On-demand transport Acts and regulations

Amendments to the Transport (Road Passenger Services) Regulations 2020 are now in effect.

Replace references of ‘call out fee’ to ‘booking fee’

The term ‘call out fee’ has been replaced with ‘booking fee’, to help provide further clarity to operators and passengers.

On-demand booking services (ODBSs) may apply booking fees, when a passenger books an on-demand rank or hail (taxi) journey. The fee must be made clear to the passenger prior to booking confirmation and only be charged once per journey.

ODBSs must update their fare schedules displaying these fees. To allow time for industry to adjust, DoT will not enforce this change until 12 months from the commencement date of the regulations.

Abolish guaranteed booking fee for the metropolitan area

The ‘guaranteed booking fee’ previously available within the Perth metropolitan region has been removed from the Regulations.

Consultation with on-demand rank or hail ODBSs in the metropolitan area indicated they did not offer this option, and the fee was not utilised.

Removing the guaranteed booking fee provides consistency in fare setting for on-demand rank or hail (taxi) vehicles across the state.

Prescribed amount for hire or reward

The prescribed amount for hire or reward has changed to 88 cents per kilometre (previously 72 cents per kilometre).

This is based on the Australian Taxation Office’s claimable amount per kilometre for vehicle use applicable from 1 July 2024.

Trading names and business names for ODBSs

In line with the changes made to the Australian Business Register (ABR) on 1 November 2023, DoT will no longer recognise ‘trading names’ as an identifying detail.

Under the Regulations, all ODBSs (or associated ODBSs) and regular passenger transport service providers must include at least one detail that identifies the provider of the service in their advertising and on the receipts they issue.

The identifying details specified as options are now:

• the provider’s authorisation number;
• the provider’s name; or
• a business name used with the provision of the ODBS.

Under the Transport (Road Passenger Services) Act 2018 (Act), DoT is required to publish a list of all authorised ODBS providers including the following details:

• the name of the ODBS provider;
• the business name used in connection with the provision of the ODBS; and
• the ODBS authorisation number.

Display of driver identity information

Drivers of on-demand rank or hail (taxi) and on-demand charter vehicles must always have their driver identification document on display in their vehicle, in a location that is prominently visible to passengers.

The driver identity information must contain:

• a photograph of the driver;
• the driver’s first name; and
• the driver’s passenger transport driver (PTD) authorisation number.

These requirements may be met by driver identity cards, driver profiles displayed to customers in booking apps or integrated with taxi dispatch equipment. Drivers should work with their ODBSs to ensure their driver identity information is displayed correctly and in accordance with the Regulations.

If a fare calculation device (meter) display has the driver identification information displayed, it must be modified to ensure the driver identification does not rotate out of view.