Editorial: ACC taxi service cost blowout and concerns are worthy of a timely inquiry

An Auckland man who suffered a broken ankle has lodged a formal complaint with ACC about its taxi service, which he says is unreliable and "frankly a disgrace". Image / Digital montage

EDITORIAL

News last week that Accident Compensation Corporation spending on taxis for injured clients has blown out to $35 million a year must have raised alarms not just for the public but in government.

The rides for recovering clients who require help to attend medical treatment or to get to work are up more than $8m on the previous year, largely due to a fare increase to cover petrol prices.

But complaints are also at a five-year high, with the largest service provider conceding it fails to arrive within five minutes of a booking nearly 10 per cent of the time.

It also admitted charging the government organisation for a ride that never happened.

One Auckland resident who broke his ankle and was returning to his workplace while relying on crutches and a moon boot was left in the street in pain for more than 30 minutes waiting for taxis that did not arrive.

Another user who has had to rely on ACC-funded taxis told RNZ that drivers are often late or don’t turn up at all because of the lower fares.

A Herald investigation revealed that in the past five years, ACC has not conducted any audit of the companies that provide taxi services. This is despite 2023 yielding a total of 230 complaints from users.

ACC contracts out its taxi service to four companies and says it expects vehicles to arrive within five minutes of the booked time.

“Every ACC client deserves a reliable taxi service while they are recovering from an injury, however, we recognise that there is room for improvement,” deputy chief executive for corporate and finance Stewart McRobie said.

However, despite the worrying cost blowouts and concern over the level of service, there appears to be a lack of inquiry into the matter.

With some taxi service contracts running until November next year, ACC says any provider, including ride-share operators such as Uber, can bid for the contract the next time it is put out to tender.

But given the cost-of-living crisis and spending pressures on government departments, with hundreds of jobs being slashed as the economy creaks after the Covid pandemic, surely this needs to be looked at sooner than that.

Minister for ACC Matt Doocey must surely be demanding assurances that the costs will be kept under control – but also that the hobbled Kiwis trying to get back into the workforce can be looked after in a proper way.