The news was reported on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 9:36 am.

The Victorian government is making new rules for taxi drivers.

Here is a short summary:

Taxi drivers who refuse short trips or passengers with assistance dogs may be punished.

Drivers could lose their license to drive a taxi.

Taxis will now have to record audio, in addition to video.

Taxi drivers who refuse short trips or passengers with assistance dogs could lose their job.

The Victorian government is adding new rules to the 'two strikes and you're out' policy.

The 'two strikes' rule was introduced last year to punish bad drivers.

Drivers can lose their license if many people complain about them.

From July 1, new rules will apply to taxi drivers who misbehave.

Taxis will have to record audio, like they already record video.

More changes will start on August 1.

One new rule is that drivers cannot refuse to take passengers on short trips.

Taxi companies will have to tell the government if a driver does something wrong.

The Minister for Public and Active Transport, Gabrielle Williams, announced the changes.

Minister Williams said bad drivers will be forced out of the industry.

She said it's not right for drivers to refuse passengers with assistance dogs.

A man who uses a guide dog was left stranded by taxi drivers.

Rob Fletcher said he was refused by taxi drivers many times because of his guide dog.

He said he was once refused by seven taxi drivers in a row.

He had to walk a long way to get home after being refused by many taxis.

It took him two to three hours to get home at night.

Rob Fletcher said he's disappointed that taxi companies don't do much about these problems.

He said he's made many complaints, but not much has been done.

The government is making a list of bad drivers and taxi companies.

This list will show when a driver's license is taken away because of a crime.

The government wants to stop bad drivers from working for another taxi company.

Minister Williams said the list will stop bad drivers from hiding and getting back to work.

People can report taxi drivers who refuse to take passengers with assistance dogs.

Taxis in Victoria will now have to record audio, in addition to video.

Minister Williams said audio recording will help catch bad drivers.

The government is talking to rideshare companies about recording audio and video.

A taxi company said it supports punishing bad drivers.

The company said most drivers are good, but the bad ones give them a bad name.

The company said it's good that the government is taking action against bad drivers.

Any changes that help passengers feel safe are welcome.

The news was reported on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 9:36 am.

The news was updated on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 11:33 am.

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