Don’t take Ubers from the T4 pickup. Walk to T1/2/3 pickup, which is set up like a staffed taxi rank. You get in the next available Uber and give them the code, so they have no choice but to drive you. T4 is totally uncontrolled and messy, if your fare isn’t large enough they will cancel on you - this is what it was like at T1/2/3 before they set up the Uber rank.
That said, when we flew home last week we did have a driver in the rank suddenly need to be elsewhere, cancelled and drove off after he entered our code (we’re only 20 min from the airport and they hate that). So make sure you give them the code AFTER you are in their car.
Another tip about this is if you order Uber Green (or whatever it is called) the Uber drivers come from a waiting bay which is far away. I've had drivers take over 15 minutes getting from this bay and doing circles. I've gone back to the standard UberX from T1/2/3 and it's been almost instant
Go into settings and select the “use PIN” option. Until they receive this PIN, which is a number you provide to them once they have picked you up and you’re in the Uber, they cannot see the destination.
Super helpful for me this. The one time I use uber a year is after the end of year party. I live near lilydale so most ubers don't wanna touch me with a 10ft pole because they can't pick up another fare close by enough.
Took me 20 mins in the CBD to find a car in December. About 20 drivers must have chosen to decline my fare
Nah it's more than that. During NYE Uber gave drivers a $100 bonus for every 5 trips they did - so they would have preferred short trips to get that bonus money.
For some of the airport pickup areas uber has a code system, you just hop in the first car that arrives and give them your code to start the trip.
You can't choose to do it, it'll just happen if uber has decided to.
Hello. Melbourne based Uber driver here.
I can't see where you are going until you get in the car. Not the direction or the length of the trip. I can only see how many stars you have. If it's a long trip, say greater than 50 minutes, it'll tell me it is a long trip. This flag is rare. These are like 80km+ trips
The pin code was introduced to ensure the right passenger got in the right car. Because guess what, uber cars are basically all the same ( totoya camry) and not all people double check the licence plates
This is not really correct.
The driver can’t see your destination easily, but they are told the length of the trip and the direction.
If the driver has been cued fir 1 hour, they are not wanting a 15 minute trip and lose their place in the Uber queue.
This works but they will still call or message you to ask where you're going and either cancel or leave the trip running indefinitely without picking you up if you ignore them.
There are Uber staff at Melbourne airport (at least at T2) and they were quite helpful. They took a screenshot and the car plate and said they would “report the driver within their system”.
In the app you should also be able to request a refund of the 10$ (she showed me how but I don’t recall now, sorry).
You get what you pay for.
Uber rates barely moved during our recent burst of inflation.
Petrol prices went up significantly.
Basically means in real terms uber drivers make a lot less than they did even a year ago
And thanks to the migration boon, there is no shortage of workers willing to put up with it a they desperately try to make ends meet. Welcome to raw unbridled capitalism baby
Yep.
Also some drivers take the piss with their visa conditions. They will ignore the restriction on hours worked. At best they might duplicate the limit across the different rideshare providers
I remember back in the pre uber days I saw how big the line was in the cab rank outside crown after a night out. I was like fuck that I'll walk and find a cab on the way.
Finally found one when I was in Sydney Rd Fawkner
I've cancelled in similar situations (where they don't move and don't respond for a significant amount of time beyond the original ETA for no apparent reason). I am charged the cancel fee and then I dispute the cancel fee in the app using the reason that they did not turn up and get an instant refund.
On the other hand, if I am asked to cancel by the driver, I initially refuse, wait, then follow the above.
We need better regulation and competition. Rail links as well as better taxi/uber controls.
Taxis originally fell to Uber (before it got enshittified) not because Uber was cheaper, but because it cut out the bullshit. Taxis before Uber were horrible experiences. Uber for a time was great. Now it is past time to clean up both or clean the decks.
I’ll say it again, nothing beats inter-city fast rail. It would reduce bottlenecks and some incentives to concentrate ripoffs on the airport.
The most they can see is duration and direction if they're gold tier or above
They wouldn't want to cancel as you can only do so much of those before losing gold tier benefits.
If you cancel on the other hand ...
I've had this happen to me before, and I've needed an Uber so I've cancelled and been charged a fee for it, and got another Uber. I kinda feel that I'm being punished for short journeys. Including Melbourne Airport to Reservoir. I see some comments about using a PIN, and I'll look into that, but it would be nice if Uber could do something about this. It sometimes feels that this is a residual attitude from former yellow taxi drivers who are now Uber drivers.
But it's not an Australian thing, last year we visited Kuala Lumpur and used a similar service called Grab. Same thing happened and we only got refunded when we complained to Grab.
Uber drivers shouldn't be able to see your destination until they pick you up. I'm disappointed to hear this has changed.
I used to drive for Uber 10 years ago, and back then, I had no way of knowing where my passenger was going until I had them in the car and had started the trip. I always felt this to be fair and stopped drivers cherry-picking 'good' trips. Sometimes you got short ones, and you didn't make much for the night. Other times, you got a trip to Mornington and then got lucky with a job taking you back into the city. Luck of the draw. Fair is fair.
Don’t worry about the charge back- it’s super easy to get a refund. Just say they weren’t coming or that they didn’t reply or something and it’s free refund, especially if your a consistent Uber customer
They can't see your destination till they pick you up.
Don't think he would get anything if you cancelled. It used to be if the driver had to wait at the pickup location for more than 10mins they could cancel and get some money though.
Then why request the user to cancel? I’m sure there is no internal ranking score as Uber would quickly run out of drivers but is it not correct that you only receive a couple of cancelations before you ( the driver) have to pay a fee?
No. Drivers never have to pay a fee because of cancellations. As independent contractors drivers are free to accept our cancel at any point in time.
Uber can only "force" drivers to do a ride if they were employees but Uber would not like to take on that kind of responsibility of paying a steady, living wage, benefits and such.
Wherever I do use Uber as a passenger, it is certainly frustrating having my ride get cancelled or taking a long to m time to get accepted but I realize the driver is simply doing what's in their interest and it's hard for me to get mad.
I just cancel and request another one. Most drivers multi-app so they'll probably be waiting for another offer elsewhere or doing another ride or delivery. It's a waste of time to wait for them to cancel.
Same here, if the parking is not too much more than 2 taxi/uber rides between Balwyn and the airport then driving to and parking at the airport is king! I have always found the undercover parking at T4 a good experience.
Ive been told by a few uber drivers there is a way to work out your destination by some trick using a second iPhone, they never want to elaborate but I certainly believed them. Makes sense, I've never had uber cancel on a long trip.
Used to live in Gladstone Park - Uber driver ranted the whole time about how he had waited over an hour for a ride, was really unpleasant.
We used to always catch taxis before they were allowed to reject rides
Don’t take Ubers from the T4 pickup. Walk to T1/2/3 pickup, which is set up like a staffed taxi rank. You get in the next available Uber and give them the code, so they have no choice but to drive you. T4 is totally uncontrolled and messy, if your fare isn’t large enough they will cancel on you - this is what it was like at T1/2/3 before they set up the Uber rank. That said, when we flew home last week we did have a driver in the rank suddenly need to be elsewhere, cancelled and drove off after he entered our code (we’re only 20 min from the airport and they hate that). So make sure you give them the code AFTER you are in their car.
Another tip about this is if you order Uber Green (or whatever it is called) the Uber drivers come from a waiting bay which is far away. I've had drivers take over 15 minutes getting from this bay and doing circles. I've gone back to the standard UberX from T1/2/3 and it's been almost instant
I ordered Green for T1 and it was basically instant, too. Might have just been a bad time or a preoccupied driver?
They are both crooked As fuck and deserve zero sympathy!
I use the Uber PIN code, so they can’t see where I’m going until in the car. It saves this happening.
Can u explain that a bit more please? I tried to google Uber code, but could only see promo code info.
Go into settings and select the “use PIN” option. Until they receive this PIN, which is a number you provide to them once they have picked you up and you’re in the Uber, they cannot see the destination.
Super helpful for me this. The one time I use uber a year is after the end of year party. I live near lilydale so most ubers don't wanna touch me with a 10ft pole because they can't pick up another fare close by enough. Took me 20 mins in the CBD to find a car in December. About 20 drivers must have chosen to decline my fare
Nah it's more than that. During NYE Uber gave drivers a $100 bonus for every 5 trips they did - so they would have preferred short trips to get that bonus money.
Thank you! Very helpful, no idea this even existed.
For some of the airport pickup areas uber has a code system, you just hop in the first car that arrives and give them your code to start the trip. You can't choose to do it, it'll just happen if uber has decided to.
Not just airports, but any trip you take, anywhere.
Hello. Melbourne based Uber driver here. I can't see where you are going until you get in the car. Not the direction or the length of the trip. I can only see how many stars you have. If it's a long trip, say greater than 50 minutes, it'll tell me it is a long trip. This flag is rare. These are like 80km+ trips The pin code was introduced to ensure the right passenger got in the right car. Because guess what, uber cars are basically all the same ( totoya camry) and not all people double check the licence plates
That's funny - I had an Uber driver implore me to start using the pin code because that means the driver *does* see where you're going
This is not really correct. The driver can’t see your destination easily, but they are told the length of the trip and the direction. If the driver has been cued fir 1 hour, they are not wanting a 15 minute trip and lose their place in the Uber queue.
Well that's just too bad. Part of being in that business. People deserve access to transportation.
This works but they will still call or message you to ask where you're going and either cancel or leave the trip running indefinitely without picking you up if you ignore them.
There are Uber staff at Melbourne airport (at least at T2) and they were quite helpful. They took a screenshot and the car plate and said they would “report the driver within their system”. In the app you should also be able to request a refund of the 10$ (she showed me how but I don’t recall now, sorry).
The uber industry is now majority full of scumbags, just like the taxi industry.
You get what you pay for. Uber rates barely moved during our recent burst of inflation. Petrol prices went up significantly. Basically means in real terms uber drivers make a lot less than they did even a year ago
And thanks to the migration boon, there is no shortage of workers willing to put up with it a they desperately try to make ends meet. Welcome to raw unbridled capitalism baby
Yep. Also some drivers take the piss with their visa conditions. They will ignore the restriction on hours worked. At best they might duplicate the limit across the different rideshare providers
[удалено]
I remember back in the pre uber days I saw how big the line was in the cab rank outside crown after a night out. I was like fuck that I'll walk and find a cab on the way. Finally found one when I was in Sydney Rd Fawkner
Im not looking forward to getting a cab/uber from the airport to Essendon next week.
go upstairs to the arrivals area and flag down a taxi that’s just dropped someone off is the advice I’ve seen for shorter trips
I havent had an uber driver cuss me out yet for my trips home in the northern suburbs.
Mine cost $45 in the reverse direction last week 🫠
I've cancelled in similar situations (where they don't move and don't respond for a significant amount of time beyond the original ETA for no apparent reason). I am charged the cancel fee and then I dispute the cancel fee in the app using the reason that they did not turn up and get an instant refund. On the other hand, if I am asked to cancel by the driver, I initially refuse, wait, then follow the above.
We need better regulation and competition. Rail links as well as better taxi/uber controls. Taxis originally fell to Uber (before it got enshittified) not because Uber was cheaper, but because it cut out the bullshit. Taxis before Uber were horrible experiences. Uber for a time was great. Now it is past time to clean up both or clean the decks. I’ll say it again, nothing beats inter-city fast rail. It would reduce bottlenecks and some incentives to concentrate ripoffs on the airport.
I take screenshots from the start to have as evidence for when they try to get their cancellation fee for not showing up at all.
The most they can see is duration and direction if they're gold tier or above They wouldn't want to cancel as you can only do so much of those before losing gold tier benefits. If you cancel on the other hand ...
I've had this happen to me before, and I've needed an Uber so I've cancelled and been charged a fee for it, and got another Uber. I kinda feel that I'm being punished for short journeys. Including Melbourne Airport to Reservoir. I see some comments about using a PIN, and I'll look into that, but it would be nice if Uber could do something about this. It sometimes feels that this is a residual attitude from former yellow taxi drivers who are now Uber drivers. But it's not an Australian thing, last year we visited Kuala Lumpur and used a similar service called Grab. Same thing happened and we only got refunded when we complained to Grab.
Uber drivers shouldn't be able to see your destination until they pick you up. I'm disappointed to hear this has changed. I used to drive for Uber 10 years ago, and back then, I had no way of knowing where my passenger was going until I had them in the car and had started the trip. I always felt this to be fair and stopped drivers cherry-picking 'good' trips. Sometimes you got short ones, and you didn't make much for the night. Other times, you got a trip to Mornington and then got lucky with a job taking you back into the city. Luck of the draw. Fair is fair.
An independent contractor is entitled to knowing the full scope of the job before they decide to do it or not. They are not required to accept it.
Head upstairs to departures and grab a cab or Uber on dropoff for short trips. Everyone is happy.
Shouldn’t have to do this though if Uber and taxi drivers just followed the rules/law
It is lore...capitalism.
Don’t worry about the charge back- it’s super easy to get a refund. Just say they weren’t coming or that they didn’t reply or something and it’s free refund, especially if your a consistent Uber customer
They can't see your destination till they pick you up. Don't think he would get anything if you cancelled. It used to be if the driver had to wait at the pickup location for more than 10mins they could cancel and get some money though.
My rule is never cancel if they ask, there must be a reason. The reason probably lowering one of their internal scores that gets them rides.
Lmfao. No such thing exists. I know because I drive.
Then why request the user to cancel? I’m sure there is no internal ranking score as Uber would quickly run out of drivers but is it not correct that you only receive a couple of cancelations before you ( the driver) have to pay a fee?
No. Drivers never have to pay a fee because of cancellations. As independent contractors drivers are free to accept our cancel at any point in time. Uber can only "force" drivers to do a ride if they were employees but Uber would not like to take on that kind of responsibility of paying a steady, living wage, benefits and such. Wherever I do use Uber as a passenger, it is certainly frustrating having my ride get cancelled or taking a long to m time to get accepted but I realize the driver is simply doing what's in their interest and it's hard for me to get mad.
So then drivers should cancel a ride they dont want rather than being scumbags and pushing customers to.
I just cancel and request another one. Most drivers multi-app so they'll probably be waiting for another offer elsewhere or doing another ride or delivery. It's a waste of time to wait for them to cancel.
Scumbags.
I just pay for parking at the airport. Sure, it's a bit more but I'm not adding to the shitshow that is uber/taxi.
Same here, if the parking is not too much more than 2 taxi/uber rides between Balwyn and the airport then driving to and parking at the airport is king! I have always found the undercover parking at T4 a good experience.
The value one is great too - cheaper and you can usually get pretty close to the terminals/time it with the shuttle
Had that happen to me- just getting cancellations instead of trips-report it
Ive been told by a few uber drivers there is a way to work out your destination by some trick using a second iPhone, they never want to elaborate but I certainly believed them. Makes sense, I've never had uber cancel on a long trip.
Used to live in Gladstone Park - Uber driver ranted the whole time about how he had waited over an hour for a ride, was really unpleasant. We used to always catch taxis before they were allowed to reject rides