We no longer regulate costs related to commercial passenger vehicles following amendments to the Passenger Vehicle Industry Act 2017 in 2026.
Maximum taxi fares
Overview
We previously set maximum charges for unbooked commercial passenger vehicle services that begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan Zone or Urban and Large Regional Zone. These areas covered:
- most of metropolitan Melbourne
- Geelong
- Ballarat
- Bendigo
- Frankston
- Dandenong
- the Mornington Peninsula.
Unbooked commercial passenger vehicle trips are hailed from the street or hired from a designated taxi rank.
2025 unbooked taxi fare adjustment
On 1 September 2025, we released the commission assessment on the maximum fares for unbooked taxis to apply from 23 September 2025.
We applied the fare adjustment mechanism from the 2024 maximum unbooked taxi fare determination. This:
- increased standard charges by 2.8 per cent.
- increased high occupancy charges by 2.6 per cent.
Current maximum fares – Melbourne metropolitan and urban area (effective from 23 September 2025)
The maximum charges for unbooked taxi services that begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan Zone or Urban area of the Urban and Large Regional Zone are set out in Schedule 1 of the commission assessment. The maximum charges may be based on either 'time or distance' tariffs or 'time and distance' tariffs.
'Time or distance' tariffs – Maximum fares for unbooked taxi services that begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan Zone or the Urban area of the Urban and Large Regional Zone
| 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 ($) | $5.25 | $6.55 | $7.80 |
| Distance rate ($/km) (when speed is above 21 km/hr) | $2.037 | $2.265 | $2.493 |
| Detention rate ($/min) (when speed is below 21 km/hr) | $0.713 | $0.792 | $0.872 |
| Other fare components (applicable to tariffs 1, 2 and 3) | Maximum charge up to | ||
| High occupancy fee (a) | $17.80 | ||
| 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 $120 | ||
'Time and distance' tariffs – Maximum fares for unbooked taxi services that begin in the Melbourne Metropolitan Zone or the Urban area of the Urban and Large Regional Zone
| Tariff 1 ‘Day’ (9am–5pm) | Tariff 2 ‘Overnight’ (5pm–9am, excluding peak) | Tariff 3 ‘Peak’ (Fri & Sat nights 10pm–4am) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard fare components | Maximum charge up to | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $5.25 | $6.55 | $7.80 |
| Distance rate ($/km) (applies at all times) | $1.685 | $1.871 | $2.070 |
| Duration rate ($/min) (applies at all times) | $0.433 | $0.476 | $0.513 |
| Other fare components (applicable to tariffs 1, 2 and 3) | Maximum charge up to | ||
| High occupancy fee (a) | $17.80 | ||
| 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 $120 | ||
Current maximum fares – Large Regional areas (effective from 23 September 2025)
Maximum charges for unbooked taxi services that begin in the Large Regional areas of the Urban and Large Regional Zone are set out in Schedule 2 of the commission assessment. The maximum charges may be based on either 'time or distance' tariffs or 'time and distance' tariffs.
‘Time or distance’ tariffs – Maximum fares for unbooked taxi services that begin in the Large Regional areas of the Urban and Large Regional Zone, including Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo
| Fare component | Maximum charge | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard fare components | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.50 | |
| Distance rate ($/km) (when speed is above 21 km/hr) | $2.308 | |
| Detention rate ($/min) (when speed is below 21 km/hr) | $0.808 | |
| High occupancy trips | ||
| For trips with five or more passengers (excluding children under 5) or where a vehicle larger than a standard taxi is required regardless of the number of passengers (except where the vehicle has been hired for the carriage of one or more persons who use a wheelchair or other mobility aid): not applicable if the commercial passenger vehicle does not have the capacity for carriage of five or more passengers in fixed seats. ‘Fixed seats’ does not include positions for the carriage of persons in wheelchairs. | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.50 | |
| Distance rate ($/km) (applies when speed is above 21 km/hr) | $3.512 | |
| Detention rate ($/min) (applies when speed is below 21 km/hr) | $1.229 | |
| 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) (a) | $4.30 | |
| Holiday fee (b) | $5.25 | |
| 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 $120 | |
‘Time and distance’ tariffs – Maximum fares for unbooked taxi services that begin in the Large Regional areas of the Urban and Large Regional Zone, including Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo
| Fare component | Maximum charge | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard fare components | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.50 | |
| Distance rate ($/km) (applies at all times) | $1.875 | |
| Duration rate ($/min) (applies at all times) | $0.617 | |
| High occupancy trips | ||
| For trips with five or more passengers (excluding children under 5) or where a vehicle larger than a standard vehicle is required regardless of the number of passengers (except where the vehicle has been hired for the carriage of one or more persons who use a wheelchair or other mobility aid): not applicable if the commercial passenger vehicle does not have the capacity for carriage of five or more passengers in fixed seats. ‘Fixed seats’ does not include positions for the carriage of persons in wheelchairs. | ||
| Flagfall ($) | $4.50 | |
| Distance rate ($/km) (applies at all times) | $3.111 | |
| Duration rate ($/min) (applies at all times) | $0.674 | |
| 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) (a) | $4.30 | |
| Holiday fee (b) | $5.25 | |
| 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 | |