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Specifications for Taxis

The principal legal requirements for a vehicle used as a taxi are as follows:

  1. Standard taxis - 5-12 adult seats (including the driver's seat) and at least 4 side doors
  2. Maxi-cabs - 7-12 adult seats (including the driver's seat) and no door restrictions
  3. Wheelchair accessible taxis (WATs) - no seat number or door restrictions, but with at least 1 wheelchair space complying with the national standards (see separate document);
    A station wagon WAT must not have any fixed or folding side-facing seat in the wheelchair area; and
    A non-station wagon, licensed as a WAT, must not have any fixed seats in the wheelchair area

Further information on the standards for taxis can be found in the Single Uniform Type Inspection (SUTI) Manual for Third Edition Australian Design Rules - 124 kb PDF.

In respect of all of the above categories of taxi:

  1. A station-wagon must not have any seat installed in the goods area (other than a seat installed when the vehicle was manufactured)
  2. The distance between the back of one seat and the front of the one behind it must be at least 180 mm (when the rear seat is unoccupied), ignoring for this purpose any driver protection screen that may be installed
  3. Each seating position in the vehicle must be such that it is adequate when assessed in accordance with section 7.2 of the Single Uniform Type Inspection (SUTI) Manual for Third Edition Australian Design Rules as published in January 1988 by the Australian Motor Vehicle Certification Board (see separate document)

Maximum ages for all taxis are as follows:

  1. Standard taxis and maxi-cabs operating in the (Sydney) Metropolitan transport district must not be older than 6.5 years from the date of the attachment of their compliance/identification/operations plates
  2. Standard taxis and maxi-cabs operating in the rest of the State must not be older than 8.5 years from the date of the attachment of their compliance/identification/operations plates
  3. Wheelchair accessible taxis throughout the State must not be older than 10.5 years from the date of the attachment of their compliance/identification/operations plates

NB

Accredited taxi operators are responsible for ensuring that their taxis fully comply with all the legal requirements pertaining to vehicle age, seat size, safety equipment, communication receivers, taxi-meters, notices, signs, lights, livery, decals, air conditioning, registration details, authority card holders and child restraint bolts, etc. as specified in the Passenger Transport Regulation 2007.