New rules on horizon for Qld cab drivers

(AAP) New cab rules are on the horizon after a taxi blitz in southeast Queensland grounded cabs that were filthy, had dodgy security cameras or were unroadworthy.

The month-long compliance crackdown has come after cabbies complained that young
inexperienced foreign taxi drivers are being given cab licences, putting the public
at risk with their driving.
Police, Queensland Transport and Department of Immigration officials have so far
carried out more than 4,000 vehicle checks, and the crackdown would continue,
Transport Minister Rachel Nolan told AAP.
The blitz escalated over the weekend and centred on Brisbane CBD and the Gold Coast,
but no one was found to have breached immigration requirements, she said, which was
also confirmed by the immigration department and police.
"Some quite wild allegations have been made that there are foreign drivers who are
not properly authorised and in this blitz no such thing has been found," Ms Nolan
said.
"Taxi driver licensing and authorisation does not run on the basis of race ... and I
think that position has been upheld by the results of this compliance blitz so far.
"A taxi strategy which addresses training standards is now only weeks away."
Current regulations meant potential drivers had to possess an Australian "open"
licence and had to pass a training course administered by the taxi company and
overseen by Queensland Transport.
"I am having a look at essentially raising that bar - in terms of training
standards," Ms Nolan said.
"While we have found dirty cabs and about a dozen cases of security cameras not
working, and we've ordered those people off the road, the community should take some
heart from that."
The Cab Drivers' Association of Queensland (CDAQ) secretary Lee Sims told AAP the
government hadn't gone far enough to protect Queenslanders and someone could be
killed from reports they'd received of unsafe driving.
"She (Ms Nolan) was warned if something wasn't done about the standard of the
driving of the students that there would be a very serious occurrence that we
thought may result in a death, or someone being seriously assaulted," Mr Sims said.
Because the standard of Indian driving was not to the same standard of Australia it
was necessary to impose stricter standards that include drivers have an Australian
licence for at least three years, he said.
More than 15,000 taxi drivers are registered to drive the nearly 4,000 cabs in the
Brisbane area.