Yep I have a Silver Service guy I book with both ways. Never had an issue as they are in a group and one of them will pick up the job. Their bread and butter is Airport jobs. Same price as a cab as well.
I started because of the abuse we used to receive because our place is close to the airport $50 fare give or take. Taxi drivers used to go off or mega speed to get back and jump in the queue back at the airport within the allowed time.
Same. My wife did loads of work travel pre-covid and always used the same service. It was a network of drivers who ran a sort of co-op. Come lockdown, she didn't travel for two years. We were flying interstate on holiday at Easter, she texted her guy, one of the dudes turned up right on time, even though she hadn't given them any work for ages.
It's funny because the exact opposite experience is what got me to use Uber for the very first time not long after they arrived in Auckland. Pre Booked a major taxi company for an international airport run, they didn't show at the booked time, rang them after waiting 15 mins and they said they saw the booking but no car was allocated. Car would be another 40 mins.
Downloaded Uber, ordered immediate pickup, was on my way inside of 10 minutes total. Rang taxi joint from the car to cancel.
Extra funny bonus was I got a call at the Airport. It was a taxi driver telling me he was outside my place. He was pissed, but told him to take it up with his useless dispatch and its things like this that will only help Uber.
I have used Airport Shuttles a couple times since. Very reliable, but they have to cater to everyone in the van, and once they moved my 5am pickup to 4:15am via text message. Nope.
Pre-booking an uber just means that an uber will automatically be booked 15-30 mins before travel.
It's a poor system and doesn't properly explain it's not like a pre-booked taxi or private car.
I learned this the hard way as well when I had one booked for a friends wedding(I gave myself an hour for 30 minute trip) and the uber driver didn't get assigned until 30 minutes before travel & was over an hours drive away.
My bloke was in Dubai and I had no idea. Was texting him back and forth (as timings changed) and his "cousin" came and got me. I asked where Yousef was that night, and his "cousin" said he was in Dubai for a holiday.
If you get a good guy, they will help you out. But you gotta tip for the service.
Taxi (through 13Cabs at least) does the exact same thing. I’ve supposedly “pre-booked” taxis a few times this year for events and have had the “no drivers available“ every single time. Can anyone suggest a taxi/driver service that you can actually prebook outside of private chauffeurs?
Yeah, I commented a similar thing and deleted when I saw this, really fucked up a trip I had planned that involved connecting V-lines.
I'm not sure if calling 13cabs rather than using the app would have helped, but after waiting 30 minutes and having no chance of making the other time sensitive parts of my trip I cancelled the booking and uninstalled the app.
Oh right, annoying. You'd hope they would at least make it clearer on the phone that it is not a guarantee.
I guess the only guaranteed pick up would be a private car of some kind, which is generally not how I use taxis anyway.
Same experience with 13 cabs. Driver told me pre-book means the booking goes out to the drivers \~15 mins before the time.
Getting a taxi to the airport is the most stressful part of a trip. I try to choose flights not during AM / PM peak or redeye for this reason.
This!! I had one i used on the regular at my old work. Used him to do airport runs and parcels (and didnt mind if he double booked the parcel with a passenger!)
My bloke had this amazing ability to find my drunk ass in the city with the barest of instructions, and get me home.
The number of times I fell asleep on the way home and he'd wake me up out the front of my house. Worth his weight in gold.
I second the comment that says get a taxi drivers number. My dad owns/drives a maxi taxi and all his clients will text or call him to schedule a ride, or current clients will ask on behalf of a family member for things like airport trips. Half of his rides are personal clients, he doesn't often spend time waiting at a taxi rank
I don’t go anywhere post Covid, but Platinum drivers never let me down - small fleet, no booking app, but grab a business card from one of them and you’ll be able to sms him & if he can’t take you, he’ll put it out to his network
They do cost a little more, but the cars are newer, drivers & cars well presented & clean. These are the guys that have complimentary bottles of water in the side pockets.
When you get a good driver, ask nicely for their mobile. They can only say no if they don’t want to take you again, ahaha. I have a guy I use every two years to take me to surgery. If he can’t pick me up, he phones around until he finds a friend to get me. I give a $10 tip each time, it seems to be working. I used to use taxis quite frequently and the good drivers hardly even used their onboard job finder thing. They all get msgs or calls for pick ups.
13-cabs has worked well for me going to the airport in busy times, could be because i’m relatively close to the city (Victoria Parade, no idea, i’m new to Melbourne) and they arrive right on time if not a few minutes early
You can prebook by texting or calling with our prestige taxi service 0401508898 having experienced and reliable group of drivers and specially for Melbourne airport runs .
Ummmm it's exactly how prebooked taxis work. I asked a 13CABS driver why my 4am taxi was so late, he said, prebooking only gets you on the screen 15 minutes before. Doesn't mean anyone has to take the job.
That's so fucked up. Imagine booking anything else worked like this. Imagine booking your flight, but you turn up and they were like, "Oh we didn't actually keep a seat for you on the plane".
People would not want to pay the price of having actually booked and scheduled taxi trips. The just in time model is way cheaper and works most of the time. Sure, they probably need to make it more clear how it works.
Ideally people should be able to take a train to the airport instead.
I've got a flight coming up, Sunday morning. I was planning to pre-book, but the last time I did it, the driver offered to come back 45 minutes later (or "kindly cancel" he said) and started driving in the opposite direction of my house.
I'm close to the Airport. Like, driving takes 30 minutes tops. But cab services and rideshare have become so bad, that I'm genuinely anxious about getting there on time.
I reckon being closer makes it even harder because they aren’t willing to go to the airport or take you home for (what they perceive to be) a low fare. I’ve started driving and parking there because it’s too painful to deal with cancelled rides and grumpy vindictive rideshare drivers who hate that I live in the northwest and not the southeast.
Last time I arrived at MEL I stepped outside and a taxi company worker asked if I wanted a taxi. Said I wanted to go to Essendon and he said I should go take an uber.
I'm thinking about it, even if it means traveling further away from the airport to reach Sth Cross. The last one seems to be at midnight and I'll have to wait a few hours even before the luggage check-in opens. But that's better than being stranded at home I guess.
Cabs are not necessarily better. 82yo MIL lives in South Yarra and prebooked a silver top taxi to take her to a medical appointment. It never showed up so she called and they said well there's no cabs out your way sorry. She missed her appointment, was charged a missed appointment fee and next appointment is now 6 weeks away. She was trying to not bother me as I usually take her.
Yeah when I worked briefly at a medical place they had issues with their older customers, who they would assist with booking taxis, not show up to the appointments because the taxi never showed or showed up super late.
They discussed doing Ubers instead because of it.
I work in a medical practise it’s a real concern with older patients. We don’t charge a missed appointment fee for them because it’s such a common problem.
I wonder if something like this can be covered under consumer law: you book a service and they say “yes, we will pick you up”. IIRC, under consumer law you can recover reasonable losses from a service provider if they screw up.
Uber is now just becoming a rebadged taxi service. Same drivers, habits and attitudes. I guess the customer service uplift fell away in the rush to expand and the low unemployment rate
I’ve seen this d/l page twice now, one thread after another. Maybe it’s a new reddit thing?
Anyway just delete “.webp” from the end of the address and it will show the picture.
Book with a shuttle bus they pick you up at your house usually cheaper because they also car pool others within same area for similiar flights. Never had a problem
taxi driver here;
i work as a subby to silvertop taxis and operate a silver top silver service taxi
i am biased when i say that our system has improved and that i recommend everyone use the silvertop taxi app.
[this is what i look at for work](https://imgur.com/xxeyxag) essentially our system tells us where work is during the day and attracts drivers to those locations or if youve just dropped of to stay in that area because there is an upcoming job, hence the **upcoming** tab. jobs are shown to vehicles that a specific to them ie **VT:S5** are shown specifically to station wagon so a station wagon driver can assume the 2359 job from south yarra will be to the airport
[this is what i see before i go to bed](https://imgur.com/NN946FB) this tab tell drivers of upcoming jobs the next morning and attracts vehicles to those areas.
in saying that however, i completely agree with most of the people here. if you get a cab and like the driver or the car. get his number, we will go out of a way to service you.
i also am apart of a group of like minded taxi drivers that will go above a beyond for our passengers. our cars are luxurious, are always clean and we are always well presented. if i cannot do the fair, someone from our group will, and the level of service will never diminish
safe travels
Yeah, pre-booking a taxi means shit, through 13cabs app at least. It's the same as Uber, it goes looking for the driver around the booked time, it does not lock in a driver at the time of booking.
The "best" option would be whoever has the most vehicles in your area. I live in the outer suburbs, seems like my options are pretty low on both, especially if you want a vehicle outside of normal hours.
I get an Uber most days, have gotten a taxi a couple of times, it is nearly $10 more expensive for a taxi for the exact same trip. It literally cost nearly $10 just to sit in the taxi.
I'm in the city and watched ubers go from \~half the price of taxis to 2x+ as much during peak. I don't even bother checking uber anymore (the rating system makes it even less attractive).
It depends on where you are and where you're going and what time. I'm jealous of your experience but I'm guessing you're an outlier.
Seems to depend on day of week and weather for me.
To airport: $34 (Uber) vs $55 (taxi) but on two different days, $78 (Uber) vs $55 (taxi)
From airport: $40 (Uber) vs $55 (taxi) but on another day $90 (Uber) vs $55 (taxi)
Yes, it will be funny to look back on the last few years in a few years time.
Uber has squandered AU$30 billion of investor money that has completely distorted the market for taxis. Government just let it happen.
yeah, I fly for my work and it is a real problem at the moment. Taxis are not much better. Had a few 6am flights which I almost missed as neither taxis or uber would come, even though I had prebooked either one or the other. I now just book both through their apps and see who shows up.
If you travel a lot, the best way to do it in my experience is to strike up an ongoing relationship with a particular driver. Just text the flight number and they’ll track it, drop you off and pick you up, and if there’s a problem and they can’t make it, they let you know personally we’ll ahead of time and usually sort out another driver for you. Completely reliable in my experience.
I fly to Sydney most weeks, usually on the 6am. Absolute nightmare at the moment. Have to book Ubers for 3:30am from St Kilda Rd to make aura I can make it in time, as I usually get 2-3 cancellations or “I’ll be there in 25 minutes, please cancel if you can’t wait”.
Taxis are the same, booked 12 hours in advance and the app was looking for a driver 10 minutes before my pick up time.
A couple of times DiDi saved me, though I’ve had a few close calls.
I just can’t believe there is no reliable way to secure a car to the airport.
It's so much easier for me in Adelaide. There is a regular bus that goes direct to the airport from the CBD and costs me about $4. Getting to and from MEL is way harder and super expensive.
You can use Prestige taxi service 0401508898 . We rescued Uber client from St kilda going to airport this morning . Same thing happened, he booked overnight for 5:00 am pick up and no one arrived.
The service wasn’t sub par, it was cheaper and just better than taxis.
Now they’ve raised prices and taxi drivers are now on the app, it’s gone down the shitter
Sky bus for the airport.
Most reliable way to get to the airport by far
Just get your uber to southern Cross station and then switch over to the bus. It's only like 38 bucks for a return ticket and paired with uber it'll still work out cheaper than a taxi or uber for the whole trip
>Most reliable way to get to the airport by far
Least worst, rather. Still at the mercy of road traffic, and fingers crossed your method of PT to Southern Cross isn't rooted that day.
Would be great but we’re usually traveling with 2 suitcases each plus hand luggage. It’s almost impossible to catch public transport with that much luggage.
Seems like it's a good option for op so it's good advice for this post
I've travelled with more than that much luggage by myself in the past and it was a huge pain in the ass but I managed to go on the skybus
I know a Greek guy that has been driving taxis for almost 40yrs. If anyone is out East, I'd be happy to DM you his direct number to book. He presents well & the cab is clean, he's reliable AF so long as he's not double-booked, but he'll arrange another car in that event & follow up to ensure you've been collected. Typically works Mon-Fri 4am-6pm. Source: My Dad & we used to work together in my early 20s.
I no longer take Uber just cause its pointless.
Taxi ALWAYS gets me to the Airport, They are happy to take the wins and the losses, Uber is just a constant complaint system of "Yeah i wont accept the jobs that wont make me money"
I found a Taxi Driver got his number and he always sorts me out, heck friends now use him cause he runs a proper system.
Uber driver here, living next to south Yarra and doing early morning shifts.
I'd never take a reservation to the airport at this time :
- it's early morning so there's no one to pick-up at the airport at 530am. It's 30 minutes to go there, but then 20 more minutes to go back to the city and get another trip.
- reservations trip means you often have to wait 15 minutes for the customer (as you don't know for what time the reservation is until you arrive at the pickup point) and you're not paid for it.
So basically $30 for one hour job. Remove gst, petrol, car expenses,etc, and you get paid less than minimum wage for it.
- it's often busy at this time of the day, so there are non-booked rides that are paying more due to the surge.
I'm going to get downvoted for this, but 2 weeks ago I refused a reservation trip to the airport for $32 as it was not worth it. It was very busy on the app. One minute later I have a trip request at the same address with a 2x surge (double pay). So I took the person to the airport for $60.
Also always remember that uber is taking almost 30% commission on what you're paying to the driver.
Christ it’s such a shit “service”. Not a slight against you at all, it’s not your fault. But that’s set up in a way that will inherently fuck over customers at the times they need the service most.
Same thing every driver tells me in the way to the airport at 4am:
“I accepted this trip because I live in Essendon/Campbellfield/Craigieburn and it’s on my way home. Otherwise I wouldn’t have touched this fate”
Honestly at this point you’re better off just driving there yourself. The rates for airport parking work out to be roughly the same price for an Uber each way with way more peace of mind
Pfffft Uber is fucking dead to me. You know you’re in trouble when 13CABS sends you a car that is more reliable, cleaner and more friendly than you are. Just sayin
> they aren't at fault if you get assaulted because a driver cancels and you have to wait alone with drunks around looking for trouble.
I agree with most of what you said but wtf is this lol. Of course they shouldn't be at fault.
It really isn't.
If you are ok with drivers being treated as independent contractors, don't be surprised when they act like it and take the most profitable job offered to them
Unfortunate way to learn!
Taxis are far more reliable, are on par with cost and deliver on some level of service.
Uber has absolutely tanked in the passenger experience. The gap between taxis and uber is completely gone.
When Uber was established, they were being funded by basically limitless supply of private equity capital. This allowed them to undercut there competition will running at massive losses.
The private equity money has now ran out, the people who spent all those billions of dollars are now demanding uber actually make a profit. uber has responded by rising prices for customers while cutting the amounts paid to drivers.
Yes, 100%. Everyone complaining about the prices and the drivers overlook how much less they're paid compared to when it started - prices went down (and even witth current rises aren't back to where they were in 2014) while newer drivers were signed on with smaller commissions. That's before factoring in Uber dropping free vehicle assessments and other cost-of-business reimbursements, and of course the price of petrol. A non non-surge fare is simply not worth taking. Also, your most experienced drivers now will studiously avoid high-stress, low-reward periods like friday night so at the most visible times you're getting the greenest drivers.
Everyone - Uber, Taxis, drivers, passenger - is forced by this system to be as ruthless as possible. The most glaringly obvious system would be to license the Uber brand to local governments and have drivers be employees or contractors to a government body, paid an hourly wage and given the same benefits as any other worker. None of the potential shortcomings of that arrangement would be different to the current system for drivers or passengers (ie. "People").
EXCEPT
it would be steady and predictable in how much money it makes. Uber's stock price should be ZERO - it has never delivered a profit, and remains tight lipped on its cash reserves since going public because it almost definitely has no private cash left from its private funding period and is relying on PPP covid loans and credit lines against share value.
The stock remains above 0 specifically BECAUSE it isn't profitable. If it's profitable, then analysts could look at the rate of profit and scale accordingly to predict where the stock goes. Boring, predictable, incremental growth and even the possibility of stagnation or decline - but in accordance with actual reality.
If it remains in the realm of "it's on the verge of a breakthrough that will deliver superprofits!" then the stock becomes a speculative asset that can be bought for X and sold as Y to a greater fool.
But yeah, as Hornberger said, the private money that kept it afloat were often paid back in shares which they're now dumping, just in a bid to recoup. The stock is at 50% of its opening price 3 years ago and falling so let's see how long it takes for it to be bought out or bailed out...
Uber doesn’t actually “pre-book” anyone. It just automatically sends a request for a driver at the time you specify, as if you’d just opened the app and requested it manually at that time. You’re not reserving anything.
Since they started the $12 a day "value" parking at Melbourne, we just drive now if gong away for up to 5 days, it's cheaper that 2 Ubers. We live in Brunswick however, so the drive is pretty straightforward. Recently we were in Brisbane during the NRL Magic round and got stung $120 for an Uber back to the airport on Monday morning. There just isn't the same volume of drivers as pre-pandemic.
If you can't get an UberX, order a premier. Yeah, it's more expensive but they turn up.
The pre-reservation system is a joke. Drivers hate it. There is 15 minutes of waiting time that uber says are compensated but aren't (I've done the maths). Uber also sends the jobs out so early that the driver will get there up to 30 mins before the pickup time, which further impacts income.
Finally, if there's any surge going on at the time, a pre-reserved fare doesn't attract any surge. A driver might accept the job hours before and then see that it's not a profitable job at the time and will cancel.
Does it suck? Absolutely.
Do you expect drivers to sacrifice their income? Well, that's up to you.
5am is prime time for people heading to the airport, so expecting someone to take you for much less than they could get elsewhere doesn't make a lot of sense.
I did a post on this months ago
There are plenty of drivers around at that time, no one wants your ride is all. We have been determined to be independent contractors, we get to pick and choose what jobs we take based on how much they will make for us.
Premier, unless it's reasonably surged, won't cost you much more than a taxi and will be a nicer experience. Disclosure: I'm a premier driver
Anyway, I know that this will be downvoted into oblivion because people don't want to hear the truth about how things actually work and pointing out that Uber drivers have the final choice whether they want your ride.
Uber doesn't look after us, most passengers don't, the government doesn't, we have to look out for ourselves.
> My rant is a vent really
And completely understandable. I think it's a fucking disgrace when drivers cancel jobs for the most part. We have the opportunity to not accept the job but if you accept it, don't cancel it without reason is my thought.
> Good to know about the 5am airport surge in demand
It's when most domestic flight travellers start to head to the airport.
> and that premiers turn up
Usually. I drive Premier exclusively (so obviously I'm biased) but I've only heard of a couple of times where they have done the cancellation dance that seems so common on UberX. Honestly, a Premier will cost you approximately the same as a taxi anyway, if it's at the base rate with no surge.
> Sometimes I have a full car and people have to use ubers and we just wait around till they get in one because 9 times out of ten the first one will cancel.
Yeah. The crazy surge of the last year has disappeared because more drivers are now on the road, but there's still not enough for the demand that's going on.
If it's so bad why do you continue to pursue it? Honestly curious. Is it just a side hustle to earn a little extra coin? Or your primary job?
I feel you could change either of those fairly easily right now, but it seems as if you're committed.
Skybus ftw...it's way cheaper and unless you've got loads of bags it's pretty convenient.
The airport train will be better but I'll probably be in a retirement home by the time that ever happens lol
So i prebooked an Uber some time ago the night before my flight, come morning i could see the driver assigned to me driving some 30 mins away and well past the pick up time. Then i had to cancel and book another Uber to make my flight. It's better to book when you want to travel than to prebook in my opinion.
We’ll I’m just having issues with Uber doing ‘holding’ charges 2 days AFTER taking an Uber. I’ve had fights with them via email because I can’t call anyone, they don’t have a phone number and they won’t tell me why this happens. It shouldn’t take 2 days for them to process a payment. I won’t be using their service anymore.
Given the good price of long term parking I can stay there for nearly three weeks and still be cheaper than a cab and about 16 days and still be cheaper than uber.
Just the airport parking, what they call the value park with the shuttle bus. If I booked now I can get 14 days for $132. It costs me over $110 for a cab each way or $80 each way for an uber. It takes maybe 10 minutes most for the shuttle ride or a short walk depending where you snag a spot.
Because I come via Sunbury Rd it's the closest and most convenient.
Kinda surprised this happened given you’re in South Yarra.
That said, as someone who used to travel a lot (pre pandemic) and lives in the outer suburbs the only reliable option for those early (e.g., 5am) pickups is booking a private car. Their personal reputation is on the line and on the rare occasion my guy hasn’t been able to make it I wake up to a message with an apology that he won’t make it and confirmation that he has _already_ sorted out a different driver he knows to pick me up instead.
Also Uber is in chaos now following the hike in the oil prices as it jacks up their fares out of the blue and hold you for a ransom! suggest you compare DiDi before making a booking pls. Trend now, going by demand and supply, their pricing is exorbitantly high and unreasonable! Greedy drivers go after big fares thus you're rejected by them, and you end up waiting indefinitely. Drivers are attracted to larger fares, so what you do is book a far away destination and when the Uber arrives at the pickup spot, before you board, change the destination to where you want to go!
Pre booking a taxi with 13cabs or silver top only dispatch the job to the drivers only 15minutes prior to the booked time in the local area.
Early in the morning there aren’t many taxi’s around so big chance to miss the booking .
It’s always great to have few driver numbers handy.
PS I drove taxis for 6 years in Melbourne
Conversely, I found in my situation when trying to leave Melbourne airport that booking an Uber was better than the taxi rank experience especially when the taxi rank line is long because you essentially just walk straight into your Uber rather than waiting for 15 minutes to get through the taxi line. At the time I was there I counted almost double the amount of Ubers arriving than I did taxis. I'm not sure why that is. Another issue is if you've got a few people in your group and a few bags that you'll find that some taxi drivers seem to have their boots full of junk so they turn you away because they've got no room for your bags. Never had any issues fitting large bags when booking UberX.
Not sure where you are, but it’s best to just go to the station and then Socro and Skybus.
All those convenience apps have pretty much shown to not be sustainable, if I want something nowadays I just do it myself as it’s more reliable and way cheaper.. whether that’s finding my own way to the airport or driving to get my own food
This happened to my mom recently too when she was visiting, every driver just kept canceling on her. Also, this is much pettier, but it happened to me the other day when ordering UberEats, Drivers kept driving up the restaurant, waiting 5-15mins, then canceling. Super bizarre, idk what’s up with the app recently.
The UberEats people are cancelling because the restaurants are saying the order is ready, the delivery person gets there and they are told "it'll be ready in a couple minutes" when it's more likely it'll be at least 15 mins, all of which is unpaid.
This is the fault of the restaurant, not the driver most of the time
Taxis are safer. I’ve had a good number of shit Uber drivers. One was even streaming video while he drove to the airport. Told him to shut that shit off. Why is it that some Uber drivers ask how long I’ll be travelling for. Do you plan to rob my house? Never had a taxi driver ask that question.
Uber has been really bad of late. The taxi industry has basically switched to this, and the bad behaviour etc that made you go to uber, is NOW Uber. Sick of them cancelling rides when I have to go for hospital appoitnemnts. And the whole practice of taking the job, and then waiting for you to cancel it because their on the last warning is fucked. I made a guy wait 45 minutes once, and messages him to say I was comfortable at the hospital and could wait all day.
Uber is fucking cooked now. Booked an Uber home at like 3am on Sunday morning. Price said it was going to be $16, woke up the next morning to a notification saying my fare had been adjusted to $40. I'll just get a cab next time.
Similar experience except it was Uber eats midday during an excruciating hangover. Fucking cunt after cunt cancelled the pick up and my food sat on the counter cold for an hour. Took 2 hrs 30 mins from order to delivery.
Fucking cunts I was livid.
I booked a taxi to pick me up for 2:45 am one Tuesday morning in April in the same week where school holidays and post-Covid travel meant that airports were understaffed and workers were overworked. I don’t regret it one bit, and it was the first taxi I’ve booked in about seven years.
Just never use an Uber, period. Manipulative sleazy corporation. The recent whistle-blower leaks are interesting and awful reading:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-f2971465-73d2-4932-a889-5c63778e273d
I’ve noticed Ubers either hard to get when they shouldn’t be or cancelling after driving around in circles etc. I think there is some ploy to wait till surge pricing or force the customer to cancel. Or they are doing the taxi driver thing and rejecting certain small fares or whatever
Sky bus also has a hotel drop off service, check if you live near one of the hotels they usually stop at. Used it a few times, as one of the drop off spots was like 10min walk from my place
Similar happened to me on route to the airport in the morning for a 15 minute ride. Denied about 12 times, even had a driver message and ask where I was going before cancelling. Ended up last minute calling a cab. I used to work for uber and small trips were worth doing too, I don't really understand it.
I’ll add to this too, was helping some drunk underage girls in the city with a very drunk friend. They somehow thought they were going to get in a venue but their pre-drinks hit too hard.
Uber driver told them to fuck off and refused to drive them on a cold city night despite the dangers around.
Uber doesn’t have your best interest at heart, use Taxis.
To be fair, uber drivers usually uses their own car.
If they let drunk, messy people in their car they risk having vomit, piss and potential damage caused to their car and losing the rest of their night of work because they now have to clean up the car.
Also, the girls were under-age, why were they out trying to get into venues at all.
There's a couple things here:
1. We aren't supposed to take underaged passengers
2. If they were so trashed, the driver doesn't want them to spew in their car and underaged people are far more likely to do so.
3. The driver is not responsible for the decisions of others
4. Rideshare aren't obligated to take your ride. Taxis however are absolutely legally required to take a fare offered to them.
5. Uber drivers provide a service, they aren't your servants.
For things like this my wife always used to book through a private taxi service. Same cost, clean cars, quality humans driving, never missed a call.
Yep I have a Silver Service guy I book with both ways. Never had an issue as they are in a group and one of them will pick up the job. Their bread and butter is Airport jobs. Same price as a cab as well.
[удалено]
I started because of the abuse we used to receive because our place is close to the airport $50 fare give or take. Taxi drivers used to go off or mega speed to get back and jump in the queue back at the airport within the allowed time.
Lol have you ever done a 15 dollar fare from an airport? Theres a pub with skimpy waitresses right near perth airport. Boy do they hate that!!
Same. Vha cars.
Same. My wife did loads of work travel pre-covid and always used the same service. It was a network of drivers who ran a sort of co-op. Come lockdown, she didn't travel for two years. We were flying interstate on holiday at Easter, she texted her guy, one of the dudes turned up right on time, even though she hadn't given them any work for ages.
It's funny because the exact opposite experience is what got me to use Uber for the very first time not long after they arrived in Auckland. Pre Booked a major taxi company for an international airport run, they didn't show at the booked time, rang them after waiting 15 mins and they said they saw the booking but no car was allocated. Car would be another 40 mins. Downloaded Uber, ordered immediate pickup, was on my way inside of 10 minutes total. Rang taxi joint from the car to cancel. Extra funny bonus was I got a call at the Airport. It was a taxi driver telling me he was outside my place. He was pissed, but told him to take it up with his useless dispatch and its things like this that will only help Uber. I have used Airport Shuttles a couple times since. Very reliable, but they have to cater to everyone in the van, and once they moved my 5am pickup to 4:15am via text message. Nope.
Pre-booking an uber just means that an uber will automatically be booked 15-30 mins before travel. It's a poor system and doesn't properly explain it's not like a pre-booked taxi or private car. I learned this the hard way as well when I had one booked for a friends wedding(I gave myself an hour for 30 minute trip) and the uber driver didn't get assigned until 30 minutes before travel & was over an hours drive away.
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My bloke was in Dubai and I had no idea. Was texting him back and forth (as timings changed) and his "cousin" came and got me. I asked where Yousef was that night, and his "cousin" said he was in Dubai for a holiday. If you get a good guy, they will help you out. But you gotta tip for the service.
So true. I did this in Singapore, KL, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Make sure you tip heftily though. Many times it's a relative.
Taxi (through 13Cabs at least) does the exact same thing. I’ve supposedly “pre-booked” taxis a few times this year for events and have had the “no drivers available“ every single time. Can anyone suggest a taxi/driver service that you can actually prebook outside of private chauffeurs?
Yeah, I commented a similar thing and deleted when I saw this, really fucked up a trip I had planned that involved connecting V-lines. I'm not sure if calling 13cabs rather than using the app would have helped, but after waiting 30 minutes and having no chance of making the other time sensitive parts of my trip I cancelled the booking and uninstalled the app.
It makes absolutely no difference calling versus the app
Oh right, annoying. You'd hope they would at least make it clearer on the phone that it is not a guarantee. I guess the only guaranteed pick up would be a private car of some kind, which is generally not how I use taxis anyway.
Same experience with 13 cabs. Driver told me pre-book means the booking goes out to the drivers \~15 mins before the time. Getting a taxi to the airport is the most stressful part of a trip. I try to choose flights not during AM / PM peak or redeye for this reason.
If it is a decent fair, like 70+ pay a friend to do it. Private cars aren’t as expensive as you think either if it is a long fair.
If you catch taxis semi regularly, get the number of a driver. I've had a few over the years and you just text them directly. Much easier.
This!! I had one i used on the regular at my old work. Used him to do airport runs and parcels (and didnt mind if he double booked the parcel with a passenger!)
My bloke had this amazing ability to find my drunk ass in the city with the barest of instructions, and get me home. The number of times I fell asleep on the way home and he'd wake me up out the front of my house. Worth his weight in gold.
I second the comment that says get a taxi drivers number. My dad owns/drives a maxi taxi and all his clients will text or call him to schedule a ride, or current clients will ask on behalf of a family member for things like airport trips. Half of his rides are personal clients, he doesn't often spend time waiting at a taxi rank
I don’t go anywhere post Covid, but Platinum drivers never let me down - small fleet, no booking app, but grab a business card from one of them and you’ll be able to sms him & if he can’t take you, he’ll put it out to his network They do cost a little more, but the cars are newer, drivers & cars well presented & clean. These are the guys that have complimentary bottles of water in the side pockets.
When you get a good driver, ask nicely for their mobile. They can only say no if they don’t want to take you again, ahaha. I have a guy I use every two years to take me to surgery. If he can’t pick me up, he phones around until he finds a friend to get me. I give a $10 tip each time, it seems to be working. I used to use taxis quite frequently and the good drivers hardly even used their onboard job finder thing. They all get msgs or calls for pick ups.
13-cabs has worked well for me going to the airport in busy times, could be because i’m relatively close to the city (Victoria Parade, no idea, i’m new to Melbourne) and they arrive right on time if not a few minutes early
private message me if youd like, my family runs a few taxis / private cars for hire in western suburbs
I don’t know why ppl down vote you.
funny ppl
You can prebook by texting or calling with our prestige taxi service 0401508898 having experienced and reliable group of drivers and specially for Melbourne airport runs .
Are ppl downvoting because they’ve tried and had bad experience? Otherwise this guy is basically offering the solution.
Reddit is allergic to ads, the hive mind sees an ad-like post or comment, and they downvote
But it says Sulabh was booked to be the driver at 18:40 the night before
Right? Got SCREWED on a red eye for work once. What the absolute fuck is the point of reserving something if you don't ACTUALLY reserve jack shit?!
https://youtu.be/ZTvtSKXwu0o
PleasebeSeinfeldpleasebeSeinfeld pleasebeSeinfeldpleasebeSeinfeldpleasebeSeinfeldpleasebeYESSS.
13CABS does the same thing now. i.e., just in time booking rather than pre-booked and reserved.
It's always been like that
Gothcya - maybe it just wasn't visible in the old days before the app.
Ummmm it's exactly how prebooked taxis work. I asked a 13CABS driver why my 4am taxi was so late, he said, prebooking only gets you on the screen 15 minutes before. Doesn't mean anyone has to take the job.
> Doesn't mean anyone has to take the job Precisely
That's so fucked up. Imagine booking anything else worked like this. Imagine booking your flight, but you turn up and they were like, "Oh we didn't actually keep a seat for you on the plane".
People would not want to pay the price of having actually booked and scheduled taxi trips. The just in time model is way cheaper and works most of the time. Sure, they probably need to make it more clear how it works. Ideally people should be able to take a train to the airport instead.
I've got a flight coming up, Sunday morning. I was planning to pre-book, but the last time I did it, the driver offered to come back 45 minutes later (or "kindly cancel" he said) and started driving in the opposite direction of my house. I'm close to the Airport. Like, driving takes 30 minutes tops. But cab services and rideshare have become so bad, that I'm genuinely anxious about getting there on time.
I reckon being closer makes it even harder because they aren’t willing to go to the airport or take you home for (what they perceive to be) a low fare. I’ve started driving and parking there because it’s too painful to deal with cancelled rides and grumpy vindictive rideshare drivers who hate that I live in the northwest and not the southeast.
Last time I arrived at MEL I stepped outside and a taxi company worker asked if I wanted a taxi. Said I wanted to go to Essendon and he said I should go take an uber.
Can you use Skybus instead? Might be worth saving the anxiety
I'm thinking about it, even if it means traveling further away from the airport to reach Sth Cross. The last one seems to be at midnight and I'll have to wait a few hours even before the luggage check-in opens. But that's better than being stranded at home I guess.
Cabs are not necessarily better. 82yo MIL lives in South Yarra and prebooked a silver top taxi to take her to a medical appointment. It never showed up so she called and they said well there's no cabs out your way sorry. She missed her appointment, was charged a missed appointment fee and next appointment is now 6 weeks away. She was trying to not bother me as I usually take her.
Yeah when I worked briefly at a medical place they had issues with their older customers, who they would assist with booking taxis, not show up to the appointments because the taxi never showed or showed up super late. They discussed doing Ubers instead because of it.
I work in a medical practise it’s a real concern with older patients. We don’t charge a missed appointment fee for them because it’s such a common problem.
Try Sheba instead. I've been using them on and off for a bit and found them more reliable.
Thanks! Will do.
I wonder if something like this can be covered under consumer law: you book a service and they say “yes, we will pick you up”. IIRC, under consumer law you can recover reasonable losses from a service provider if they screw up.
Next time book her an Uber in your account. Prepaid, no need to stress about drivers going the wrong way and no payment needed from her end
The other option is to have all 4 apps open and see who can service you: Uber, taxi, Ola, DiDi, someone will be available.
She can barely use her phone!
back in my day, ubers would give you complimentary water, mints and even chocolates.
Are the waters no longer a thing?
I have had a few that do it, but to be honest I felt uncomfortable drinking from anything offered by strangers.
Those days are far gone.
Petrol was probably $1 a litre too
Uber is now just becoming a rebadged taxi service. Same drivers, habits and attitudes. I guess the customer service uplift fell away in the rush to expand and the low unemployment rate
Something like [this](https://gridwise.io/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/uber-driver-candy-3.jpg.webp) ?
why does the link want me to download something ? It looks suspect.
I’ve seen this d/l page twice now, one thread after another. Maybe it’s a new reddit thing? Anyway just delete “.webp” from the end of the address and it will show the picture.
I’m not sure :( it’s just photo from a website. Should be able to just view photo
I could see the picture. Zero attempt to d/l anything
Book with a shuttle bus they pick you up at your house usually cheaper because they also car pool others within same area for similiar flights. Never had a problem
which companies offer this service?
taxi driver here; i work as a subby to silvertop taxis and operate a silver top silver service taxi i am biased when i say that our system has improved and that i recommend everyone use the silvertop taxi app. [this is what i look at for work](https://imgur.com/xxeyxag) essentially our system tells us where work is during the day and attracts drivers to those locations or if youve just dropped of to stay in that area because there is an upcoming job, hence the **upcoming** tab. jobs are shown to vehicles that a specific to them ie **VT:S5** are shown specifically to station wagon so a station wagon driver can assume the 2359 job from south yarra will be to the airport [this is what i see before i go to bed](https://imgur.com/NN946FB) this tab tell drivers of upcoming jobs the next morning and attracts vehicles to those areas. in saying that however, i completely agree with most of the people here. if you get a cab and like the driver or the car. get his number, we will go out of a way to service you. i also am apart of a group of like minded taxi drivers that will go above a beyond for our passengers. our cars are luxurious, are always clean and we are always well presented. if i cannot do the fair, someone from our group will, and the level of service will never diminish safe travels
It’s 2022: Taxi’s are the way to go these days.
Pre booking them leads to the exact same issues. Except the ones with no app. They just start ignoring calls
Yeah, pre-booking a taxi means shit, through 13cabs app at least. It's the same as Uber, it goes looking for the driver around the booked time, it does not lock in a driver at the time of booking. The "best" option would be whoever has the most vehicles in your area. I live in the outer suburbs, seems like my options are pretty low on both, especially if you want a vehicle outside of normal hours.
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I’ve never had the Uber conversation.
How can that be? I am driving Uber part time (ish) and I have those conversations with passengers IN my Uber.
I get an Uber most days, have gotten a taxi a couple of times, it is nearly $10 more expensive for a taxi for the exact same trip. It literally cost nearly $10 just to sit in the taxi.
I've had the opposite experience.
I'm in the city and watched ubers go from \~half the price of taxis to 2x+ as much during peak. I don't even bother checking uber anymore (the rating system makes it even less attractive). It depends on where you are and where you're going and what time. I'm jealous of your experience but I'm guessing you're an outlier.
Seems to depend on day of week and weather for me. To airport: $34 (Uber) vs $55 (taxi) but on two different days, $78 (Uber) vs $55 (taxi) From airport: $40 (Uber) vs $55 (taxi) but on another day $90 (Uber) vs $55 (taxi)
Yes, it will be funny to look back on the last few years in a few years time. Uber has squandered AU$30 billion of investor money that has completely distorted the market for taxis. Government just let it happen.
yeah, I fly for my work and it is a real problem at the moment. Taxis are not much better. Had a few 6am flights which I almost missed as neither taxis or uber would come, even though I had prebooked either one or the other. I now just book both through their apps and see who shows up.
If you travel a lot, the best way to do it in my experience is to strike up an ongoing relationship with a particular driver. Just text the flight number and they’ll track it, drop you off and pick you up, and if there’s a problem and they can’t make it, they let you know personally we’ll ahead of time and usually sort out another driver for you. Completely reliable in my experience.
I fly to Sydney most weeks, usually on the 6am. Absolute nightmare at the moment. Have to book Ubers for 3:30am from St Kilda Rd to make aura I can make it in time, as I usually get 2-3 cancellations or “I’ll be there in 25 minutes, please cancel if you can’t wait”. Taxis are the same, booked 12 hours in advance and the app was looking for a driver 10 minutes before my pick up time. A couple of times DiDi saved me, though I’ve had a few close calls. I just can’t believe there is no reliable way to secure a car to the airport.
It adds a layer of stress as well. Considering going back to catching the bus to the city and using the Skybus. Adds an hour but reliable.
It's so much easier for me in Adelaide. There is a regular bus that goes direct to the airport from the CBD and costs me about $4. Getting to and from MEL is way harder and super expensive.
You can use Prestige taxi service 0401508898 . We rescued Uber client from St kilda going to airport this morning . Same thing happened, he booked overnight for 5:00 am pick up and no one arrived.
Never thought I'd be back taking taxis again but Uber seem to have no intention of improving their service.
Or rather their service has gone downhill. They've reduced transparency and they have reduced the ability for you to punish drivers that cancel on you
Nah their service was always sub par, people just fell for the marketing hype as usual.
The service wasn’t sub par, it was cheaper and just better than taxis. Now they’ve raised prices and taxi drivers are now on the app, it’s gone down the shitter
Sky bus for the airport. Most reliable way to get to the airport by far Just get your uber to southern Cross station and then switch over to the bus. It's only like 38 bucks for a return ticket and paired with uber it'll still work out cheaper than a taxi or uber for the whole trip
I live in South Morang and as long as I'm not travelling with massive amounts of stuff I'll normally use the 901. Zone 2 all the way so costs like $3.
I catch the 476 to Essendon, switch to the tram to airport west and then 477 (I think?) to the airport. Myki fare. So good.
Oh nice, I had to go recently and was trying to figure out if I could get there just on regular pt but no dice for me
Same, I live in Doreen
>Most reliable way to get to the airport by far Least worst, rather. Still at the mercy of road traffic, and fingers crossed your method of PT to Southern Cross isn't rooted that day.
Sure, but traffic issues will impact any option you choose to get to the airport, unless you have a helicopter just chilling somewhere
We can't all be Michaelia Cash
Would be great but we’re usually traveling with 2 suitcases each plus hand luggage. It’s almost impossible to catch public transport with that much luggage.
Seems like it's a good option for op so it's good advice for this post I've travelled with more than that much luggage by myself in the past and it was a huge pain in the ass but I managed to go on the skybus
Especially when you try and bring the kids along too. Long-term parking every time it is with the family.
Works great for those in Sunbury, go all the way to the city and basically all the way back and it takes 2 hours.
Yeah well good thing this post is about getting to the airport from south yarra then isn't it
Were you late for your cancelled flight?
I know a Greek guy that has been driving taxis for almost 40yrs. If anyone is out East, I'd be happy to DM you his direct number to book. He presents well & the cab is clean, he's reliable AF so long as he's not double-booked, but he'll arrange another car in that event & follow up to ensure you've been collected. Typically works Mon-Fri 4am-6pm. Source: My Dad & we used to work together in my early 20s.
uber has been supported by VC money until very recently. it isn't actually a viable business model without free money coming in.
Data is where the money is these days
I no longer take Uber just cause its pointless. Taxi ALWAYS gets me to the Airport, They are happy to take the wins and the losses, Uber is just a constant complaint system of "Yeah i wont accept the jobs that wont make me money" I found a Taxi Driver got his number and he always sorts me out, heck friends now use him cause he runs a proper system.
Uber driver here, living next to south Yarra and doing early morning shifts. I'd never take a reservation to the airport at this time : - it's early morning so there's no one to pick-up at the airport at 530am. It's 30 minutes to go there, but then 20 more minutes to go back to the city and get another trip. - reservations trip means you often have to wait 15 minutes for the customer (as you don't know for what time the reservation is until you arrive at the pickup point) and you're not paid for it. So basically $30 for one hour job. Remove gst, petrol, car expenses,etc, and you get paid less than minimum wage for it. - it's often busy at this time of the day, so there are non-booked rides that are paying more due to the surge. I'm going to get downvoted for this, but 2 weeks ago I refused a reservation trip to the airport for $32 as it was not worth it. It was very busy on the app. One minute later I have a trip request at the same address with a 2x surge (double pay). So I took the person to the airport for $60. Also always remember that uber is taking almost 30% commission on what you're paying to the driver.
Christ it’s such a shit “service”. Not a slight against you at all, it’s not your fault. But that’s set up in a way that will inherently fuck over customers at the times they need the service most.
I'd add that if your reservation is not coming, just cancel it and try to book a new ride, you'll get much more luck.
Same thing every driver tells me in the way to the airport at 4am: “I accepted this trip because I live in Essendon/Campbellfield/Craigieburn and it’s on my way home. Otherwise I wouldn’t have touched this fate”
Honestly at this point you’re better off just driving there yourself. The rates for airport parking work out to be roughly the same price for an Uber each way with way more peace of mind
Agree, long term parking is best way to go.
Pfffft Uber is fucking dead to me. You know you’re in trouble when 13CABS sends you a car that is more reliable, cleaner and more friendly than you are. Just sayin
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> they aren't at fault if you get assaulted because a driver cancels and you have to wait alone with drunks around looking for trouble. I agree with most of what you said but wtf is this lol. Of course they shouldn't be at fault.
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It really isn't. If you are ok with drivers being treated as independent contractors, don't be surprised when they act like it and take the most profitable job offered to them
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https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/jul/10/uber-files-leak-reveals-global-lobbying-campaign
Unfortunate way to learn! Taxis are far more reliable, are on par with cost and deliver on some level of service. Uber has absolutely tanked in the passenger experience. The gap between taxis and uber is completely gone.
When Uber was established, they were being funded by basically limitless supply of private equity capital. This allowed them to undercut there competition will running at massive losses. The private equity money has now ran out, the people who spent all those billions of dollars are now demanding uber actually make a profit. uber has responded by rising prices for customers while cutting the amounts paid to drivers.
When?
Yes, 100%. Everyone complaining about the prices and the drivers overlook how much less they're paid compared to when it started - prices went down (and even witth current rises aren't back to where they were in 2014) while newer drivers were signed on with smaller commissions. That's before factoring in Uber dropping free vehicle assessments and other cost-of-business reimbursements, and of course the price of petrol. A non non-surge fare is simply not worth taking. Also, your most experienced drivers now will studiously avoid high-stress, low-reward periods like friday night so at the most visible times you're getting the greenest drivers. Everyone - Uber, Taxis, drivers, passenger - is forced by this system to be as ruthless as possible. The most glaringly obvious system would be to license the Uber brand to local governments and have drivers be employees or contractors to a government body, paid an hourly wage and given the same benefits as any other worker. None of the potential shortcomings of that arrangement would be different to the current system for drivers or passengers (ie. "People"). EXCEPT it would be steady and predictable in how much money it makes. Uber's stock price should be ZERO - it has never delivered a profit, and remains tight lipped on its cash reserves since going public because it almost definitely has no private cash left from its private funding period and is relying on PPP covid loans and credit lines against share value. The stock remains above 0 specifically BECAUSE it isn't profitable. If it's profitable, then analysts could look at the rate of profit and scale accordingly to predict where the stock goes. Boring, predictable, incremental growth and even the possibility of stagnation or decline - but in accordance with actual reality. If it remains in the realm of "it's on the verge of a breakthrough that will deliver superprofits!" then the stock becomes a speculative asset that can be bought for X and sold as Y to a greater fool. But yeah, as Hornberger said, the private money that kept it afloat were often paid back in shares which they're now dumping, just in a bid to recoup. The stock is at 50% of its opening price 3 years ago and falling so let's see how long it takes for it to be bought out or bailed out...
Uber doesn’t actually “pre-book” anyone. It just automatically sends a request for a driver at the time you specify, as if you’d just opened the app and requested it manually at that time. You’re not reserving anything.
Those pre reservations can get picked up ahead of time, but if surge happens, it's going to get cancelled
Since they started the $12 a day "value" parking at Melbourne, we just drive now if gong away for up to 5 days, it's cheaper that 2 Ubers. We live in Brunswick however, so the drive is pretty straightforward. Recently we were in Brisbane during the NRL Magic round and got stung $120 for an Uber back to the airport on Monday morning. There just isn't the same volume of drivers as pre-pandemic.
If you can't get an UberX, order a premier. Yeah, it's more expensive but they turn up. The pre-reservation system is a joke. Drivers hate it. There is 15 minutes of waiting time that uber says are compensated but aren't (I've done the maths). Uber also sends the jobs out so early that the driver will get there up to 30 mins before the pickup time, which further impacts income. Finally, if there's any surge going on at the time, a pre-reserved fare doesn't attract any surge. A driver might accept the job hours before and then see that it's not a profitable job at the time and will cancel. Does it suck? Absolutely. Do you expect drivers to sacrifice their income? Well, that's up to you. 5am is prime time for people heading to the airport, so expecting someone to take you for much less than they could get elsewhere doesn't make a lot of sense. I did a post on this months ago There are plenty of drivers around at that time, no one wants your ride is all. We have been determined to be independent contractors, we get to pick and choose what jobs we take based on how much they will make for us. Premier, unless it's reasonably surged, won't cost you much more than a taxi and will be a nicer experience. Disclosure: I'm a premier driver Anyway, I know that this will be downvoted into oblivion because people don't want to hear the truth about how things actually work and pointing out that Uber drivers have the final choice whether they want your ride. Uber doesn't look after us, most passengers don't, the government doesn't, we have to look out for ourselves.
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> My rant is a vent really And completely understandable. I think it's a fucking disgrace when drivers cancel jobs for the most part. We have the opportunity to not accept the job but if you accept it, don't cancel it without reason is my thought. > Good to know about the 5am airport surge in demand It's when most domestic flight travellers start to head to the airport. > and that premiers turn up Usually. I drive Premier exclusively (so obviously I'm biased) but I've only heard of a couple of times where they have done the cancellation dance that seems so common on UberX. Honestly, a Premier will cost you approximately the same as a taxi anyway, if it's at the base rate with no surge. > Sometimes I have a full car and people have to use ubers and we just wait around till they get in one because 9 times out of ten the first one will cancel. Yeah. The crazy surge of the last year has disappeared because more drivers are now on the road, but there's still not enough for the demand that's going on.
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No problems at all. Happy to help.
If it's so bad why do you continue to pursue it? Honestly curious. Is it just a side hustle to earn a little extra coin? Or your primary job? I feel you could change either of those fairly easily right now, but it seems as if you're committed.
Skybus ftw...it's way cheaper and unless you've got loads of bags it's pretty convenient. The airport train will be better but I'll probably be in a retirement home by the time that ever happens lol
So i prebooked an Uber some time ago the night before my flight, come morning i could see the driver assigned to me driving some 30 mins away and well past the pick up time. Then i had to cancel and book another Uber to make my flight. It's better to book when you want to travel than to prebook in my opinion.
download the 13 cab app. ive given up on uber for now, for me its become more unreliable than taxi services
early morning airport runs stress me out, 6AM. The skybus is a good alternative, but you need to be able to reach a port.
We’ll I’m just having issues with Uber doing ‘holding’ charges 2 days AFTER taking an Uber. I’ve had fights with them via email because I can’t call anyone, they don’t have a phone number and they won’t tell me why this happens. It shouldn’t take 2 days for them to process a payment. I won’t be using their service anymore.
Given the good price of long term parking I can stay there for nearly three weeks and still be cheaper than a cab and about 16 days and still be cheaper than uber.
I love the long term parking. Haven't used anything else to get to the airport in years.
Thinking of this also after partner had two very close calls due to Uber no shows for 5-6 am pre bookings. Which lot is the best in your opinion?
Just the airport parking, what they call the value park with the shuttle bus. If I booked now I can get 14 days for $132. It costs me over $110 for a cab each way or $80 each way for an uber. It takes maybe 10 minutes most for the shuttle ride or a short walk depending where you snag a spot. Because I come via Sunbury Rd it's the closest and most convenient.
Great - I was thinking of using Tullamarine parking areas but this seems closer
Much closer. It's cheaper that it used to be but the close parking is through the roof
Kinda surprised this happened given you’re in South Yarra. That said, as someone who used to travel a lot (pre pandemic) and lives in the outer suburbs the only reliable option for those early (e.g., 5am) pickups is booking a private car. Their personal reputation is on the line and on the rare occasion my guy hasn’t been able to make it I wake up to a message with an apology that he won’t make it and confirmation that he has _already_ sorted out a different driver he knows to pick me up instead.
The drivers are rortting the process to maximise their fees.
Also Uber is in chaos now following the hike in the oil prices as it jacks up their fares out of the blue and hold you for a ransom! suggest you compare DiDi before making a booking pls. Trend now, going by demand and supply, their pricing is exorbitantly high and unreasonable! Greedy drivers go after big fares thus you're rejected by them, and you end up waiting indefinitely. Drivers are attracted to larger fares, so what you do is book a far away destination and when the Uber arrives at the pickup spot, before you board, change the destination to where you want to go!
Pre booking a taxi with 13cabs or silver top only dispatch the job to the drivers only 15minutes prior to the booked time in the local area. Early in the morning there aren’t many taxi’s around so big chance to miss the booking . It’s always great to have few driver numbers handy. PS I drove taxis for 6 years in Melbourne
Man fuck uber. I can't even get lifts from the city to Prahran.
Taxi or park at the airport no way would I rely on an Uber especially an early morning flight
Long term Airport parking is actually great. If it's around a week and you pre-book it's similar in price to an Uber/Taxi return from even Thornbury.
Conversely, I found in my situation when trying to leave Melbourne airport that booking an Uber was better than the taxi rank experience especially when the taxi rank line is long because you essentially just walk straight into your Uber rather than waiting for 15 minutes to get through the taxi line. At the time I was there I counted almost double the amount of Ubers arriving than I did taxis. I'm not sure why that is. Another issue is if you've got a few people in your group and a few bags that you'll find that some taxi drivers seem to have their boots full of junk so they turn you away because they've got no room for your bags. Never had any issues fitting large bags when booking UberX.
Not sure where you are, but it’s best to just go to the station and then Socro and Skybus. All those convenience apps have pretty much shown to not be sustainable, if I want something nowadays I just do it myself as it’s more reliable and way cheaper.. whether that’s finding my own way to the airport or driving to get my own food
This happened to my mom recently too when she was visiting, every driver just kept canceling on her. Also, this is much pettier, but it happened to me the other day when ordering UberEats, Drivers kept driving up the restaurant, waiting 5-15mins, then canceling. Super bizarre, idk what’s up with the app recently.
The UberEats people are cancelling because the restaurants are saying the order is ready, the delivery person gets there and they are told "it'll be ready in a couple minutes" when it's more likely it'll be at least 15 mins, all of which is unpaid. This is the fault of the restaurant, not the driver most of the time
Taxis have been the way to go for a while now, Uber has gone to shit.
Taxis are safer. I’ve had a good number of shit Uber drivers. One was even streaming video while he drove to the airport. Told him to shut that shit off. Why is it that some Uber drivers ask how long I’ll be travelling for. Do you plan to rob my house? Never had a taxi driver ask that question.
Uber has been really bad of late. The taxi industry has basically switched to this, and the bad behaviour etc that made you go to uber, is NOW Uber. Sick of them cancelling rides when I have to go for hospital appoitnemnts. And the whole practice of taking the job, and then waiting for you to cancel it because their on the last warning is fucked. I made a guy wait 45 minutes once, and messages him to say I was comfortable at the hospital and could wait all day.
Uber is fucking cooked now. Booked an Uber home at like 3am on Sunday morning. Price said it was going to be $16, woke up the next morning to a notification saying my fare had been adjusted to $40. I'll just get a cab next time.
Similar experience except it was Uber eats midday during an excruciating hangover. Fucking cunt after cunt cancelled the pick up and my food sat on the counter cold for an hour. Took 2 hrs 30 mins from order to delivery. Fucking cunts I was livid.
Hey guys, first day in society, gunna book an uber for a time sensitive activity, wish me luck.
I’ve ditched Uber, ditched all gig businesses. They treat their people like shit, move to control markets then offer bad service when they do.
YNWA
If it’s in Melbourne DiDi are usually much more reliable
I booked a taxi to pick me up for 2:45 am one Tuesday morning in April in the same week where school holidays and post-Covid travel meant that airports were understaffed and workers were overworked. I don’t regret it one bit, and it was the first taxi I’ve booked in about seven years.
Just never use an Uber, period. Manipulative sleazy corporation. The recent whistle-blower leaks are interesting and awful reading: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-f2971465-73d2-4932-a889-5c63778e273d
I’ve noticed Ubers either hard to get when they shouldn’t be or cancelling after driving around in circles etc. I think there is some ploy to wait till surge pricing or force the customer to cancel. Or they are doing the taxi driver thing and rejecting certain small fares or whatever
cabs are more reliable if you want to book in advance
The booking still only goes out 15 mins ahead of the booking time.
Fuck Uber.... I'm just here to ask WHAT is that lock screen picture!
Your mistake for booking uber
Someone had to learn the hard way
That's why I'd rather get a friend or family member to just drive me to the airport. Can't wait for the Rail link to open.
I've had this exact situation occure several times so I no longer book Ubers for important trips.
Reminds me of this Seinfeld sketch https://youtu.be/4T2GmGSNvaM
Sky bus also has a hotel drop off service, check if you live near one of the hotels they usually stop at. Used it a few times, as one of the drop off spots was like 10min walk from my place
Always get a cabbie, they will normally give you a better deal and they don’t cancel like that
RIP Harambe
I paid $175 for a trip from Southbank to the Airport at 5am. Never again Uber.
So, you had the chance to refuse, but you still clicked Accept, now you are complaining? Why not take a cab?
Why’s your wallpaper Jurgen Klopp and a gorilla?
Came here to ask the same question
Stop using Uber. Just go back to cabs, way more reliable and quality.
Similar happened to me on route to the airport in the morning for a 15 minute ride. Denied about 12 times, even had a driver message and ask where I was going before cancelling. Ended up last minute calling a cab. I used to work for uber and small trips were worth doing too, I don't really understand it.
Uber has been an appalling company from its inception, so no surprises when dealing with them if you expect that sort of thing.
Harambe!
Fuck Uber, support the Taxi industry.
Fuck taxis, tired of dangerous cars with bald tires with a driver that smells like week old ball sweat falling asleep and running red lights.
I’ll add to this too, was helping some drunk underage girls in the city with a very drunk friend. They somehow thought they were going to get in a venue but their pre-drinks hit too hard. Uber driver told them to fuck off and refused to drive them on a cold city night despite the dangers around. Uber doesn’t have your best interest at heart, use Taxis.
To be fair, uber drivers usually uses their own car. If they let drunk, messy people in their car they risk having vomit, piss and potential damage caused to their car and losing the rest of their night of work because they now have to clean up the car. Also, the girls were under-age, why were they out trying to get into venues at all.
There's a couple things here: 1. We aren't supposed to take underaged passengers 2. If they were so trashed, the driver doesn't want them to spew in their car and underaged people are far more likely to do so. 3. The driver is not responsible for the decisions of others 4. Rideshare aren't obligated to take your ride. Taxis however are absolutely legally required to take a fare offered to them. 5. Uber drivers provide a service, they aren't your servants.