don’t show up.   Go to http://perthcabcrap.blogspot.com/ and get a dose of taxi reality.