Access Cab drivers are planning a rally this Friday outside the Passenger Transport Board on North Terrace to protest at the PTB's heavy handed treatment of their concerns. SA's 68 Access Cab owners provide specialised taxi services to SA's disabled people and operate under a government tender through Yellow Cabs. The Passenger Transport Board closely oversees the contract. "These drivers care deeply about their customers and, by the nature of the job, must have a level of trust and a strong working relationship with their clientele" says TWU SA/NT Secretary Alex Gallacher. "But the drivers feel that the PTB is inflexible, bureaucratic and insensitive to the human needs of both drivers and disabled people. It's a measure of the PTB's overzealous approach that it's now very hard for disabled people to request a favourite driver and drivers are often trusted to undertake tasks that require confidentiality, such as using banking PIN numbers or using home security systems." "They don't understand you can't treat customers like parcels" says one driver. An excess of paperwork and a computerised job allocation system that actually works against Access Cab drivers will drive people away from the industry." At Friday's rally, Access Cab drivers are looking to set the record straight and work towards a solution. Part of the problem is that the value of the vouchers that run the system has not changed since the late 1980's. The $30 maximum providing a 75% subsidy has not changed whereas the cost of a taxi ride has increased considerably. As a result, clients cannot afford to travel the distances the system was designed for. Drivers would also like to see a lifting and loading fee introduced and a genuine input into the Access Cab tendering process. "A majority of the Access Cab drivers are TWU members, are well-organised and feel very strongly about this issue. It won't go away in a hurry" says Alex Gallacher. Further comment: Alex Gallacher 0413 189 552 Access Cab drivers: Dave Hope 0419 825 787 Swamy Pillay 0411 580 967 Rally: 11am Friday 29th November, Forecourt, Roma Mitchell House, 136 North Terrace Adelaide. ###