Restaurant owner Jeynelle
By Melissa Donchi
UPPER Yarra residents have been left stranded after an internal political dispute within Yarra Valley Taxis has seen two drivers refuse to cover the Warburton Highway at night.
For months now it has been increasingly difficult to secure a taxi at night with the local taxi service telling customers to call Yellowcabs instead.
The situation came to a head recently with key shareholder Christian Steele calling a meeting with the Victorian Taxi Directorate (VTD) to address the internal dispute.
Mr Steele said drivers were unwilling to cover the Warburton Highway after 6pm from Sunday to Thursday, which was putting pressure on the company’s already limited resources.
“On the one hand the company is facing a mutiny from a couple of drivers who don’t want to do their jobs and on the other hand we don’t have enough drivers to cover both the Upper Yarra and the Yarra Valley,” Mr Steele said.
“There have been lengthy delays, many people have been unable to get a taxi at all and we realise that there is a problem.
“It breaks my heart to think that people could be stranded out on the highway at night and I, like everyone else, want to see that fixed.”
But it’s not just residents that are affected with local businesses also bearing the burden.
The owner of Rustic Charm restaurant in Wandin East, Jeynelle Forrest says she has often been unable to secure taxis for her customers.
“This time of year we do a lot of functions and people ask to leave their cars here and get a taxi home,” Ms Forrest said. “It’s incredibly inconvenient and not to mention dangerous when they can’t.”
Warburton Millgrove Sports Club secretary Rob Morter said the situation has only gotten worse.
“When I was working behind the bar about five years ago it was hard to get a taxi,” Mr Morter said.
“We have people that have too much to drink and need to get home safely and it’s our responsibility to see that they do,” he said.
“It makes it increasingly difficult when you’re still waiting for a taxi two hours after you’ve closed up.”
Ms Forrest said she tried to address the problem more than a year ago when she asked then local MP Heather McTaggart to investigate. She later received a letter from the VTD claiming there was nothing they could do.
Ms Forrest has now had to put a clause into her function contracts that stipulates staff are unable to book taxis for guests.
“We’ve copped a lot of abuse from customers who have been waiting hours for taxis that never arrived,” Ms Forrest said. “One couple had to walk all across Wandin to get home after a night out.”
Yarra Valley Taxis will have a crisis meeting this week to determine if services can return to normal.
Mr Steele said that if all went well, this would happen sooner rather than later.
