Taxi fares and service areas

Taxi fares

The Department of Transport and Main Roads determines maximum fares for taxi services in Queensland under section 91ZR of the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 and publishes the maximum fares in the Queensland Government Gazette—No. 42, 30 June 2023 pages 336-338.

Maximum fares apply to all rank and hail taxi services. In addition, booked hire services are subject to maximum fares only if the service is for a member of the Taxi Subsidy Scheme or is provided in a Wheelchair Accessible Taxi to a person using a wheelchair.

Maximum fares do not apply for all other personalised transport services that are booked. Booked hire services include booked taxi services, limousine and ride-booking services. A fare estimate (in Australian dollars) must be provided prior to the journey commencing, or the fare agreed to upfront.

Drivers must always activate the taximeter at the beginning of the journey to calculate the maximum payable fare for all journeys to which maximum fares apply. Drivers must also always activate the taximeter for any booked service if the fare has not been agreed in advance. Passengers that hail a taxi from the street or enter at a taxi rank, may negotiate the fare for their journey with the driver. They are only required to pay the lower of the metered fare and the negotiated fare (because it is unlawful for a driver to charge more than the maximum fare for the journey).

Passenger fares have 3 categories: South East Queensland, regional and rural.

Passenger fares (taxis)—South East Queensland

• Apply to metered taxis operating in South East Queensland and includes the taxi service areas of: Brisbane, Ipswich, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Redcliffe, Beaudesert, Bribie Island, Mount Tambourine, Laidley and Beerwah.
• Metered taxis are taxis that are required under the taxi service licence to be fitted with a taximeter.
• Passenger fares (taxis)—South East Queensland (vehicle sticker).

Passenger fares (taxis)—regional

• Apply to metered taxis operating in regional Queensland and includes the declared taxi service areas not listed in South East Queensland.
• Passenger fares (taxis)—regional (vehicle sticker).

Passenger fares (taxis)—rural

• Apply to taxi services which are provided in exempted taxis. Exempted taxies are taxis that are not required under the taxi service licence to be fitted with a taximeter.
• Exempted taxis usually operate in communities with low demand that don't need more than 1 vehicle to provide the service.
• Passenger fares (taxis)—rural (vehicle sticker).

We review maximum taxi fares annually, with changes taking effect from 1 July. Find out more about the taxi fares annual review.

For more information about the application of maximum fares, refer to the Fact Sheet—Application of Taxi Fares—Queensland Taxi Fare Structure Maximum Fares Notice.

Metered and exempted taxis

A metered taxi is a taxi that is required under the taxi service licence to be fitted with a taximeter that is fully operational.

An exempted taxi is a taxi that is not required under the taxi service licence to be fitted with a taximeter. Provisions for exempted taxis allow a taxi service to operate in areas where it would not be viable if subject to the conditions and obligations applied to a metered taxi. These taxi services offer different service levels than metropolitan areas, but provide valuable transport in communities where other transport options are limited.

Find out more about taxi service licence conditions.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads determines whether the taxi licences for each service area will need to be a metered taxi.

Taxi service areas

The Department of Transport and Main Roads declares taxi service areas under section 91ZT of the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 and publishes the declared taxi service areas in the Queensland Government Gazette—No. 43, 24 June 2022 page 213.

View the boundaries of each taxi service area below—these have been grouped into regions:

• Central Queensland: Barcaldine, Biloela, Blackall, Blackwater, Bowen, Clermont, Collinsville, Dysart, Emerald, Gladstone, Longreach, Mackay, Moranbah, Mt Morgan, Moura, Rockhampton, Town of 1770/Agnes Water, Winton, Yeppoon
• Gold Coast Region: Beaudesert, Gold Coast, Macleay Island, North Stradbroke Island, Russell Island, Tamborine Canungra
• Northern Queensland: Atherton, Ayr, Bamaga, Cairns, Cardwell, Charters Towers, Cloncurry, Cooktown, Gordonvale Yarrabah, Horn Island, Ingham, Innisfail, Karumba, Kuranda, Magnetic Island, Mareeba, Mission Beach, Mossman, Mt Isa, Normanton, Port Douglas, Ravenshoe, Thursday Island, Townsville, Thuringowa, Tully
• South-East Queensland: Boonah, Bribie Island, Brisbane, Gatton, Glasshouse Beerwah, Ipswich, Kilcoy, Laidley, Lowood, Maleny, Moreton Island, Redcliffe, Sunshine Coast, Toogoolawah, Woodford 
• Southern Queensland: Bundaberg, Charleville, Childers, Chinchilla, Crows Nest, Cunnamulla, Dalby, K’gari (formerly Fraser Island), Gayndah, Goondiwindi, Gympie, Hervey Bay, Kingaroy, Maryborough, Mitchell, Monto, Mundubbera, Murgon, Nanango, Oakey, Pittsworth, Rainbow Beach, Roma, St George, Stanthorpe, Tara, Tin Can Bay, Toowoomba, Warwick, Wondai.

Please note: maps of the areas are provided for assistance only.

Read about taxi fare subsidies for passengers with a disability.