Transport and Other Legislation (Personalised Transport Reform) Amendment Bill 2017

Introduced: 21/3/2017By: Hon M Bailey MPStatus: PASSED with amendment

Transport & Roads Work & Employment Business & Economy

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Plain English Summary

Overview

This bill sets up a new regulatory framework for taxis, limousines and ride-booking services like Uber in Queensland. It creates new licence and authorisation categories, imposes a chain of responsibility for safety across the industry, and strengthens penalties for unlicensed services.

Who it affects

Anyone who uses or drives for a taxi, limousine or ride-booking service in Queensland, plus the companies that run booking apps. Taxis keep exclusive rights to street pickups, while rideshare operators get a formal legal framework.

Key changes

Creates a new 'booked hire service' licence for rideshare and other booked vehicles, with no cap on numbers
Requires all booking companies (including foreign app operators like Uber) to be authorised, with foreign operators needing a local nominee who is legally accountable in Queensland
Makes everyone in the transport chain (operators, drivers, booking companies) share responsibility for safety, with penalties up to 5 years jail for reckless conduct
Extends the zero blood alcohol rule to all drivers providing public passenger services, including when they are just connected to a booking app waiting for a job
Allows the chief executive to suspend a driver's licence for one month if they commit three relevant offences in three years, with no right of appeal
Keeps taxis as the only vehicles that can be hailed on the street or from taxi ranks, with much higher penalties for repeat offenders
Preserves maximum taxi fares and allows regulation to cap credit card and payment surcharges

How this affects you

Transport & Roads

•You can keep using taxis, Uber and other ride-booking services, but under a new legal framework that puts safety duties on everyone from the driver to the booking appClause 18, new Part 3New chapter 7 imposes a primary duty of care on each person in the chain of responsibility for a taxi service or booked hire service to ensure safety so far as is reasonably practicable.
•Only taxis can still be hailed from the street or a taxi rank; ride-booking vehicles must be pre-bookedClause 18, new sections 74 and 77A person must not provide a taxi service using a motor vehicle that is not a taxi; and a booked hire service requested through a fixed booking device must be provided using a taxi.
•Maximum taxi fares are kept in place, and regulation can cap credit card surcharges on taxi and booked hire faresClause 18, new sections 91ZR and 91ZSThe chief executive may decide maximum fares for taxi services by gazette notice; a regulation may prescribe a maximum payment surcharge for a fare.
•If you have a disability, the Taxi Subsidy Scheme continues and can be extended to limousines and booked hire vehicles in futureClause 18, new section 91ZYA regulation may provide a scheme under which the State pays the whole or part of fares for public passenger services provided using taxis, limousines or booked hire vehicles.

Work & Employment

•If you drive a taxi or ride-booking service, you must have zero alcohol in your system whenever your vehicle is available for hire — even while waiting for a booking on an appClause 34The zero BAC requirement is extended to drivers of any motor vehicle that is available to be used, about to be used, or being used to provide a public passenger service, including while connected to a booking service or app.
•Your driver licence can be suspended for a month if you commit three relevant offences in three years, and you cannot appeal the suspensionClause 18, new sections 91ZJ and 91ZKThe chief executive may suspend a driver's licence for one month if the person has, within a 3-year period, committed 3 or more relevant driver offences; the decision is not reviewable.
•Driver fatigue is a legal safety risk — both drivers and booking companies must take reasonable steps to stop fatigued drivingClause 18, new section 91BA person must not drive a vehicle used for a taxi or booked hire service while impaired by fatigue; a person in the chain of responsibility must take all reasonable steps to ensure another person does not drive while fatigued.
•Taxi bailment agreements between operators and drivers are no longer regulated — pay and conditions become a workplace relations matterClause 13Chapter 4A of the Act is omitted; agreements with drivers are considered a workplace relations matter for the industry to manage subject to other legislation.

Business & Economy

•If you run a booking app or service (including from overseas), you must hold a booking entity authorisation to operate legally in QueenslandClause 18, new sections 78 and 91VA person must not provide a booking service for another person to drive a motor vehicle to provide a booked hire service unless the person is an authorised booking entity.
•Foreign booking companies like Uber must appoint an Australian local nominee who is legally liable for offences the company commitsClause 18, new sections 91ZD and 91ZEIf the authorised booking entity commits an offence against this Act, the entity's local nominee is taken to have also committed the offence.
•Providing an unlicensed taxi or booked hire service exposes companies to fines up to 3,000 penalty units (about $390,000 in 2017) for repeat offencesClause 18, new section 74Maximum penalty for a third or later offence of providing a taxi service using a non-taxi by a person other than the driver is 3,000 penalty units; corporations face up to five times this under the Penalties and Sentences Act.
•Booking companies must regularly give government data about bookings, drivers and vehicles to help monitor safety and service standardsClause 18, new section 91ZGAn authorised booking entity must keep and provide information prescribed by regulation about booking services and booked hire services, with maximum penalty of 150 penalty units for non-compliance.

Bill Journey

Introduced21 Mar 2017

First Reading

Committee

Committee Report15 May 2017

Committee report tabled

Second Reading

In Detail

Third Reading

Royal Assent5 June 2017

Referenced Entities

Sectors Affected

Tourism Public Transport Road Transport

Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards

Transport and Other Legislation (Personalised Transport Reform) Amendment Bill 2017

Plain English Summary

Overview

Who it affects

Key changes

Bill Journey

Referenced Entities

Legislation

Organisations

Programs & Schemes

Roles & Offices

Sectors Affected

Source Documents