Passengers who leave a mess or vomit in a Victorian taxi will get hit with a $120 fee, but general fares are to stay the same, the state’s economic regulator has ruled.
The Essential Services Commission has left maximum unbooked fares unchanged.
But it’s introducing a new cleaning charge of up to $120 for passengers who make a mess that takes a cab off the road for cleaning, a fee already charged by other commercial services including ridesharing.
‘Passengers who vomit, or spill food or drink are costing providers time and money and it’s only fair for them to be compensated for that time,’ commission regulation director Marcus Crudden said.
‘Allowing unbooked taxis to also recover these costs will put our taxis in line with those in other states.’
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It is the first pricing decision for unbooked commercial passenger vehicles since the state government deregulated prices for booked taxis while maximum fares for unbooked services are still capped.
The commission says it decided not to increase the maximum fares so as not to discourage people from using taxis.
The decision covers fares in metropolitan Melbourne and urban and large regional zones including Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Frankston, Dandenong and the Mornington Peninsula.
The new cleaning fee comes into effect on October 1, 2018.
