Passenger Transport Services Regulations 2023

Passenger Transport Services Regulations 2023

19 June 2023

I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Passenger Transport Services Act 2011.

These regulations may be cited as the Passenger Transport Services Regulations 2023.

These regulations take effect on 26 June 2023.

In these regulations – Act means the Passenger Transport Services Act 2011; contactless payment method means – a debit or credit card issued by an authorised deposit-taking institution; or a physical or electronic card or token issued by the department responsible for the administration of the Act; or another device or item – capable of being used to make payment for a fare by means of a reader; fare at a concession rate includes a fare calculated in accordance with a taxi subsidy program under a transport concession scheme administered by the Department; hiring period means the period between such time as a taxi that has been hired is put in motion until the time when the taxi comes to a stop at the destination; on-demand driver means a driver of a vehicle used for the provision of an on-demand passenger transport service; operational capacity, in respect of a vehicle, means the operational capacity of the vehicle as determined under Schedule 1; reader means an approved device that – is installed, in an approved manner, in a vehicle being used to provide a regular passenger service; and is to be used for the purposes of – accepting payment for fares relating to the regular passenger service; and registering when a passenger commences and ceases a journey on or in the vehicle; relevant person, in respect of a vehicle, means – if the vehicle is being operated as a taxi under the authority of a taxi licence that can be identified, the responsible operator of the taxi licence; or if the vehicle is being operated as a taxi under the authority of a taxi licence that cannot be identified, the registered operator of the vehicle; or if the vehicle is not being operated as a taxi, the registered operator of the vehicle; required equipment means equipment, notices, signs or labels installed or displayed in accordance with the Taxi and Hire Vehicle Industries Act 2008 in a vehicle that is being operated under the authority of a licence; scan, in relation to a ticket or a contactless payment method, means to hold the ticket or contactless payment method in front of a reader until such time as the reader indicates (by means of a display, sound or other signal) that it has read and accepted payment by means of the ticket or contactless payment method; statewide fare structure means a document, approved by the Secretary and published from time to time on a website maintained by or on behalf of the Department, specifying the fares which may be charged by, or on behalf of, the Department or the operator of a regular passenger service contracted by the Secretary under section 44, 45 or 46 of the Act; ticket includes an electronic ticket or electronic token that indicates that a fare has been paid in relation to a journey on a passenger transport service.

Unless the contrary intention appears, a term used in these regulations and also in the Taxi and Hire Vehicle Industries Act 2008 or Taxi and Hire Vehicle Industries Regulations 2023 has the same meaning in these regulations as in that Act or regulations.

For the purposes of paragraph (g) of the definition of serious offence in section 3(1) of the Act, the following offences are prescribed:

an offence under – section 235, 250, 252A, 253, 253A, 257B, 264, 278, 283(b), 284, 288, 293 or 294 of the Criminal Code; or section 43A of the Police Offences Act 1935; or section 64 of the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999;

an offence under – Division 3 of Part 5.7 of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth; or Division 2 of Part III of theTaxation Administration Act 1953of the Commonwealth;

an offence under regulation 22(4);

an offence under regulation 25.

For the purposes of section 8(1)(d) of the Act, the following motor vehicles are prescribed as motor vehicles to which the Act does not apply:

vans used to transport prisoners within the meaning of the Corrections Act 1997;

large passenger vehicles used primarily to provide services in, or responses to, an emergency within the meaning of the Emergency Management Act 2006, whether the vehicle is operated by the State or a private organisation.

For the purposes of this regulation – community transport service means a transport service provided by – an organisation that provides a service in pursuit of the primary purposes of that organisation and that is – a not-for-profit organisation; and funded entirely or partially by any of the following or a combination of any of the following:the Commonwealth; the State; a council; or an organisation that is, or is entitled to be, endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a charitable or benevolent institution; or a council.

For the purposes of section 8A(4) of the Act, the following persons are prescribed to be a booking service provider:a person who provides a taxi dispatch service or other communication network that operates in a taxi area that is not a remote taxi area; a person who permits a ride-sourcing driver to operate a passenger transport service by means of ride-sourcing software.

For the purposes of section 8A(5) of the Act, the following persons are prescribed not to be a booking service provider:a person who provides a community transport service; a person who provides radio or dispatch services in relation to services in, or responses to, an emergency within the meaning of the Emergency Management Act 2006; a person who provides, or provides services in relation to, the tuition of drivers; a person who is the licence holder, accredited operator or registered operator in relation to a vehicle being operated as a taxi and is affiliated with a booking service provider; a person who is the licence holder, accredited operator or registered operator in relation to a vehicle being operated as a taxi, and who both arranges bookings in relation to the provision of a taxi service and uses a taxi dispatch service for this purpose, but is not an affiliated operator in relation to a booking service provider.

For the avoidance of doubt, a person specified in subregulation (3)(d) may occasionally refer bookings to, or receive bookings from, another such person without being deemed a booking service provider.

For the purposes of section 35(2)(c) of the Act, a passenger service is taken not to be a regular passenger service for the purposes of the Act if the passenger service is operated by, or on behalf of, a private institution or association solely for use by people enrolled at, or affiliated with, that institution or association.

For the purposes of section 23(2)(a) of the Act, the following particulars in respect of an accredited operator are prescribed as the particulars that are to be contained within the register required to be kept under that section:

the full name of the accredited operator;

the business address of the accredited operator;

each type of accreditation held by the accredited operator;

the accreditation number associated with each type of accreditation held by the accredited operator;

the date on which each type of accreditation held by the accredited operator commenced;

the current accreditation status of the accredited operator;

any conditions attached to an accreditation held by the accredited operator;

the full name and contact details for the relevant person nominated in respect of each accreditation held by the accredited operator;

whether the accredited operator is a booking service provider;

if the accredited operator is a booking service provider – the full name and contact details of each affiliated operator in relation to the accredited operator; and the accreditation number of each affiliated operator who provides a taxi service, in relation to the accredited operator; and the date on which the affiliated operator became affiliated with the accredited operator; and the date on which the affiliated operator ceased to be affiliated with the accredited operator, if applicable.

The Commission may issue written instructions as to how evidence of accreditation is to be displayed in vehicles used to provide services in accordance with the accreditation.

An accredited operator must comply with any applicable written instructions issued under subregulation (1). Fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.

An accredited operator providing an on-demand passenger transport service is to keep records of the following information in relation to the provision of that service:copies of the information required to be contained in the accreditation register under regulation 8(c), (d), (e), (g), (i) and (j); the following particulars in relation to each person operating as an on-demand driver for the on-demand passenger transport service in relation to which accreditation is held by the accredited operator:the driver licence number or other unique driver identifier of the person; the date of the commencement of the operation of that person; the date of the conclusion of the operation of the person, if applicable; the number of vehicles being operated under the on-demand passenger transport service in relation to which accreditation is held by the accredited operator; the following particulars in relation to each vehicle being operated under the on-demand passenger transport service in relation to which accreditation is held by the accredited operator:the registration number, and VIN allocated to the vehicle and recorded on the register of motor vehicles and trailers kept under the Vehicle and Traffic (Driver Licensing and Vehicle Registration) Regulations 2021; a record of installation of required equipment used on the vehicle, and of any testing of that equipment; the date on which the vehicle commenced to be so operated; the date on which the vehicle ceased to be so operated, if applicable; particulars of any breach, in relation to the service, of a standard approved under section 16 of the Act; particulars of any occasion during which a vehicle being operated during the provision of the service ceased to function due to a failure to comply with the relevant vehicle standards applicable to the vehicle under the Vehicle and Traffic (Driver Licensing and Vehicle Registration) Regulations 2021; particulars of any occasion during which a vehicle being operated during the provision of the service was not registered in accordance with the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999; particulars of any occasion during which the on-demand driver operating a vehicle during the provision of the service was not licensed in accordance with the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999; particulars of any incident occurring during the provision of the service that resulted in an injury to a person that required treatment by an ambulance officer or in the injured person being treated in a hospital; particulars of any incident occurring during the provision of the service that resulted in the vehicle that was being operated sustaining damage to such an extent that the vehicle was unable to be used to complete the service; particulars of any occasion during which a mechanical or other fault in the vehicle being operated during the provision of the service caused the vehicle to be unable to be used to complete the service; particulars of any incident occurring during the provision of the service that resulted in a complaint being made to the police containing allegations of assault, indecency or indecent assault; particulars of any incident occurring during the provision of the service which resulted in the on-demand driver who was operating the vehicle being charged with a serious offence; particulars of any incident occurring during the provision of the service which resulted in the on-demand driver who was operating the vehicle being subject to a disqualification from driving under one or more of the following Acts:the Police Offences Act 1935; the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970; the Sentencing Act 1997; the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999; a record of any accidents, incidents, hazards identified, or complaints made, in relation to the provision of the service; a record of any complaint made, in relation to the provision of the service, by a person who is accompanied by an assistance animal, as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of the Commonwealth, who has been denied service for any reason; a record of all current policies, procedures and training records in relation to the service; a record of compliance or non-compliance with any requirement under the Act or any other Act, in relation to the service, by the following:an affiliated operator; a relevant person; a taxi licence holder; a vehicle; an on-demand driver; any return, report, correspondence or document required to be produced under the Act or any other Act in relation to the service, produced by, or in the possession of, the accredited operator.

An accredited operator not providing an on-demand passenger transport service is to keep records of the implementation of appropriate safety, security and related systems as required by safety, security and related standards approved under section 16 of the Act.

The accredited operator, the booking services provider, and the relevant person in relation to an on-demand passenger transport service is to keep a record, for each calendar month, of the registration number of each vehicle used to operate the service during that calendar month.

The Commission may request a copy of a record kept in accordance with subregulation (1), within a period specified in the request.

The Commission may exempt, for a specified period, a person from keeping a record in accordance with subregulation (1).