Reginald Lionel Kermode (24 September 1926 – 30 April 2014) was an Australian businessman and taxicab operator most well known for founding

Cabcharge The Cabcharge account payment system was established in 1976 to provide taxi passengers a way to pay for taxi fares by non-cash means. The payment system is owned and operated by A2B Australia (formerly Cabcharge Australia), an Australian Sec ...

in 1976.

Early life

Reg Kermode was born on 24 September 1926 to Reginald and Mary Kermode (née Dillon). He grew up in

Smithtown, New South Wales Smithtown () is a small town on the banks of the Macleay River in New South Wales, Australia. It is in Kempsey Shire. The town of Gladstone lies across on the southern side of the river. At the , Smithtown had a population of 590 people. The tow ...

, and left school at the age of 15 to join the Postmaster-General Office.

Life and career

Kermode decided to enter the taxi industry in 1965 and had become the chairman of Taxis Combined by 1975. During the 1980s, Kermode became known as

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's "Taxi kingpin" because of the role he played in the taxi industry. He was also the president of the NSW Taxi Council and the director of the NSW Taxi Industry Association. He fostered a long-standing relationship with

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...

, the former

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

, and Wran served on the group of

for 10 years.

Cabcharge Australia

Kermode founded

Cabcharge Australia A2B Australia (formerly Cabcharge Australia) () 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 esta ...

in 1976 and served on the company's board of directors for 39 years. During this time, Cabcharge came to be the electronic payment system used by 97% of the taxi fleets in Australia.

Sydney Morning Herald allegations

Kermode was the subject of sustained criticism by Linton Besser, a journalist for the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

''. Besser, who referred to Kermode as the "Taxi tsar of Sydney", accused him of taking advantage of industry and political connections.

Honours and recognition

Kermode was appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1979 for service to the transport industry. In the

1987 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

he was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) for "service to secondary industry, particularly to the transport industry".

Death

On 29 April 2014, Kermode resigned from Cabcharge after revealing that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Kermode died on 30 April 2014, aged 87. His funeral was held at

St Jude's Church, Randwick The St Jude's Church is an active Anglican church in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of a significant heritage group that includes the church, cemetery, rectory and original Randwick Borough Chambers, later c ...

on 8 May 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kermode, Reg 1926 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Australian businesspeople 21st-century Australian businesspeople Australian company founders Australian businesspeople in transport Deaths from cancer in Australia Businesspeople from New South Wales Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of Australia