Food trucks to rev up numbers, fees

Sydney’s food truck operation will be quadrupled, with up to 50 set to roam the streets providing day and night food options around town.

After a 22-month trial, the City of Sydney has approved a report recommending the program be made permanent and expanded from the nine trucks currently licensed to serve. The council has received more than 500 enquiries from potential operators.

But the report also recommends a dramatic increase in the fees charged to mobile food vendors. Previously operators were charged $300 over a 12-month period; the new fees could be up to $16,830 for those who want to operate in what council terms “high demand areas”. “These sites may have access restrictions or rigorous plans of management,” the report notes.

In submissions to the review, several food truck operators objected to the increase, with one claiming that it would render their business unsustainable.

Another owner, Elly Tse, who runs the ‘Tsuru’ truck selling Asian street food, said that while she had been forced to adapt she is glad to have made the move into mobile food vending.

“It has definitely been a worthwhile and enjoyable venture,” she said.

“I’d say 50 trucks can only do good in terms of public education. At this infancy stage, there are not many people who are aware of the food truck phenomenon and by having more trucks to roam the streets of Sydney I believe it will naturally educate and give this new industry a little boost.”

Lord Mayor Clover Moore was also optimistic about the program’s future.

“Not only are the trucks generating new business and creating jobs across the city, they’re also giving Sydneysiders fantastic new late-night dining options that simply didn’t exist a few years ago,” she said.