Mr BARTON (Eastern Metropolitan) (12:38): My question is to Minister Pulford, representing the Minister for Public Transport, and I ask: what checks are in place to ensure independent taxis meet the statutory safety requirements for cameras, GPS and duress alarms in their cars? Recently it was reported to me that in a new and disturbing trend in our commercial passenger vehicle industry, drivers are leaving the traditional taxi booking service providers to go out on their own, which is not necessarily a bad thing—it is a good thing—but then when they leave a network the supplied meter, tamper-proof camera, GPS and duress equipment are removed and are either not replaced or substituted with non-compliant equipment. Prior to the reforms, taxis used to be required to undergo a proper taxi roadworthy each year, which checked that all these things were operating appropriately. So I ask the minister: who is checking and what checks are in place to ensure independent taxis meet all safety requirements for commercial passenger vehicles?

Ms PULFORD (Western Victoria—Minister for Roads, Minister for Road Safety and the TAC, Minister for Fishing and Boating) (12:39): I thank Mr Barton for his question for Minister Horne and for his ongoing advocacy for people who work in this industry and indeed people who are users of these transport services. I will seek a written response from the minister.

Question – Independent Taxis

I asked the Minister for Public Transport what checks are in place to ensure taxi operators who leave established booking service providers maintain all safety requirements for taxi operators, including tamper proof cameras, fixed GPS and fixed meters.