Table 13 Growth assumptions used in the inquiry’s longer term modelling
Assumption
|
Figure
|
Source of estimate
|
Cost growth (excluding payments to licence owners)
|
3.5%
|
Consistent with historic fare growth between 1991 and 2011263
|
Fare growth under TII proposals
|
3.5%
|
Consistent with historic fare growth
|
Fare growth under industry proposals
|
4.0%
|
Higher growth than TII assumption reflecting higher payments to licence holders
|
Demand growth (pre-waiting time effects)
|
2.5%
|
Consistent with moderate growth in income and consumption
|
Own-price elasticity of demand
|
-0.51
|
One-half of inquiry surveyed value
|
The inquiry compares its modelling of the approach recommended in this report with its modelling of the licence trigger approaches supported by the VTA in the tables below, estimated over five, 10 and 20 years.
Table 14 Comparing the inquiry’s proposals with industry proposals (five, 10 and 20 years)
5 year
|
Base year
|
Industry proposal (1)
|
Industry proposal (2)
|
TII proposal
|
Fares ($ per passenger kilometre)
|
2.43
|
2.96
|
2.96
|
2.89
|
Number taxis
|
4,085
|
4,111
|
4,389
|
4,491
|
Passenger demand (million passenger kilometres)
|
255.4m
|
260.9m
|
268.6m
|
274.5m
|
Response time (minutes)
|
8.6
|
8.6
|
7.9
|
7.7
|
Payments to licence holders ($)
|
29,000
|
41,059
|
35,631
|
20,000
|
Driver payments per hour ($)
|
13.66
|
16.86
|
16.26
|
17.44
|
Total driver payments ($m)
|
310.5m
|
385.6m
|
397.1m
|
435.7m
|
Licence value264 ($)
|
480,000
|
684,000-912,000
|
594000- 792,000
|
250,000-300,000
|
10 year
|
Base year
|
Industry proposal (1)
|
Industry proposal (2)
|
TII proposal
|
Fares ($ per passenger kilometre)
|
2.43
|
3.60
|
3.60
|
3.43
|
Number taxis
|
4,085
|
4,119
|
4,654
|
4,825
|
Passenger demand (million passenger kilometres)
|
255.4m
|
262.5m
|
276.5m
|
288.4m
|
Response time (minutes)
|
8.6
|
8.6
|
7.4
|
7.1
|
Payments to licence holders ($)
|
29,000
|
55,019
|
42,318
|
20,000
|
Driver payments per hour ($)
|
13.66
|
20.60
|
19.20
|
20.25
|
Total driver payments ($m)
|
310.5m
|
472.1m
|
497.3m
|
543.8m
|
Licence value ($)
|
480,000
|
917,000-1,223,000
|
705,000-940,000
|
250,000-300,000
|
20 year
|
Base year
|
Industry proposal (1)
|
Industry proposal (2)
|
TII proposal
|
Fares ($ per passenger kilometre)
|
2.43
|
5.32
|
5.32
|
4.84
|
Number taxis
|
4,085
|
4,056
|
4,775
|
5,194
|
Passenger demand (million passenger kilometres)
|
255.4m
|
249.5m
|
267.6m
|
299.6m
|
Response time (minutes)
|
8.6
|
8.6
|
7.0
|
6.5
|
Payments to licence holders ($)
|
29,000
|
83,825
|
59,694
|
20,000
|
Driver payments per hour ($)
|
13.66
|
29.43
|
26.81
|
27.56
|
Total driver payments ($m)
|
310.5m
|
664.3m
|
712.4m
|
796.7m
|
Licence value ($)
|
480,000
|
1,400,000- 1,863,000
|
950,000-1,327,000
|
250,000-300,000
|
The inquiry concludes that:
In the shorter term:
-
The inquiry’s proposals produce significantly more entry than the approach that maintains waiting times (Industry proposal 1) and more entry than the approach that caps assignments at their current level in real terms (Industry proposal 2)
-
Waiting times are significantly reduced under the inquiry’s approach and also reduced under Industry proposal 2
-
Fares are broadly similar under all approaches
-
There is a significant benefit to drivers under the inquiry’s proposals compared to Industry proposal 2, due to the increase in payment to 55 per cent of the fare box. This reflects the desired transfer from licence owners to drivers, which should have some further impact on driver quality (not modelled here).
In the longer term (10 to 20 years), the differences between the approaches become more stark:
-
The impact of capping assignment values at $20,000 means that there is significantly more entry, a slower growth in fares and significantly more trips taken in taxis than in either Industry proposals 1 or 2
-
The impacts of the licensing restriction become minimal under the inquiry proposals, as licence values stay at around $250,000 in nominal terms ($150,000 in real terms) while continuing to grow under Industry proposal 1 (to very high levels) and increasing in nominal terms under Industry proposal 2 (and even this outcome assumes that the industry’s proposal of assignment capping via licence release is implemented effectively)
-
Considerably more money from the fare box makes its way to drivers, with at least nine per cent more revenue going to drivers than under either of the industry proposals.
The inquiry considers that this modelling demonstrates the benefits to consumers of moving to a less restrictive licensing system. The short term benefits arise in the form of better driver quality, while in the longer term benefits derive from lower fare growth, greater availability and growing the market more generally.
This modelling also does not take account of benefits from greater scope to innovate and do more non-traditional taxi work, which becomes more feasible with lower licence prices (including share rides and fixed route work). Nor does it account for additional cost savings that are achievable through the proposed measures, including advertising and the removal of mandatory affiliation.
Impact of hire car changes
The inquiry has also considered how changes to the regulation of hire cars and the introduction of PBOs will affect demand for taxis. This can be incorporated into the modelling by bringing hire car demand into the demand function for taxi services. While it could be expected that the two are negatively related so that more hire cars would lead to reduced taxi demand it is highly uncertain just how close this link is. Formally, in the model this is reflected in a cross-elasticity: the percentage impact of a one per cent increase in hire cars on the demand for taxi services. The inquiry considers this value must be inferred based on a reasonable judgement of the likely substitutability of these services and the respective shares in demand of the two services currently (that is, it is unreasonable to assume a very large cross effect, purely because taxis currently have a far greater share of demand for pre-booked services).
The inquiry’s modelling has therefore focused on the impact of cost reductions from lower licence prices and the removal of luxury vehicle requirements, and the increased entry this may facilitate. This modelling indicates that the proposed changes will have a relatively minor impact in the short term. This is because the cost savings expected are not quantitatively large – the inquiry estimates cost savings of around $3,000 per year broadly split between similar-sized reductions in licence and vehicle costs. This is expected to lead to entry of around 100 to 200 more hire cars.
At this rate of entry, the inquiry expects that the impact on demand for taxi services will be relatively minor. For example, using an elasticity of taxi demand with respect to numbers of hire cars of -0.05 (a 10 per cent increase in hire cars leads to a –0.5 per cent fall in taxi demand) with 200 new hire cars would lead to just over a one per cent decrease in taxi demand. This is the equivalent of 13,000 passenger kilometres per new hire car that switch from taxi users. This kind of effect would only have a minimal impact on the operation of taxi services in the short term.
Finally, the inquiry does not factor in any changes in prices by PBOs as part of this modelling and nor would it be appropriate to do so. The reason is that the proposed changes primarily affect fixed costs and changes in fixed costs do not affect firms’ pricing decisions. A well-known result in economics is that firms profit-maximise by equating marginal revenue with marginal cost, not fixed costs. The size of fixed costs ultimately determines how many firms will be feasible in the industry and this is the kind of effect modelled by the inquiry.
List of acronyms
4WD Four Wheel Drive
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACCC Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
ACL Australian Consumer Law
APCA Australian Payments Clearing Association
ATDA Australian Taxi Drivers Association
ATO Authorised Taxi Organisation
BCC Black Cabs Combined
CAV Consumer Affairs Victoria
CBD Central Business District
CBS Central Booking Service
CCTV Closed-circuit television
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CH Country hire car
COAG Council of Australian Governments
CSM Customer Satisfaction Monitor
DARU Disability Advocacy Resource Unit
DOT Department of Transport
DSAPT Australian Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport
EFTPOS Electronic Funds Transfer at Point Of Sale
ESC Essential Services Commission
FCLC Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria
GMTLR Greater Melbourne Taxi Licence Release
GPS Global Positioning System
GST Goods and Services Tax
IPART Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal
IRR International Rate of Return
MH Metropolitan hire car
MPTP Multi Purpose Taxi Program
NBG National Billing Group (CabFare)
NCP National Competition Policy
NDIS National Disability Insurance Scheme
NMI National Measurement Institute
NSP Network Service Provider
NSW New South Wales
NYC TLC New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
OH&S Occupational Health and Safety
OIML International Organization of Legal Metrology
PBBS Performance Based Booking Service
PBO Pre-Booked Only cab
PCI Payment Card Industry
PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers
RACV Royal Auto Club of Victoria
RBA Reserve Bank of Australia
RH Registered Hire
RTO Registered Training Organisation
SV Special Purpose Vehicle
TIA Transport Integration Act 2010
TII Taxi Industry Inquiry
TISV Taxi Industry Stakeholders Victoria Incorporated
TSC Taxi Services Commission
VCAT Victorian Civil and Administrative Council
VCOSS Victorian Council of Social Service
VDAC Victorian Disability Advisory Council
VECCI Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry
VEIC Victorian Events Industry Council
VEOHRC Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
VSBC Office of the Victorian Small Business Commissioner
VTA Victorian Taxi Association
VTD Victorian Taxi Directorate
VTIC Victorian Tourism Industry Council
WAT Wheelchair Accessible Taxi
WCAV Wedding Car Association of Victoria
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