With only one driver available for the ‘town run’, the Deniliquin RSL Club has been forced to reduce operating hours.
The service now runs, on average, two days a week and only from 6am to 4pm.
It is unable to offer any evening or weekend services.
It is believed the reduction in drivers, and therefore services, has forced Deniliquin Taxis to turn down some work for government departments, including Veterans Affairs.
Standing appointments coordinated through contracts with the NSW Department of Education remain in place, however, with a separate dedicated driver making these runs exclusively.
Deniliquin RSL Club board chair Bob Crampton said the only solution is more drivers, but admitted they are harder to come by due to licensing requirements.
“The service is running at full capacity that the number of drivers allows,” Mr Crampton said.
“It is increasingly difficult to attract drivers because of compliance issues, which includes all drivers needing to have an ABN (Australian Business Number).
“For some, this is just not worth it.
“If anyone wants to step up and drive, we’d love to hear from them.
“It would be perfectly suited for pensioners or the semi-retired looking to earn a little extra pocket money.”
Mr Crampton said the RSL board enlisted the services of a consultant to look at the taxi business.
He said a reduction in services is the only decision made yet, with progress to be monitored for further discussion.
“It is the board who will decide whether the service will continue to run, but as yet we have not discussed those long-term options or set a trigger as to when they would occur.
“The consultant came up and took a look, and his short-term recommendation was to reduce operational hours and the fleet.
“We will continue to operate the wheelchair accessible taxi and at least one other.
“The others in the fleet are in storage right now until we decide if they are surplus to need and will be sold off.
“Our immediate role was to determine whether to get rid of the taxis or continue with a reduced service, and we wanted to make sure we had some sort of service available.”
Mr Crampton said any future decisions on the service would also be made with the community in mind, but that the board must also consider what’s best for the club in any long-term plans.
While Deniliquin Taxis is not the only passenger service available to the community, it is believed to be the only publicly available service that can take authorised taxi services like Cabcharge cards, the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme, fares for Department of Veterans Affairs clients and accounts of care providers.
Other wheelchair accessible services in the community are available to registered clients of those providers only.
During this festive season and over summer, the Deniliquin RSL Club is trying to fill the gap by increasing operating hours for its courtesy bus.
But this service also has its limitations.
It can only transport people to and from the Deniliquin RSL Club, and its driver numbers have also waned recently.
Mr Crampton encourages anyone willing to become a taxi driver, or courtesy bus driver, to call into the Deniliquin RSL Club and speak to management about the requirements.
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