Transporting people with disability

As a driver for an on-demand transport service, you have a duty of care to your passengers. These passengers may have a disability, be vulnerable or have diverse accessibility needs.  

If you’re driving a rank or hail (taxi) wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV), you need be able to demonstrate that you are competent in the safe loading, restraint and unloading of a passenger in a wheelchair.

Nationally recognised units of competency outline performance standards for particular workplace skills. TLIC2040 is the unit of competency related to providing wheelchair accessible taxi services to passengers with disability (see link below). 

You need to be able to demonstrate that you can meet the standards of two parts of TLIC2040:

• Element 3 (Assist passengers into and out of a taxi in a manner suited to their disability); and
• Element 4 (Drive a taxi used by passengers with disabilities).

The Department of Transport doesn’t mandate driver training requirements. Your on-demand booking service may require you to complete specific WAV driver training to be able to drive for them. 

Training in the Perth metro area

Black & White Cabs (WA), trading as 13 MAXI, is currently the dedicated multi-purpose taxi dispatch service in the Perth metropolitan area. Contact them for further information about WAV driver training (see link below).

Training in regional WA

If you are operating in regional WA, please direct any queries about WAV driver training to the on-demand booking service you drive for (or intend to drive for).

Assistance animals come in all shapes and sizes and are highly trained to meet behavioural and hygiene standards. 

Under the law, passenger transport drivers in WA must not refuse to carry an assistance animal or an assistance animal in training. 

Refusing to carry an assistance animal is an offence. You can be issued an infringement of $9,000 if you refuse to carry an assistance animal in your passenger transport vehicle.

Partnering with assistance animals helps many people with disability to live independently and provides a range of physical and emotional benefits. We all have a responsibility to ensure people who partner with assistance animals are supported in accessing transport that meets their needs.

For further information, visit the Australian Human Rights Commission website (below).
 

The Taxi User Subsidy Scheme (TUSS) is a subsidy available to certain eligible people with disability travelling in taxis. 

Some TUSS participants may be able to travel in conventional taxis. Other participants may have accessibility needs that mean they need to travel in a specially modified wheelchair accessible vehicle.

All taxi drivers in WA are legally required to accept TUSS vouchers as part payment for a fare. 

Penalties apply if the TUSS Guidelines (see below) are not followed or if drivers refuse to accept TUSS vouchers.

Before the trip

Before the start of the trip, drivers must: 

• Obtain the passenger’s TUSS card and TUSS voucher booklet.
• Complete the following fields on the TUSS voucher:
  • Date (on stub and voucher);
  • From (pickup location, on stub and voucher);
  • TUSS Participant Number;
  • Expiry date;
  • Driver ID number (stub and voucher);
  • Taxi vehicle licence number plate;
  • Start time;
  • Odometer reading at the start of the trip;
  • Street address and suburb that the trip starts and ends at;
  • On-demand booking service authorisation number;
  • Job number;
  • Wheelchair used (yes/no) (for green and purple vouchers only); and
  • Tariff 3 (yes/no).

Check the picture below to see which boxes need to be filled out before a trip starts (highlighted yellow).

Follow the below tips so your TUSS vouchers can be processed quickly, ensuring timely payment.

• Write clearly and legibly.
• Use the correct date and time formats – 24 hour time, dates DD/MM/YYYY.
• Check that all TUSS participant and trip details are entered correctly before submitting your vouchers – the Department of Transport (DoT) does not correct errors made when completing vouchers.
• Make sure you sign the Driver Declaration on the back of the voucher – unsigned vouchers will not be paid.
• If there are sections where you are writing the same answer for each trip (such as the on-demand booking service authorisation number or PTD authorisation / Driver ID number), consider making and using a stamp.

DoT has developed a visual TUSS how-to-guide for drivers. Read How to complete TUSS vouchers: a guide for taxi drivers below, or print a copy to keep in your taxi.

After completing a TUSS voucher for a taxi journey, the driver is entitled to payment for the subsidised fare from the Department of Transport (DoT).

These payments are administered by a third-party voucher processing contractor – they accept TUSS vouchers, check that the vouchers are valid, and pay the taxi driver (or the driver's agent) the appropriate amount. TUSS vouchers must be submitted for payment within 90 days of the voucher’s date of travel. 

Drivers should ensure that all vouchers are filled in correctly before submitting them for payment – DoT does not correct errors made when completing vouchers.

The current voucher processing contractor is Black & White Cabs. Drivers should submit the completed TUSS voucher in person or by post to:
Black & White Cabs
1/33 Frederick St
Belmont WA 6104

Once validated, Black & White Cabs will credit the driver's nominated Australian bank account within five working days.