A boost to the Multi-Purpose Taxi Program (MPTP) from the Victorian Government is hoping to address accessibility issues for taxi and rideshare passengers with low mobility, encouraging drivers to prioritise bookings.
An increase to the lifting fee paid to drivers of wheelchair-accessible vehicles by more than 20 per cent is hoped to improve the availability of accessible transport for the thousands of Victorians who rely on these services.
“We’re ensuring greater availability of accessible transport for passengers who require mobility aids or wheelchairs by increasing the subsidy to drivers who provide commercial passenger vehicle services to MPTP members,” said Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll.
“This will lead to more wheelchair-accessible vehicles on our roads and support the Victorians who rely on these services to get where they need to go.”
The MPTP is in place to assist Victorians with accessibility and mobility needs by offering subsidised commercial passenger vehicle fares to members. The program pays half the total fare of each trip taken by an MPTP member, up to $60.
A full lifting fee is also paid to drivers who help to move a passenger into a wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV), or a partial lifting fee for loading an MPTP member’s wheelchair into a conventional commercial passenger vehicle that is not wheelchair accessible.
This lifting fee recognises the higher business cost of supplying WAV services and the additional time required to safely load and secure a wheelchair or scooter.
The full lifting fee paid to the drivers of WAVs each time they pick up an MPTP member has now increased from $21.80 to $26.80.
The MPTP program currently has around 83,000 active members and supported around 3.8 million trips in 2020/21 financial year.
