It is now mandatory for all taxi fares between 10pm and 5am to be prepaid.

The Victorian Government has introduced this new initiative to curb fare
evasion which costs the taxi industry $1.7 million annually and deprives
individual taxi drivers of their rightful income. Fare evasion is often
also accompanied by aggressive or offensive behaviour targeted at taxi
drivers.

A public awareness campaign based around the theme 'NO PAY, NO TAXI' has
been launched to educate passengers that they must now pay for their taxi
ride before the start of the trip, just like they pay in advance for other
goods and services.

A range of tools including a street directory-based fare estimator for taxi
drivers and a ready reckoner and online fare estimator for passengers have
been developed to help estimate the cost of taxi fares. Passengers must
pay a deposit up to the estimate of the total fare and settle the balance
or receive a refund from the driver at the end of each trip.

For more information, and to estimate your fare online, visit
www.taxi.vic.gov.au