Taxi co-operatives are business co-operatives formed by owner-drivers to reduce costs by providing a shared radio despatch, marketing and vehicle maintenance services. Owner-driver taxi-cab operators formed taxi co-operatives in Australia from the 1920s. One of the earliest was the De Luxe Cabs in Sydney, which commenced operations in October 1928 and registered under the NSW Co-operatives legislation in March 1929.
With the end of the Second World War taxi owner drivers, many of whom were returned military personnel, formed that co-operatives. During the post-war period, there was a major expansion in NSW, with 38 registered taxi co-operatives by 1988, 21 of which were in regional centres.
St George Cabs, which operates in the Southern Suburbs of Sydney, is an example of a taxi co-operative.
St George Cabs was first formed as a co-operative on 7th September 1954 as Sydney Two-Way Radio Cabs Co-operative Limited and on 19th November 1954 changed its name to St George Two-Way radio cabs Co-operative Limited.
St George Cabs grew slowly from 1954 with local hire cars converting to taxis and joining the new co-operative. The co-operative initially provided a garage for members to service their taxis as well as a radio dispatch service. Its first taxi base and radio room were in Bexley.
The operation commenced with four telephones and carried 50,000 passengers in their first year.
The co-operative had a further change of name to its present identity of St George Cabs Co-operative in 1977 and moved to its current headquarters at Kingsgrove in 2003.
The St George taxi fleet today comprises of vehicles ranging from the latest model fuel efficient hybrid sedans that help the environment to station wagons for extra luggage. There are specially fitted wheelchair accessible taxis for the disabled. They offer on an online booking system. Despite the rise of Uber and other ride platforms, St George Cabs still provides a co-operative service to both its members and customers.
For further details, please download Greg Patmore, Nikola Balnave and Olivera Marjanovic, A History of Australian Co-operatives 1828-2023.