Transport leader calls for urgent action on ‘out of control’ taxi industry

Tennis-goers looking for a ride home last night were reportedly being asked to pay up to $100 for short trips in the latest in a string of reports of exorbitant cab fares in Melbourne.

Under reforms which came in in 2017, taxi drivers are permitted to negotiate their own fares.

Transport Matters leader Rod Barton says taxis are “out of control”.

Press PLAY below to hear what Mr Barton says is to blame

“The government has lost control,” he told Ross and Russel.

“We’ve got a bunch of bureaucrats …who are now trying to dig in and say ‘This is just the market forces’.

“You can’t run a taxi industry like this!”