$905M PACKAGE: Australian cabbies in NSW see assistance offered to taxi licence holders rise

The New South Wales (NSW) Government has presented a final assistance package to NSW taxi licence holders, offering payments worth a total of $905 million.

The extra cash injection in Australia will see the passenger service levy (PSL) increase by 20 cents to $1.20 (ex GST) and be extended to 2030.

Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney, David Elliott, and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Sam Farraway, made the announcement today and said the changes to the financial assistance package were a result of continued discussions and feedback from representatives from the taxi industry.

This now takes the total assistance package, designed to help fully deregulate the industry, from $645 million to $905 million.

The new package provides $150,000 for every Sydney metropolitan taxi licence holder with a cap of 6 plates. Each regional taxi plate will be paid between $40,000 and $195,000, with no cap on the number of plates.

As part of this final assistance package, the passenger service levy will cease in 2030.

If the NSW Taxi Council does not accept the final package, the legislation will not be introduced.

A Government appointed review will then be launched to assess a compensation package, based on the existing passenger service levy.

NSW Transport Minister David Elliott told 2GB's Ben Fordham: “When you consider how Uber has dragged down the price of point-to-point (transport), I really don't think that's going to be seen as unfair or unreasonable.”

Deregulation now means taxi operators no longer need to pay out high fees, sometimes costing over $200,000, to obtain a taxi licence plate. The limit on how many taxis can operate in the area will also be dropped.