Taxi and booked hire services

Taxi and booked hire services include services provided by taxis and rideshare vehicles. They provide accessible transport options and localised access for people with disability.

They connect people to and from passenger transport services and complement traditional passenger transport services, particularly in areas with limited access to buses and trains.

We are collaborating with industry to address taxi and rideshare availability, reliability and bookings systems.

What you have told us

"If I get the regular drivers of the taxis, they are always helpful."

"Taxi and rideshare services need to be improved as they are currently unreliable or non-existent for many wheelchair users."

Taxis and booked hire services are an important service for people with disability who don't have the option to drive independently or can't access other passenger transport services. It’s important to ensure booking systems are accessible and wheelchair accessible taxis are available.

Services and drivers need to be reliable so customers can depend on them to get to and from important events and activities, including medical appointments.

The Taxi Subsidy Scheme supports many people with disability to access taxis. People have told us they would like the subsidy to include rideshare services, so they have more options where taxi availability is limited.

What we are doing

Listening to people with disability

We are collaborating with, and actively seeking feedback from, people with disability to improve accessible taxi services.

Accessible Taxi Services Working Group

We engage with people across the community and industry to understand the issues for people with disability accessing booked services, and to find ways to address them.

The Accessible Taxi Services Working Group includes representatives from the taxi industry, and disability advocates who regularly meet to address ongoing accessibility challenges within the industry and to find solutions.

Taxi and booked hire transport accessibility surveys

The personalised transport accessibility surveys allow us to:

• identify and monitor issues faced by customers with disability
• track the impacts of actions implemented to address concerns about taxi and booked hire services.

The surveys help inform future policies and regulations about accessible taxi and booked hire services.

Best practice guide for booking systems

Together with disability sector representatives, we have co-designed a best practice guide to support booking companies to design more accessible booking and communication systems. This will ensure people with disability aren’t disadvantaged when booking and using taxi and booked hire services.

Learn more about the inclusive booking and communication systems best practice guide.

Taxi and booked hire complaints process

We have updated how to lodge taxi and booked hire complaints with TMR so they are responded to quickly and customers are informed of the outcome.

We have also updated the Queensland Government taxi service standards page to make it easier and simpler for customers to understand taxi charging and maximum fares.

Learn more about the taxi service standards.

Improving wheelchair accessible taxi reliability

We continue to look at ways to improve the service reliability and availability of wheelchair accessible taxis, particularly in rural and regional areas.

Wheelchair accessible taxi lift payment

Taxi drivers receive a $25 lift payment for each wheelchair accessible taxi trip for a Taxi Subsidy Scheme member who sits in their wheelchair during travel. This lift payment gives drivers of wheelchair accessible taxis an incentive to prioritise bookings for Taxi Subsidy Scheme members, and members a reliable transport option.

We have doubled the lift payment for wheelchair accessible taxi drivers on Christmas Day, to make sure there are enough services available to meet demand. This was initially introduced for Christmas Day 2023 and has subsequently been provided on an ongoing basis due to the success of the initiative.

Prior to the introduction of the double lift payment, Christmas Day lift payment trip numbers were steadily decreasing each year. This trend has subsequently reversed, with year-on-year increases in trip numbers on Christmas Day between 2023-2025

On Christmas Day 2025, the number of trips was 7 per cent higher than in 2024, and over 15 per cent higher than in 2022, the year before the initiative started.

Learn more about the wheelchair accessible taxi lift fee.

Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Grant Scheme

The Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Grant Scheme helps the taxi industry replace aging wheelchair accessible taxis. This supports the industry to provide vital accessible transport options in a sustainable and modern taxi fleet.

The scheme also offers funding to replace standard taxis with new wheelchair accessible taxis, helping to grow the accessible fleet.

Since 2019, we have approved 549 applications totalling approximately $26 million in funding, with 438 new vehicles already on the road. This means almost 80 per cent of Queensland's wheelchair accessible taxi fleet has been upgraded, or approved for upgrade, under the scheme.

Due to its success, the Queensland Government has extended the scheme with an additional investment of $6.3 million for 2026-27.

Learn more about the Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Grant Scheme.

Wheelchair accessible taxi safety checklists

Wheelchair accessible taxi safety checklists identify the key steps to safely lift and secure a passenger in a wheelchair. The checklists are available as printed stickers for display inside every wheelchair accessible taxi across the state.

This will help remind drivers how to keep passengers safe, and provide more confidence to passengers using a wheelchair.

Addressing affordability and service availability

We are looking at ways to make taxis and booked services more affordable.

Taxi Subsidy Scheme

Our Taxi Subsidy Scheme provides affordable taxi travel for residents of Queensland who have been assessed by a health professional as having a permanent or temporary disability against specific eligibility criteria.

Under the scheme, we fund half of the taxi fare up to a maximum of $30 per trip.

Learn more about the Taxi Subsidy Scheme.

Regulatory framework for passengers with disability

We are reviewing Queensland's accessible taxi and booked hire framework to identify the most effective regulatory and funding settings that meet the needs of people with disability. As part of the review, we will consider any regulatory opportunities to better help people with disability access personalised transport services.

Addressing service refusal

According to Australian and Queensland legislation it is illegal for:

• taxi and booked hire drivers to refuse service to a person with an assistance animal
• taxi drivers to refuse service to a person travelling in a wheelchair or anyone who is a Taxi Subsidy Scheme member.

While most drivers do the right thing, some don’t. To address this, we are actively working with the taxi industry to ensure all drivers understand and comply with the law.

Campaigns and education

We are working with industry to help educate drivers about their obligations when delivering services to people with disability.

For example, we are co-designing educational videos to raise awareness about anti-discrimination laws and promote empathy towards people with disability.

Other materials highlight:

• the importance of accepting assistance animals, and people in wheelchairs
• the impact of discrimination
• how well assistance animals behave
• examples of positive and negative experiences.

Learn more about assistance animals in personalised transport..

Travelling with assistance animals

In collaboration with the Accessible Taxi Services Working Group, we published online resources to help personalised transport drivers understand their obligations around assistance animals.

These resources include guidance on identifying assistance animals and information for passengers on how to lodge complaints if they are refused a service. We regularly review and update this content to ensure it is relevant and effective.

Through a monthly personalised transport newsletter, we provide regular reminders to reinforce drivers’ understanding of their legal obligation to accept passengers with assistance animals.

Find more information about travelling with a guide, hearing or assistance dog.

What we will do next

• Undertake taxi and booked hire customer accessibility surveys to monitor user experiences.
• Continue to deliver the wheelchair accessible taxi lift payment, including a double payment on Christmas Day.
• Deliver the Wheelchair Accessible Taxi Grant Scheme in 2026-27 and consider further extensions to the scheme.
• Roll out safety checklists to be affixed in wheelchair accessible taxis.
• Continue delivery of the Taxi Subsidy Scheme.
• Consider regulatory opportunities to better help people with disability access personalised transport services.
• Provide a suite of resources to promote taxi driver responsibilities when assisting people with disability – such as educational materials, website updates, newsletters and social media campaigns. This will include targeted campaigns for people with assistance animals.