Taxis over ride-sharing apps cost taxpayers
Bureaucrats picking taxis over ride-sharing apps cost
taxpayers at least $9.8m
5 NOVEMBER 2017
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New research by the
Taxpayers’ Union shows that bureaucrats choosing
more expensive taxi services over ride-sharing apps like
Uber have cost taxpayers at least $9.81 million since
Uber’s introduction in mid-2014.
The report, Fare Game? Flagging
down the cost of public sector taxis, is available at www.taxpayers.org.nz/fare_game.
Author of the report, and Taxpayers’ Union Researcher, Matthew Rhodes says, “Currently, the 28 tier-one public service departments spend about $9.3 million a year on taxis. That’s compared to just $77k on ride-sharing apps. If all public servants opted for ride-sharing apps over taxis, we calculate the potential savings for taxpayers being around $3.27 million per year.”
“Despite the recent regulation of the ride-sharing industry, a number of departments still have policies in place banning their staff from using Uber or Zoomy for staff travel. Not only is that not keeping up with the times, it means many more millions are wasted on flash cabs, when a cheaper Uber would do just fine.”
The report also assesses the opportunities for increased efficiency in departments who embrace ride-sharing as a means of staff travel. It also shows that internationally, the New Zealand public service is lagging behind.
“Gone are the days of paper receipts and employee reimbursement forms. Ride-sharing’s electronic based system facilitates remarkably efficient internal staff travel processes. It’s no wonder federal officials in the United States and Australia have been encouraged to use the new technology.”
Key
findings:
• Over the 28 public service
departments, $9,334,755.87 was spent on taxis over the
period of a year, up until 1 June 2017. This is compared to
just $77,102 spent on ride-sharing apps.
• By applying
fare estimates between Wellington Airport and MBIE offices,
the report estimates that using Uber over taxis saves around
35%.
• Applying that figure to government departments,
taxpayers could have saved $3.27 million if public servants
used ride-sharing over taxis, or $9.8 million since Uber
launched in mid-2014.
• Five government departments
have travel policies banning their staff from using
ride-sharing for staff travel (Department of Conservation,
Ministry of Justice, Crown Law, Ministry for Women, and the
Department of Internal Affairs).
• Only tier one
government departments were included in the survey data.
That means that many more millions are likely to have been
wasted (and have the potential to be saved) across the wider
public sector.
The report can be downloaded from www.taxpayers.org.nz/fare_game. Hard
copies are also available on request.
Disclaimer:
Neither Uber, or any other ride-sharing interest, have
donated, joined, or financially contributed to the
Taxpayers’ Union or the publication of this
report