View maximum fares for unbooked taxi trips that begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan or Urban and Large Regional Zones.
Maximum taxi fares
Overview
We set maximum charges for unbooked commercial passenger vehicle services that begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan or Urban and Large Regional Zones. These areas cover:
- most of metropolitan Melbourne
- Geelong
- Ballarat
- Bendigo
- Frankston
- Dandenong
- the Mornington Peninsula.
Unbooked commercial passenger vehicle services are trips that are not booked via an app, over the phone or on a website. For example, unbooked trips are hailed from the street or hired from a designated taxi rank.
Fares for booked commercial passenger vehicle services are not regulated, meaning operators set their own fares for these trips. Fares for unbooked trips that do not begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan or Urban or Large Regional Zones are also not regulated.
2024 review of maximum fares and non-cash payment surcharge
On 31 October 2023, we released our consultation paper that outlines our approach to reviewing the current maximum unbooked taxi fares and non-cash payment surcharge. Submissions closed on 15 December 2023. Our draft decision is scheduled to be released in May 2024.
2022 review of maximum fares
In September 2022, we released our final decision and determination on the maximum fares for unbooked taxis to apply from 15 September 2022.
Our final decision increased the maximum fares for unbooked taxis from those in the maximum fare determination for 2020.
On 24 August 2023, we released our commission assessment on the maximum fares for unbooked taxis to apply from 1 October 2023.
Our assessment applied the fare adjustment mechanism in the maximum unbooked taxi fare determination for 2022 and increased the maximum fares for unbooked taxi services by 4.1 per cent.
Current maximum fares – Melbourne metropolitan and urban area (effective 1 October 2023)
Maximum fares for unbooked taxi services that begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan Zone or the urban area of the Urban and Large Regional Zone – ‘time or distance’ tariffs
| Tariff 1 ‘Day’ (9am–5pm) | Tariff 2 ‘Overnight’ (5pm–9am, excluding peak) | Tariff 3 ‘Peak’ (Fri & Sat nights 10pm–4am) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard fare components | Maximum charge up to | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.85 | $6.05 | $7.20 |
| Distance rate ($/km) (when speed is above 21 km/hr) |
$1.878 | $2.088 | $2.299 |
| Waiting time ($/min) (when speed is below 21 km/hr) | $0.658 | $0.731 | $0.805 |
| Other fare components (applicable to tariffs 1, 2 and 3) | Maximum charge up to | ||
| High occupancy fee (a) | $16.35 | ||
| Airport taxi rank fee (b) (For trips from the airport rank) | Pass-through | ||
| Holiday rate (c) | Tariff 3 rates | ||
| CPV levy recovery fee | Pass-through | ||
| CityLink and EastLink tolls (d) | Pass-through | ||
| Cleaning fee | Up to a maximum of $120 | ||
Maximum fares for unbooked taxi services that begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan or Urban Zones – ‘time and distance’ tariffs
| Tariff 1 ‘Day’ (9am–5pm) | Tariff 2 ‘Overnight’ (5pm–9am, excluding peak) | Tariff 3 ‘Peak’ (Fri & Sat nights 10pm–4am) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard fare components | Maximum charge up to | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.85 | $6.05 | $7.20 |
| Distance rate ($/km) (applies at all times) |
$1.553 | $1.725 | $1.908 |
| Waiting time ($/min) (applies at all times) | $0.399 | $0.438 | $0.473 |
| Other fare components (applicable to tariffs 1, 2 and 3) | Maximum charge up to | ||
| High occupancy fee (a) | $16.35 | ||
| Airport taxi rank fee (b) (For trips from the airport rank) | Pass-through | ||
| Holiday rate (c) | Tariff 3 rates | ||
| CPV levy recovery fee | Pass-through | ||
| CityLink and EastLink tolls (d) | Pass-through | ||
| Cleaning fee | Up to a maximum of $120 | ||
Current maximum fares – large regional area (effective 1 October 2023)
Maximum fares for unbooked taxi services that begin in the large regional area of the Urban and Large Regional Zone, including Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo – ‘time or distance’ tariffs
| Fare component | Maximum charge | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard fare components | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.15 | |
| Distance rate ($/km) (when speed is above 21 km/hr) |
$2.128 | |
| Waiting time ($/min) (when speed is below 21 km/hr) | $0.744 | |
| High occupancy trips | ||
| For trips with 5 or more passengers (excluding children under 5): not applicable if the commercial passenger vehicle does not have the capacity for carriage of 5 or more passengers in fixed seats. ‘Fixed seats’ does not include positions for the carriage of persons in wheelchairs. | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.15 | |
| Distance rate ($/km) (applies when speed is above 21 km/hr) | $3.220 | |
| Waiting time ($/min) (applies when speed is below 21 km/hr) | $1.127 | |
| Other fare components | ||
| Late night fee (For trips commencing between 7pm on Friday and Saturday nights through to 6am the following morning; and from midnight to 6am on all other days) | $3.95 | |
| Holiday rate (a)(b) | $4.85 | |
| CPV levy recovery fee | Pass-through | |
| CityLink and EastLink tolls (c) | Pass-through | |
| Airport taxi rank fee (d) (For trips from the airport rank) | Pass-through | |
| Cleaning fee | Up to a maximum of $120 | |
Maximum fares for unbooked taxi services that begin in the large regional area of the Urban and Large Regional Zone, including Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo – ‘time and distance’ tariffs
| Fare component | Maximum charge | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard fare components | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.15 | |
| Distance rate ($/km) (applies at all times) |
$1.729 | |
| Waiting time ($/min) (applies at all times) | $0.568 | |
| High occupancy trips | ||
| For trips with 5 or more passengers (excluding children under 5): not applicable if the commercial passenger vehicle does not have the capacity for carriage of 5 or more passengers in fixed seats. ‘Fixed seats’ does not include positions for the carriage of persons in wheelchairs. | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.15 | |
| Distance rate ($/km) (applies at all times) | $2.851 | |
| Waiting time ($/min) (applies at all times) | $0.618 | |
| Other fare components | ||
| Late night fee (For trips commencing between 7pm on Friday and Saturday nights through to 6am the following morning; and from midnight to 6am on all other days) | $3.95 | |
| Holiday rate (a)(b) | $4.85 | |
| CPV levy recovery fee | Pass-through | |
| CityLink and EastLink tolls (c) | Pass-through | |
| Airport taxi rank fee (d) (For trips from the airport rank) | Pass-through | |
| Cleaning fee | Up to a maximum of $120 | |
How we regulate taxis
View information on how we regulate commercial passenger vehicles (taxis).