Articles by Miles Godfrey

Mr Sturgess — architect of the Independent Commission Against Corruption — is spearheading a taskforce to examine the future of the taxi and transport industry. He will report back in October with ways to deal with "unregulated" ride-sharing apps.UberX appeared in Sydney last year offering customers the option of booking a ride online with ordinary private car drivers. The state government has ruled it illegal because UberX drivers are not accredited under the Passenger Transport Act.The US-headquartered firm claimed in May it clocked-up 1 million bookings in its first year — but taxi drivers, who have lost business to the firm, have complained about the low regulatory burden UberX drivers face.Mr Constance announced yesterday the taskforce would look at competition in the taxi and transport industry, customer safety and the burden of taxi regulations."Cities around the world are grappling with these changes and in particular the introduction of unregulated ride-sharing apps," he said."If we want to see a strong future for the taxi industry and make services more attractive to customers, the next step is to look closely at regulations to ensure a more even playing field."There is a need to ensure an appropriate level of government-backed regulations to protect the public interestUberX drivers have to be aged 21 or over, undergo criminal and driving history background checks, own a 2006-model, four-door car or newer that has passed safety checks and hold insurance.Taxi drivers face a heavier regulatory burden — including insurance costs of about $13,000 a year, mandatory internal $3000 security cameras, $1300 initial licence fees, annual health and vehicle checks — and livery and signage costs.NSW Taxi Council CEO Roy Wakelin-King backed the Sturgess taskforce."History has shown the risk of market failure in deregulated taxi services is high and there is a need to ensure an appropriate level of government-backed regulations to protect the public interest," Mr Wakelin-King said."There is a strong sense of injustice among all members of the NSW taxi industry as a consequence of the current inequity facing taxi drivers, owners and operators. Unless the law is properly upheld, this situation will worsen."Uber also backed the taskforce and said it was a victory for "competition, consumers and choice".

Lord Mayor Clover Moore has emerged as Sydney's multi-millionaire meter maid and is making $123,000 a day from the very motorists she's trying to drive out of the city.

The Nationals politician boasted to broadcaster Alan Jones in 2013 that he was the state government's biggest bike lane sceptic and if Ms Moore had her way bike paths would be everywhere, adding: "You know she can't control herself with these sorts of things."But Mr Gay is now riding tandem with Ms Moore, having buddied up as project manager on a series of new bike paths in the CBD.Following News Corp Australia's revelations that 660 on-street CBD car parking spots have been torn up to make way for Ms Moore's $64 million bike paths, Mr Gay was furiously peddling the cyclist agenda.Yesterday he said:The government would build bike paths to Sydney Airport, despite doubts about who would use them.Motorists should not expect to find on-street parking in the CBD because bike paths and George St light rail would gobble them up; andHe would not guarantee that airport bike paths would not destroy more on-street parking.Cycle lanes were in response to "significant" community feedbackIndependent city councillor and CBD cafe owner Angela Vithoulkas said the loss of parking spaces to bike paths was crippling small business and it would get worse as the George St light rail construction began in "September or October"."Not only will business owners and residents continue to be impacted by the bike paths and lack of parking choice they will now have the added complication of trying to function during the light rail chaos," she said.NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said: "Any parking that is being taken away due to cycle paths or light rail needs to be found elsewhere and needs to be affordable."It does seem a bit of a stretch to think people will use bicycles to get to Sydney AirportCycle paths and bike storage facilities were included in a $500 million package alongside a new five-lane entry road and the widening of Qantas Drive - funded by the state government and Sydney Airport - to sort out congested roads around the airport. Work will take place in stages until 2018. Airport CEO Kerrie Mather said cycle lanes were in response to "significant" community feedback.But former government architect Chris Johnson, now boss at the Urban Taskforce, described the idea as "a bit wacky" and suggested Mr Gay had been lunching with Ms Moore."It does seem a bit of a stretch to think people will use bicycles to get to Sydney Airport - it's not too easy to take your luggage on a bicycle," he added.A shared path running along the western kerb of Wentworth Ave, connecting to a shared path running north/south along Botany Rd to Baxter Rd.A separate path across the Giovanni Brunetti Bridge via a clip-on structure that connects to the existing shared path along Alexandra Canal.A cycle path on the southern kerb line of Marsh St to connect to the existing Eve St cycleway to the southern bike bath on the Giovanni Brunetti Bridge.

Roads minister Duncan Gay wants to curb the dangerous and illegal lunatics who put pedestrians and other road users at risk and make the streets safer for everyone.Mr Gay said he was "increasingly persuaded" that a bike licence scheme - potentially involving cyclists paying a fee to register their bikes - was needed in NSW following a series of horrific accidents involving riders, cars and pedestrians, including two fatalities."It's not going to worry the (cyclists) that are doing the right thing, but the bad ones that are running lights, crossing over, being aggressive, they're a large part of the statistic," Mr Gay said last year just days after a male cyclist was killed in a collision with a bus at Neutral Bay.The minister will convene a discussion between insurance groups, cyclists, the police and other interested parties within two months at which bike licensing will be seriously discussed, along with other possible ways to ease concerns about road safety."I have committed to a roundtable to discuss cycling issues and recommendations in Sydney including penalties, licensing options and traffic regulations," Mr Gay said."I want to bring all the relevant groups together including NSW Police, cycling clubs and groups, insurance organisations, transport and pedestrian representatives as well as local and state government."This roundtable is key for the ongoing safety of cyclists and all road users - we want to get this right."Labor City councillor Linda Scott said licensing was "worth investigating" but said enforcement would be hard.Previous discussions around bike licensing in NSW have centred on licensing the bike rather than the cyclist, and it is understood that would be the method favoured by Mr Gay.Bike trips are said to have doubled in the past four years. Independent councillor Angela Vithoulkas said: "As the number of bike riders increases we will need additional resources to monitor the bike lanes for unlawful action"."Every now and again serious injuries to pedestrians make headlines, but I've seen countless numbers of near-misses that occur each day."Liberal councillor Christine Forster also called for greater safety measures. "The city should be more focused on improving safety on shared paths, where our current signage suggests bikes, not pedestrians, rule the road," she said.

A whopping 502,934 tickets have been issued this financial year, which means the Baird government will collect about $180 million - or $493,150 a day - for the year to June 30.The revenue from traffic cameras is more than double the $78 million collected in 2010-11, and well up on last year's total of $153 million.It has led to calls for a more rounded approach to road safety, including a greater police presence, rather than just whacking motorists with ever-increasing fines.The current penalty for a car exceeding the speed limit by up to 20km/h is $254 and three demerit points"The NRMA is alarmed by the increase again in the revenue from speed camera fines," NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said."We know that while cameras have a limited role to play, ultimately if we're going to change bad driver behaviour what we need is a constant and increased presence of clearly marked highway patrols."As of March 31, $55.8 million of the 2014-15 fines was still outstanding, including $24 million subject to payment arrangements.The current penalty for a car exceeding the speed limit by up to 20km/h is $254 and three demerit points. An additional $13.6 million has been collected from motorists fined for using mobile phones or not wearing seatbelts so far this year.The surge in speed camera revenue is being driven by a massive increase in the use of mobile cameras, which soared from 900 hours a month to 7000 last year.And there are 145 red-light cameras now in use, compared to 125 in May last year.

Hundreds of motorists were hit with demerit points in the first fortnight of a crackdown on "imbeciles" who rort the disabled parking system.

Athletics Australia CEO Dallas O'Brien has sought answers from hurdler Michelle Jenneke after she missed a high-profile Sydney track meet through injury - only to race against a Top Gear sports car the next day.The glamorous 19-year-old was billed as a star attraction of the Sydney Track Classic at Olympic Park, having shot to worldwide fame with her sexy pre-race routine and an appearance on Sport's Illustrated's 2013 swimwear calendar.But she pulled out just before Saturday's race, citing a hamstring injury. Eyebrows were then raised as Jenneke appeared at the Top Gear Festival at Sydney Motorsport Park on Sunday - and ran against a high-powered Nissan GT-R driven by presenter Jeremy Clarkson.Footage of the race emerged on social media sites, including YouTube and Facebook.