A2B Australia (formerly Cabcharge Australia) (ASX: A2B) is an Australian public company which was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in December 1999 and is an ASX 200 company. The company was founded by Reg Kermode. In 1976, the company established Cabcharge, an account payment system to provide a way to pay for taxi fares by non-cash means, which today is the sole provider of the in-taxi service.
Subsidiaries of CAB operate taxi network services, under the 13CABS brand, which are booking and dispatch services for taxis in Australia, which today covers over 7,000 taxis. In 2014, there were 21,344 taxis in Australia.
The company’s activities have sometimes been controversial and it has faced strong criticism at times from inquiries and regulatory bodies, especially over its Cabcharge taxi payment system. The company was the subject of Federal Court proceedings in 2010 over alleged anti-competitive practices including predatory pricing activities. It was heavily fined and paid a record high $15 million settlement for these behaviours. The company is also facing accusations of profiteering for the 10% surcharge it imposes on taxi fares paid by a payment card and the matter was investigated by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The surcharge has been reduced by law to 5% in Victoria following recommendations made by the Taxi Industry Inquiry and a further review of the surcharge in that State may lead to the figure being set at well below 5%. In December 2014 the surcharge was also reduced to 5% in New South Wales. As at November 2018, it operated 9.963 taxis.
Traded as: ASX: A2B
Industry: Land transport
Founded: 1976
Founder: Reg Kermode
Headquarters: Sydney, Australia
Products: Transport-related services in Australia, the United Kingdom & Europe
Website: www.a2baustralia.com