Taxis shun town

Jane Emerick
A taxi shortage is leaving callers stranded as drivers refuse trips in Torquay.
Hospitality businesses have complained the shortage is hurting tourism, inconveniencing patrons and threatening public safety after dark.
Growlers manager Anders Sonderlund said taxis were now almost non-existent in Torquay.
“They’re extremely hard to get hold of and very unreliable,” he said.
“You don’t know when or if they’ll arrive. People expect to be able to get a taxi and we call them but lots of people end up walking.”
Surf City Hotel and Zeally Bay Restaurant owner-operator Greg Touzel said he had practically “given up” on taxis.
“They can’t give you a time when they’re going to come or if they’ll come at all,” he said.
“We have to explain the situation to guests, which isn’t good for tourism.”
Mr Touzel said a young couple had walked pushing a pram from the hotel to Jan Juc at 8.30pm last Saturday after waiting an hour for a taxi.
“This happens all the time. It’s dangerous.”
A Torquay Hotel spokesperson said the taxi shortage had left patrons wandering the streets after closing time, presenting a threat to public safety. The hotel had introduced a introduce minibus service on peak nights because of the taxi shortage, the spokesperson said.
Geelong Taxi Network chief executive officer Peter Valentine, whose company is the sole provider of taxi services in Torquay, called for patience.
“Herein lies the problem: we have had reports of drivers not wanting to do local trips in Torquay,” Mr Valentine said.
“We’re working very closely with the drivers in Torquay to improve the service, but we can’t sit in every car.”
Mr Valentine said Torquay services were inadequate.
Of the company’s 145 taxis, only four had country licences to work in Torquay, he said.
Mr Valentine said some drivers were not “conforming to their licence conditions” when they left Torquay unattended to find more fares in Geelong.
He urged customers in Torquay to provide feedback on the service.
“What we need the public to do is be very alert and report complaints so we can track them in our computer,” he said.
Torquay councillor Dean Webster said taxis shortage highlighted a need for more public transport.
He said council would continue running a free shuttle service during summer and school holidays for tourists.
Council could expand the service if a sponsor came forward, Cr Webster said.
Torquay Commerce and Tourism Association president David Muir said shortage presented a business opportunity.
“Obviously there’s a market opening for a taxi company.”