Melbourne taxis - Falcon numbers halve since 2018

MrZ · 03-10-2021, 09:13 PM

3 1/2 years ago, in January 2018, I did a "census" of Melbourne taxis. I wanted to see how many Falcon taxis remained in use, but also uncovered other interesting data. I did another one recently to see how things have changed since then.

In 2018, there were 1344 Falcon taxis in Melbourne, making up 29% of the fleet. Fast forward to today, and there are now only 678 left (16% of the fleet). This means Falcon numbers have exactly halved. Camry was number 1 in both years, at 52% in 2018 and 54% this year.

In 2018, there were still 101 BF Falcon wagons remaining. In 2021, that number has gone down to just 34. Territory numbers have also dropped, slightly - from 148 to 132.

Yellow taxis are disappearing quickly - 68% of taxis were yellow in 2018, compared with just 34% presently. After yellow, the next most common colours are silver (32%) and white (21%).

In 2018 the average taxi was 4.6 years old. This has increased to 7.4 years. This is due to the maximum taxi age limit being scrapped in 2016.

Aside from Falcons and Territories, there are a couple of other Ford models in use as taxis - 21 Mondeos, and surprisingly, a Ford Endura.

Franco Cozzo · 03-10-2021, 09:23 PM

100% driven by flogs who need to shower more and wear deodorant

MrZ · 03-10-2021, 09:27 PM

FYI, I got the info from automated extraction from the Vicroads website. The taxi plates are all in series from M0001->M9999 and 0001M onwards. It takes a while but I have time on my hands in lockdown. I excluded data from "urban" (i.e. regional) and rural taxis as they don't serve Melbourne (but can provide this info if desired). I also excluded handicapped taxi info (usually Hiaces) from the data.

DTFRMONT · 03-10-2021, 09:40 PM

Suspect the lockdowns have forced a lot of them off the road. Wouldn't be suprised if there are a few warehouses full of Falcon & Camry taxis ready to be put back into work when things start opening up again. Similar to a lot of Uber drivers now doing food deliveries or Amazon Flex.

MrZ · 03-10-2021, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DTFRMONT

Suspect the lockdowns have forced a lot of them off the road. Wouldn't be suprised if there are a few warehouses full of Falcon & Camry taxis ready to be put back into work when things start opening up again. Similar to a lot of Uber drivers now doing food deliveries or Amazon Flex.

There may be some that have cancelled their registration until lockdown ends, but the total numbers suggest this is only a small number at best. Total taxis registered:

01/18 - 4579
09/21 - 4338

However, there are other factors to consider for there being fewer taxis in 2021, such as the trend of drivers switching from taxi to rideshare. As for Uber drivers, there is still quite a bit of work available even in lockdown.

xb74_black · 04-10-2021, 01:06 AM

There is an XR6 registered as a taxi in the ACT.

Trevor 57 · 04-10-2021, 03:26 AM

what about the 'part time' taxi's. the one with the green roof?

MrZ · 04-10-2021, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

what about the 'part time' taxi's. the one with the green roof?

Those are peak service taxis, and yes, I did include those in my figures. They make up a very small percentage of the fleet, however. There are only 276 PS taxis, which is a big drop from the 444 back in 2018.

Trevor 57 · 04-10-2021, 06:51 AM

Uber must be hurting them

Vesper Martini · 05-10-2021, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Uber must be hurting them

most definitely
An app on my phone that I can use anywhere anytime. I don't need to phone get put on hold or hung up on.
it gets billed automatically so I don't need to use my card or cash and its cheaper.

no wonder half the taxis left operating normally are cued up at the airport or crown casino. and with covid that's gotta hurt.

fgpsi · 04-10-2021, 01:51 PM

in 2010 wouldve been 99.9% falcons and tezzas

**GO FURTHER** · 04-10-2021, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrZ

3 1/2 years ago, in January 2018, I did a "census" of Melbourne taxis. I wanted to see how many Falcon taxis remained in use, but also uncovered other interesting data. I did another one recently to see how things have changed since then.

In 2018, there were 1344 Falcon taxis in Melbourne, making up 29% of the fleet. Fast forward to today, and there are now only 678 left (16% of the fleet). This means Falcon numbers have exactly halved. Camry was number 1 in both years, at 52% in 2018 and 54% this year.

In 2018, there were still 101 BF Falcon wagons remaining. In 2021, that number has gone down to just 34. Territory numbers have also dropped, slightly - from 148 to 132.

Yellow taxis are disappearing quickly - 68% of taxis were yellow in 2018, compared with just 34% presently. After yellow, the next most common colours are silver (32%) and white (21%).

In 2018 the average taxi was 4.6 years old. This has increased to 7.4 years. This is due to the maximum taxi age limit being scrapped in 2016.

Aside from Falcons and Territories, there are a couple of other Ford models in use as taxis - 21 Mondeos, and surprisingly, a Ford Endura.

Do you have any figures on what currently makes up the Melbourne Taxi fleet, in the way of brands & models?

MrZ · 05-10-2021, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Do you have any figures on what currently makes up the Melbourne Taxi fleet, in the way of brands & models?

Top 20:

Camry 2349
Falcon 678
Kluger 287
Caprice 279
Territory 132
Lexus ES 66
PriusV 57
Aurion 51
Commodore 50
Mercedes E-Class 45
Prius 40
Genesis 22
Skoda Superb 21
Ford Mondeo 19
Hyundai Elantra 12
Holden Captiva 12
Nissan X-Trail 10
Mitsubishi Outlander 10
Toyota Corolla 9
Toyota RAV4 8

**Jastel** · 04-10-2021, 08:36 PM

While you cant blame the demise of Falcons on uber the cabs are definitely getting older under the new rules.

Also due to Covid and no workers most taxis barely do 5 shifts out of 14...so doing stuff all kms compared to before as well.

People still comment positively on my Falcons especially the "space" and the "comfy seats". But we will all be in electric golf carts sooner or later.

Another factor is the 3-6 month wait for a new car from Toyota.

FPV414 · 04-10-2021, 09:08 PM

Wait, you did a VicRoads enquiry on thousands of registration numbers?

au2000 · 04-10-2021, 11:19 PM

Love em or hate em.. the one thing ill give em was u could quickly associate yellow in melbourne with taxi's...
Now.. i cant tell u which car is a cab with no sinage in most cases.. older fleet and rougher looking cars.. it really is starting to look like a 3rd world nation.. sorta suiting the rest of the city atm.

Trevor 57 · 05-10-2021, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by au2000

Love em or hate em.. the one thing ill give em was u could quickly associate yellow in melbourne with taxi's...
Now.. i cant tell u which car is a cab with no sinage in most cases.. older fleet and rougher looking cars.. it really is starting to look like a 3rd world nation.. sorta suiting the rest of the city atm.

I was a real fan of the yellow cab concept and the drivers in uniform. A Jeff Kennett legacy, they wanted a pay rise, he said no problem, BUT. . . . . . . . . . .

Whilst the yellow was probably not a good colour for resale, NSW have an all white fleet of taxi's - I think the one colour is a good idea, not multi-colour

MrZ · 05-10-2021, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

NSW have an all white fleet of taxi's - I think the one colour is a good idea, not multi-colour

No they don't - "Silver Service" taxis in NSW are silver.

**FairmontGS** · 05-10-2021, 07:49 AM

Sydney taxies are all and every colour.

Trevor 57 · 05-10-2021, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Sydney taxies are all and every colour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrZ

No they don't - "Silver Service" taxis in NSW are silver.

apologies, I thought they were all white. They were a few years ago weren't they?

MrZ · 05-10-2021, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

apologies, I thought they were all white. They were a few years ago weren't they?

Sydney taxis have gone through many changes over the years. Back in the 90s some of them were orange. A fleet of orange AU Falcons appeared in the 1999 music video "Passenger" by Powderfinger. See:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_639815-...n-AU-1998.html

Another orange EL Falcon seen in Always Greener:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_672673-...n-EL-1996.html

But before that, they were painted a strange combination of white and red - some panels were white, others red. See:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_900403-...n-EF-1994.html
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_41481-F...n-EA-1990.html

Don't know what they were thinking painting the hubcaps red on that last one! It's possible that each company had it's own colour scheme.

Here's another interesting Holden VR taxi which is white but has the top part of the bumper painted green:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_929547-...e-VR-1993.html

Another AU Falcon, white with a magenta coloured bonnet! Weird:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_748562-...n-AU-1998.html

roKWiz · 05-10-2021, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrZ

Sydney taxis have gone through many changes over the years. Back in the 90s some of them were orange. A fleet of orange AU Falcons appeared in the 1999 music video "Passenger" by Powderfinger. See:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_639815-...n-AU-1998.html

Another orange EL Falcon seen in Always Greener:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_672673-...n-EL-1996.html

But before that, they were painted a strange combination of white and red - some panels were white, others red. See:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_900403-...n-EF-1994.html
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_41481-F...n-EA-1990.html

Don't know what they were thinking painting the hubcaps red on that last one! It's possible that each company had it's own colour scheme.

Here's another interesting Holden VR taxi which is white but has the top part of the bumper painted green:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_929547-...e-VR-1993.html

Another AU Falcon, white with a magenta coloured bonnet! Weird:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_748562-...n-AU-1998.html

Different colour in the 70s 80s and 90s were different regional/shire companies at the time.
I remember Manly Warringah cabs had the red and white no doubt due to footy colours of the day.
Back then they diddn't just band them together under a single banner.

No different to all the old individual Sydney bus companies in all the finery livery but now sadly painted (sticker graphics) all the same as Sydney buses.

Trevor 57 · 05-10-2021, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrZ

Sydney taxis have gone through many changes over the years. Back in the 90s some of them were orange. A fleet of orange AU Falcons appeared in the 1999 music video "Passenger" by Powderfinger. See:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_639815-...n-AU-1998.html

Another orange EL Falcon seen in Always Greener:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_672673-...n-EL-1996.html

But before that, they were painted a strange combination of white and red - some panels were white, others red. See:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_900403-...n-EF-1994.html
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_41481-F...n-EA-1990.html

Don't know what they were thinking painting the hubcaps red on that last one! It's possible that each company had it's own colour scheme.

Here's another interesting Holden VR taxi which is white but has the top part of the bumper painted green:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_929547-...e-VR-1993.html

Another AU Falcon, white with a magenta coloured bonnet! Weird:

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_748562-...n-AU-1998.html

I do remember the red & white ones from when I visited there with work

Franco Cozzo · 05-10-2021, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Sydney taxies are all and every colour.

Drivers only come in one colour though

Tassie f100 · 05-10-2021, 08:39 AM

I can’t believe Trevor got something wrong!!!

Trevor 57 · 05-10-2021, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

I can’t believe Trevor got something wrong!!!

I often get things wrong, and apologise when I do, what about you?

**Charliewool** · 05-10-2021, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

I can’t believe Trevor got something wrong!!!

Oh, come on, Trev’s only human….
What I can’t believe is Trev giving a LIBERAL Premier a pat on the back?
You feelin ok mate?

Trevor 57 · 05-10-2021, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charliewool

Oh, come on, Trev’s only human….
What I can’t believe is Trev giving a LIBERAL Premier a pat on the back?
You feelin ok mate?

I don't often see where Libs do things right, but credit where credit is due. I could name quite a few good Lib policies I am happy with, but the **** ones out-weigh the good ones from that mob unfortunately

I did like some of Kennetts stuff, his road map for the future of Victoria was quite good, but some of the stuff he did along way was ****, like school closures, only building the Western Ring Road with 2 lanes either way WTF?

MrZ · 05-10-2021, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

I did like some of Kennetts stuff, his road map for the future of Victoria was quite good, but some of the stuff he did along way was ****, like school closures, only building the Western Ring Road with 2 lanes either way WTF?

Didn't construction of the Western Ring Road begin in 1989? By the time Kennett was elected, the first section was already done.

Trevor 57 · 05-10-2021, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrZ

Didn't construction of the Western Ring Road begin in 1989? By the time Kennett was elected, the first section was already done.

Not 100% sure, I always thought it was his initiative - ah well