It was another hot summer day in 1993. The sweat was running down my back and my taxi driver�s shirt was almost soaked with perspiration. As a bailee (subcontract) driver, I had been given another cab to drive without air-conditioning. Many of the cabs at the depot where I worked did not have air-conditioning or, in some cases, power steering. Others had faulty or defective central locking systems and noisy rear ends.
By noon, I had enough of the heat, the burning hot vinyl seats and complaining passengers, to whom I had to try and justify the absence of air-conditioning, the constant vibrations and loud noise coming from the rear differential system.
Pulling up in the driveway, I asked the roster clerk if he had a better cab for me to drive, at least one with air-con. He shook his head and appeared surprised that I had returned nearly 4 hours before the end of my 12 hour shift. Most drivers grudgingly accepted what they were given to drive.
I walked inside the office and began completing my modest pay-in; only $73. Half of my total fares went to the taxi depot. I was not only hot, I was annoyed with the daily grind of having to compete for fares on the road and angry with having to compete for a cab that was in a roadworthy condition, with air-con and a central locking system that actually worked.
The taxi depot manager was a tall middle-aged man. He and his family owned and controlled over 50 taxi licence plates. He was also a director of one of the biggest taxi networks in Melbourne. Around the wall of the taxi drivers� waiting room was a table which ranked each driver�s weekly total fares and kilometres travelled for all to see. You were expected to have a fare for each kilometre travelled, $1 for each kilometre. Prominently displayed were signs which stated how much a driver should take in total fares for each shift during the week. No allowance was made for seasonal factors and the quality of the cab you were given to drive by the roster clerk. If you were unlucky, you would have to drive a cab with a faulty meter and still obtain �average� daily fares.
�What are you doing back here early again?� the depot manager, Stan, enquired. �Well it is like this Stan,� I replied. �It�s very hot and many of the cabs such as mine have no air-con. Unless you can give me a cab with air-con I�ll bring it back and finish my shift early�. Stan got up from his desk and walked toward me. He was taller than me, about 6�3� and heavier. When he was upset he could be intimidating. �We can�t afford to have air-conditioning in every taxi. Air-conditioning increases fuel consumption and we need to keep our costs down. We try to give our regular drivers the better taxis to drive. But only around two thirds of the fleet have air-con. Cabs without air are normally driven by students and casuals.� �Well Stan, when was the last time you drove a taxi in 37� weather without air-conditioning and a noisy diff? When was the last time you did night shift in a cab with a defective central locking system to keep out the drunks and hooligans?� I left the office to collect my belongings form the cab I had parked outside. As I opened the taxi door and bent down Stan called out �You can�t fucken talk to me like that!� He closed the cab door on me as I bent down, pinning me in the doorway. I struggled free, and grabbed Stan by the shoulders. His brother, the roster clerk, then held me from behind. Stan placed a headlock on me. �I�ll get you blackballed. You�ll never drive anywhere else in the industry if you don�t drive for me!�
Thirteen years later, I am still driving cabs, but not for Stan. I have no doubt that the taxi industry needs to change. The public deserves better standards and taxi drivers a better deal. Over the last 13 years both Liberal and State Labor governments have introduced �reforms� that can only be described as cosmetic because they have not addressed or changed the power structure in an industry based on the exploitation of labour and intimidation. Cab drivers work within a context dominated by monopoly licence owners and depots.
Kennett introduced the idea of all Victorian cabs being painted yellow. His government insisted that all drivers wear approved taxi uniforms and attend compulsory training programs. The Bracks Government has extended the training programs and introduced Green Top Peak Service Taxis. The Kennett Government introduced special mini vans designed to address the needs of disabled passengers. Both governments had set up committees to consult with the taxi industry about transport policy. Consultation and reform has been used by governments to divert attention onto peripheral matters and away from the dominant players in the industry.
Taxis are still predominantly driven by bailee (subcontract) taxi drivers. Taxi cabs and licence plates are still overwhelmingly controlled by monopoly licence owners, taxi networks and depots. The Victorian Taxi Directorate (VTD), the policing arm of the industry, is still only able to prosecute complaints and charges against taxi drivers, not taxi depots and licence owners. The introduction of �reforms�, like security cameras and driver-operated Green Top cabs, has not changed the exploitative nature of the industry.
Anarchist Age Weekly Review Number 722
8th January � 14th January 2007