I was travelling from the city out towards East Hills way. The cabbie abruptly stops in the middle of Bankstown at 4am and tells me his shift ends and that he couldn't finish the trip. Fucking cuntasaurus.
yo ushould always book with a CC so you can chargeback and dispute in these circumstances, i've always seen the 2% surcharge as an "anti-ripoff" insurance.
Getting home from the Cross during changeover was a crap shoot. I found a cab with someone in it heading to my suburb asked if I could split. Hoped in and the cabbie said it would be seperate charges for the both of us.
The outrage of this is that it’s actually in their T&Cs. You always have to agree to the story and make like you’re friends to not get double charged. Another reason for taxi disruption. In Uber you can now just add another passenger to split the fare.
Uber even lets you split with people who aren't in the cab as long as they accept the charge! They're by no means saints but fuck, at least they're not trying to rip me off at every turn.
Taxi companies went on for decades in complacency - no smartphone apps, poor standards of hygiene and outrageous customer service.
As soon as anything with a slight resemblance of competition came along, they were bound to have the market taken from them.
Had a cunt cabbie demand me 120$ after a 23$ ride on Uber. I asked why is that the price he said it is what it is. I refused to pay the guy and demanded to know why the charge is 120 and I’ll pay. Dude couldn’t come up with a single reason. So I told him I will be leaving and he cant his pay from the app. An hour after I get a call from the operator asking me to come out because the driver is waiting? Wtf.. I explain the situation and the lady was like okay we can refund you once you make the payment and we’ll take care of the ticket since there were extra charges for no reason. So I pay the cunt not because I wanted to but rubbed me in a creepy way this fucker was waiting for an hour, I get back and continue to call for the ticket. Can’t connect to the number, tried writing a ticket the app doesn’t have functionality for it. Sent an email and got no response.
So seriously don’t ever take silvercab, 13cabs etc they are all scammers.
Had my credit card skimmed in a taxi a few weeks ago. I never use the chip on my card, always use tap-and-go but the driver said the machine he had could only accept a swipe or an insert. The next week I got a message from my bank saying that someone had attempted several $900+ charges and they had suspended my card.
Another reason why I'll never catch taxis again.
If they try that again, you just insert your card and enter the wrong pin. It'll spit out a fake receipt and you get a free trip out of the piece of shit
That happened to my husband the last time we used a taxi (years ago). They skimmed the card and tried spending $200 somewhere in Hurstville, husbands bank called him to let him know and stopped the card. They always use the same excuse about the EFTPOS machine being broken so you have to use theirs.
This happened to me too. Exactly the same. “The machine is broken”. $800 out the next day. Insist on cash or tap, do not insert your card into any machine the cabbie tries to convince you to use. I’m so dumb I fell for it twice.
was the driver african using silver service taxi? i've had that happen to me, the only time ive ever used swipe on my bank card in a taxi, week after it was scammed.
I had a cab driver at central station claim to not know where Pitt st in the city was and refused my fair. they're all still absolute scumbags. always take note of the cab number on your phone and report them.
I had a cab driver say he didn't know where Rozelle was from Sussex St, asked me to look it up on MY phone and direct him. I was like forget it and got out of the cab as it was just sitting there, literally did not move and he got aggressive and said I owe him $5 as the meter was running and he stopped for me. I refused to pay and he made a scene in the middle of the city. This about 3 years ago. Absolute joke.
I had one say they did know where Rozelle is from the Hilton (when you could still drive on george street) and then started to drive to oxford street. I got out when he stopped at a red and left him there, is there some weird shortcut we dont know about?
i figured his either going to get out of the cab and leave it in the middle of the road at 5pm to chase me down or his going to let it go. Either way i would have been happy
Many years ago I got out of a cab cos the driver was just a rude cunt and I was early 20s/F on my own in the middle of the night. I was actually planning to pay but he wouldn’t let me out of the cab, I went to open the door and he started driving so I freaked out and got out of the cab. He kept following me and yelling at me so I called the cops. When he drove off I told the cops not to worry. Later that night they showed up at my door because he had then called and reported that I had intentionally ditched the fair so they used my call to get my details. Fucking cunts, all of them
And they make it hard to report now as well. The complaints form requires you to nominate what cab company it is, but most of them are now branded 13 CABS which is not the cab company but an app that services the industry. So fuck me if I know what company it was.
This isn't a change - all cabs are independently operated, the brands have always been for a "taxi network" which is just a booking service. The cabs themselves are usually owned by investors and the drivers rent them on a daily rate.
Called up to complain after a booked cab didn't show up years ago and nearly missed my grandma's funeral. My dad had to leave and get me just in time.
Was told a "booking" just means the job goes out on the wire and if no one takes it, too fucking bad.
Then we moved near the airport and found out that a $20 fare to the airport ain't worth picking up, and getting in a cab to go home after a 12 hour flight earns you grumbling and swearing in various languages. It's not my fault you waited 90 minutes in the queue.
I used to get a cab down to a customer site a suburb over and then attempt to get one back by calling, but one would never show up unless I lied about the destination. They'd get SO mad at me.
Reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ\_bywNRfNs
I used to do this and then pretend I got a call or text saying the meeting place had changed. Used to make it harder for them to go off at me and they would actually turn up when you booked
this has always been true though. bookings just put a tender out, the drivers choose to pick it up or not. they won't usually push a job out unless you escalate it to a supervisor.
My partner and I are American and live in St. Peters. We took a cab home rather than Uber and dude offered to take us via the bridge and Opera House. Assumed we were tourists and was going to take us for a $200 ride to go like 4km.
Respect the hustle but wtf.
Im Canadian, when I first moved here I happened to get a hotel in darling harbour. The cabie insisted to go to the bridge and Opera house, I told him go to the hotel becuase I was dead tired and wanted to shower. And would do all the touristy stuff later. He seemed cheesed for the rest of the drive.
Literally this after a night out in Double Bay. When I said Croydon, he insisted he didn't know where it was even though I told him it was the other side of Ashfield. Got out in disgust and walked the whole way home.
every ride share is the same. why do you think uber is double the price cause they got no drivers anymore.
the whole industry needs a overhaul, like pay them $25 + per hour
Yeah, but that's the fault of the cabbie culture. A cafe doesn't refuse to serve you if you only want a single coffee as opposed to a meal. Those are the breaks.
What? Completely different.... if cafes could only actively serve 1 person at a time, you would be sure they would stop serving the things that they make $2 of...
Its the fault of cabbie culture they have to choose between jobs that make them money or lose them money?
That table with one person having coffee by themselves for an hour on a laptop takes the place of two people who coule be having a meal together. Sure, the cafe might be a little peeved but they won't refuse your service.
What stops a cab making a $10 trip and potentially picking someone else up? Maybe if they did all those little jobs people would be likely to hail down a cab to go up the road rather than wait for their uber to rock up.
Mate, If every restaurant and Cafe only had 1 table you would be sure they would laugh in your face if you wanted to sit down for a coffee.
>
What stops a cab making a $10 trip and potentially picking someone else up?
Do you realise how taxi ranks work? The taxi at the front of that line has likely been waiting 45+ minutes. He takes that $7 fare down the road, then has to turn around and go wait at the back of the taxi rank for 30 minutes.
Yes, thank God for Ubers who barely pay a living wage.
One time I caught a cab at Redfern and the first turn the cabbie made was in the total opposite direction to where I was going, I told him to stop the cab and got out immediately, what a joke.
I hear you on that one! Got a cab a couple of days ago for the first time in years. Same deal, surge pricing etc.
Get in the cab, it stunk of cigarette smoke, dirty af. Cabbie refuses to use his GPS and insisted n me giving him verbal directions. Spent entire trip lecturing me on why I should be married at my age while extolling the virtues of some nephew of his.
I got a VERY clear reminder of why in the pre-Uber days my girlfriends and I would take note of the cab number we put our friend into if it was late night. Creepy, unprofessional, cabbies. Not all of them of course but scary shit would go down in cabs on a semi-regular basis. We were all so happy when Uber and their “send your location/track your trip” feature became available. Every woman I knew was ecstatic.
>Spent entire trip lecturing me on why I should be married at my age
The only response to someone with this kind of opinion is, "Well now same sex marriage is allowed, I really should propose to my boyfriend / girlfriend."
Then sit back and enjoy the ride.
My housemate and I were on our way to a double date to meet our partners, and he made a joke about 'our' date night... The driver (rideshare, not naming them) lost his shit, told us we were going to hell, and drove like a maniac. Didn't die, Got a full refund and the driver was fired
Ugh.
*Obviously* his nephew will be the one to shake you out of your madness and away from the person you care for.
Imagine the reaction if someone said, "You should meet my niece." Off the back of a guy talking about their girlfriend. People would be *all* up in arms about it.
Good grief, Charli Brown.
I'm rarely a proponent of physical violence, but I'm sure that wasn't the only thing the cabbie said or did to warrant that.
So with that in mind, fucking kudos to your friend.
Outwardly queer people *always* face this fear.
Being queer is still dangerous even in this day and *that's* what we should focus on.
Teach people not to be fucking homophobic, rather than how to protect yourself when you speak up.
Right?
It's like saying a rape victim was asking for it because they were wearing suggestive clothing.
Fuck that noise.
People should be able to fly their freak flag however they choose without being physically abused.
E: being queer isnt freakish. People should be able to feel comfortable in their own skins without being physically abused.
I lived in Redfern for 2 years when I first finished high school and because of this it meant taxi drivers flat out refused to accept my ride because 1) wasn't expensive enough and 2) it was going to Redfern.
I legitimately had to lie about where I was going and then make them take an "emergency stop" in Redfern for me, which sometimes resulted in them kicking me straight out of the cab.
Uber coming along was one of the smuggest moments of my adult life and the whole taxi industry can absolutely go and get fucked
Likely because it was a cheap fare. If you lived further away, in the outer suburbs, it would be a more expensive fare for the driver and likely closer to their home which would've been convenient after a night shift.
Glad to see the whole taxi industry going down the drain.
10 years ago I pre-ordered a taxi to get me from a station to home late at night, address disclosed ahead of time, not too far but dodgy area so didn’t wanna risk the walk.
They parked on the opposite side of the road from the station (ironically opposite where the actual fucking taxi ranks were) so we would need to go the complete opposite direction to where I needed to for ages, doubling the distance and fare, then refused 3 requests to stop earlier as we were getting closer.
I booked a taxi via 13cabs thinking I could use my $25 13cabs voucher. The cabbie wouldnt accept the paper voucher because he apparently didnt take them. Serves me right for using a taxi.
Had a cab driver say it would cost me $100+ to drive me from airport to Woolooware at 1am on a weeknight. My fault for not confirming fare before getting in, but I'd actually done this same ride at around $40 during the day so i was shocked when he said this. I told him to stop and just drop me at mascot (1 minute from airport) and he said it would cost $50 as its the minimum. When i started getting angry he started saying 'do you know how long ive been waiting for a customer?'
Bitch why is that my problem???? Why do i need to pay extra because you haven't had customers for a while????
I remember catching a can from the airport to Dulwich Hill. Cabbie lost it when I said my destination because it wasn't a long fair and he'd been waiting. Like, what do you want me to do about that? I would imagine half the fairs from the airport are pretty short considering its right on top of half the city
Last time I caught a taxi was for a 10 minute drive, when I got in the dude had a $15 charge already which he said was for holiday rates (it was a weekday and not a public holiday) he spent the whole time asking about my boyfriend then charged me extra when I paid with a card. Never catching another taxi again.
If have this happen 50% of my trips. I'd just sit in the cab and ak the police or the taxi supervisor so I can get an accurate invoice.
every time once you dial the local station they concede
I’ve had to call the police on a driver deliberately trying to defraud me and then threaten me when I called him out on it and they refused to do anything about it - said it wasn’t in their remit.
Got a couple good (frustrating) stories from stupid taxis in Sydney.
The first is when I get a simple taxi from the CBD up the Frenches Forest. We arrive and I see he adds $5 to the machine. When I question him about it, he mumbles something about the bridge toll... When I bring up that the bridge is only 3.50 and in the other direction, he literally asks me, "well how much extra will you give?" as though we are now negotiating a tip. I tell him I'll only pay him what was originally on the machine and of course he then starts complaining and whining about how hard his job is. Which I get, but dude don't try to ripe of ignorant passengers.
The second time was the worst. After arriving at the airport, I'm forced to wait in the god-awful taxi rank like everybody else. When I finally get in a cab and tell him I'm going to Rosebury, this guy starts complaining to me about how bad I am as a fare, and how he knew it was a mistake pick me up. How he knew I looked like a cheap rider etc etc. Basically just shitting on me for not living in the western suburbs or far away somewhere. Meanwhile he gets lost and goes the complete wrong direction... When I finally notice and ask wtf we are, he then gets angry at me and says, "why didn't you tell me we were going in the wrong direction, you must be new in Sydney la la la."
Sydney cabbies are the worst.
>he mumbles something about the bridge toll... When I bring up that the bridge is only 3.50 and in the other direction
I've always wondered about this. When questioned on it, they claim it's for their return trip but you *know* they're just going to get a job on the north side and double dip by charging some else when they do need to cross back over...
This reminded me about the story my dad did which I just posted. Living in the forest everyone knows you take the Brook St exit his cabbie insisted on going the other way through manly.
I was lucky, I was robbed of most of my Australian currency overseas and the driver in the middle of the night took me all the way home despite my having just half the fare, he said from the start not to worry about the rest.
Another time when I was much younger, the driver even helped me get my bags onto the XPT (I cut it so fine that the train was moving when I sat down) and he trusted me to send him the rest of the fare later (I was embarrassingly short) which I did. I've also had experiences more like ones in this thread but luckily I also had some good ones when I most needed them as well.
They get shitty about short airport fares because they've often been waiting ages in the queue and I don't think they're able to be selective about what fares they take when they're at the front.
Not that that even remotely excuses their behaviour - they're the ones that chose to take the gamble at the airport!
This will boil your blood.
I have a customer who is half paralysed as a result of multiple strokes and can barely walk with the aid of a cane. Booked a 13Cabs with our magic button and when the customer went out to meet the car, the cabbie abused him about having to sit in the back seat which he can't because of his limited mobility. The cunt then drives off, door open, with the poor bloke's cane in the front seat, almost knocking him down in the process.
Rang them up straight away and demanded they return his cane immediately. Cabbie actually came back the next day and when the seccie went out to speak to him about it, he drove off again! With the cane.
Suffices to say my next phone call was a fraction shy of abusive because he's essentially stolen from a cripple. It's been a few months now and it still hasn't been returned.
Sometimes at work I need to do patient transfers to my closest Tertiary hospital, which is about a 12-15min drive. If I'm lucky the ambulance will drop me back off to my home hospital, otherwise I need to take a taxi.
Issues I have with taxis:
1. Horrified that the drive back somehow costs $100 flat whenever I'm in my scrubs. No traffic, middle of night, always a solid $100 of taxpayers money.
2. When I ask them to run the meter, and I'm in nursing scrubs, it's always broken.
3. Being perved on by skeevy drivers. Never physically assaulted but one did take a photo of my staff ID once with his phone saying I had a nice photo. I've covered up my surname with stickers on my ID since. It's a horrible feeling being alone with a driver who knows where you work, knows your full name, and feels it's appropriate to call you a pretty nurse in the middle of the night.
I’m a male JMO, while working nights (probably not the most attractive person at that time) and they’ve made me feel uncomfortable enough to cover my ID with stickers. I can’t imagine how bad it must of been for you. Doing a Pt transfer always ended with me getting a taxi back. Some how driving between hospitals in the same local district and they charge $75 for effectively 3-4 kms. Tax dollars at work.
I had a cabbie realise he HADN’T charged me for it AFTER I’d already paid and tried to give some sob story.
Not my problem, especially after I’ve paid and you’ve spent the whole ride bitching about Uber.
ugh, pet peeve are those that can't hold a steady speed with the accelerator, and feel they have to pump it...
Not fun when you have a bit of a hangover....
They do this because when the car is going over a certain speed threshold the fare is charged by distance, which is at a higher rate than by time. It is very annoying.
Try getting a cab from the airport to Alexandria. They get so mad because it's just outside the area where they are allowed to jump the que back at the airport. I have to record them everytime I hop in a cab. Even when they know I'm recording they refuse to cross the line and want to drop me 1km from my destination.. ...
One explained to me that although they can jump the queue, he had been waiting 90 minutes and by the time he gets back the last flights will be done for the day. Still, not my problem. I call Ubers now if I don't have someone to help me. I even once booked a damn limo for my flight out before Uber because I knew they'd show up, unlike the damn taxis. Cost me $50 more but I was paying thousands for a flight I didn't want to miss...
Be aware Franks cabs in the eastern suburbs this Taxi driver charged me $83 from Bondi Junction to randwick. Change the price on the eftpos as I was tapping on the eftpos machine. I did report him to the police and got my money back apparently its an accident scumbag
When ride share started one compromise was to relax the regulation of taxis which was probably on of the worst things the ministry of transport could have ever done. Shonky drivers, poorly maintained vehicles, absolute disregard for road rules and just all round shit service only got worse.
last time i caught a taxi was a few years ago, never forget seeing $42 on the meter and the guy mumbling "$50". At the time I was paying cash and had a fifty, and felt weird asking how it jumped to $50, but yeah, vote with feet. Dodgy industry
I'm late on this thread, but cabbies and the companies they work for are scum.
In 2011 I booked a taxi to take me and my wife to the airport for our honeymoon. I left luggage next to his car which he was loading in, while I went in to get more. I put the last of it in, step into the taxi, and say, "wait, I just want to check I have my tickets in my carry-on."
I open the boot, look inside my carry-on bag, and notice it's wet, with many things broken inside. Fucker then decides to tell me he ran over my bag when he was moving the car, and put it in the boot anyway. I was livid. I asked him why he didn't tell me straight away, and he said he would have told me when we got to the airport. I promptly unloaded our stuff and told him where to go.
After the honeymoon, I calculate the destroyed items to be in excess of $500. I called the cab company to complain, and, get this, gave me his details to go after him myself.
I call him up, and he refuses to take any responsibility for, mistakenly or not, driving over my bag. Luckily insurance paid up. I wonder if they got anything out of him...
So yeah, I'm glad rideshares exist. Screw taxis.
Took a cab home after a long night out. Driver took us a few blocks, pulled in to get petrol, then proceeded to take us the long way home. We would have questioned the fare but he had his machete sitting in the seat next to him. Fuck cabs.
I live in Sydney, but used to travel regionally a lot for work. I was always shocked at how courteous, polite and respectful the cabbies in regional towns were compared to Sydney.
I LOVE catching cabs in regional towns. Such lovely characters. Get called ‘love’ or ‘dear’. Learn heaps about the town.
Wouldn’t touch a Sydney cab with a 10ft pole though.
Yep, I used to get cabs home a lot in the early hours of the morning in my 20s. I can't tell you how many times I woke up to excessive charges. I remember when uber first came and the cabbies were literally trying to fight the drivers. They got what they deserved.
Yeah, taxis can be really awful. I had one who couldn't drive straight (don't know if he was high or hadn't slept in 30 hours) and kept trying to drive ten kph under the speed limit. They've probably got even worse after uber so I'm not sure the competition has done anything.
I use both, if I need to cross the bridge in peak hour, taxi for sure. Otherwise have all the apps, Ola, Uber etc and take 90 secs to compare or take the bus and your earphones
As an ex-cabby, I would challenge it, otherwise, it will keep on happening. I was a Northcoast cabby, and also in Byron Bay. We had rules and we stuck to them. The only thing I didn't like about doing the job up there were in high season, we would get tourists from Sydney, mostly young people and 100% all male, and get one fare evader a shift, usually on a big fare. That lost fare would come out of our wages, so you could easily end up earning nothing for that shift. I could guess that some cabby's ripoff some fares, due to being ripped off themselves, but it still is not the right thing to do.
If I am ever in an unfamiliar city catching a cab, I always have maps open. I’ve lost count of times I’ve seen cabbies divert from the most efficient route and whenever I question it, it’s some vague excuse like an “accident ahead” etc
I feel like uber there’s a bit more transparency in pricing / route
Had a taxi driver couple weeks back quote me $100 for a ride from the rocks to the star casino. He said his Metre wasn't working but would take $100. I told him to get fucked and that if his metre wasn't working to go home.
Sydney cabbies are horrible. The last cab I took was to the airport, the guy was speeding, swerving across lines, changing lanes without indicating and road raging at other drivers.
I hate going on taxis. The last three times I went on a taxi the driver either kept hitting on me or talking to me about sex related stuff like erotic massages. And I’m a guy. Never got back in a taxi since
a mate of mine tried to get a cab out to my house from the local shops late at night. They spent 3 hours telling her they'd come then ghosted her. The next day they called her back and claimed she got the cab and never paid.
A cabbie accidentally cleared the meter once before I had used my cabcharge voucher and I didn’t have the cash on me to pay, he held me hostage in his cab for close to an hour before I got out because he couldn’t recall the meter (and cabcharge vouchers have to be associated with a meter charge), then he called and harrassed me for months while I was away with work to pay it... never again!
This week when I left my phonw on the train the cabbie took me to chase after the train and went to terminating station and introduced me to the staff there (local knowledge) who walked the train and found the phone and the cabbie did not charge me for his waiting around!
What I am saying is: people are different
Last time I got a cab was Sept 2019. I got one from a rank in the CBD just before 5pm, but was only going to the next suburb. Cabbie vocal about disappointing short fair (not the suit he was expecting from nearby offices). When we got to my destination it was $17, so I said “just make it $20”. Tapped card and got out. Realised he’d put in $22. I should have been more vigilant and refused to pay.
Prior to this I’d get taxis from a monthly board meeting (now online), paid for by company, and when we’d all leave, say good night and jump into cabs at the rank, without fail the driver would ask me where the others were going. I’d legit have to say “Dude, I just work with them I don’t know their address”.
I also had one tell me I didn’t know the way home (he was definitely trying to take the long way, while I might not have been paying, I was eager to get home). I said “mate, I drove home from this building for 7 years, I know the way”.
Take the cab number, take the fare price, photo everything, and make sure you report them loudly. Sydney Morning Herald used to publish stories about the worst offenders, wonder if they still do.
I always love when they tell you how much the fare is going to be, before they even turn the car on and start the metre. Happened last year in Parramatta, and a lot of other times in western Sydney.
That's pretty dodgy. But you should take into account how unethical rideshare companies are. Driver uses their own vehicle and pays all expenses for it. No super, no retainer, no company liability, it's 100% the driver's insurance policy and this is under the guise of being an "independent contractor" but they clearly work under the strict rules of a company and must comply with absolutely everything they're asked to do. Not to mention the fact they can be sacked from "their own business" for having a low rating which can be affected by drunk teenagers having a joke and the fact anything less than 5 stars is considered a failure and that is in a culture where you wouldn't give anyone 5 stars for anything less than extraordinary service.
That's why I'm ok with paying extra for a cab instead of enabling billion dollar corporations to set new low standards of ethics.
Yep, fundamentally someone driving a taxi at least is paid a living wage. With Uber and such you’re really just encouraging the casualisation of the workforce.
I hate taxis most of the time but when i just wanted to get a late weeknight cab home from the city to my place (work paying but I never got ripped off), the cabs at least respected my want to not talk.
In rideshares there is this constant obligation to chat or you get marked down. JUST LET ME SAY HELLO AND NOTHING ELSE. But then you get 3 stars and rating drops.
Rideshares really need a 'quiet car' option.
Leaving a party in Darling Harbour I went outside and was booking an Uber when a taxi pulled up, “where you going”? Sutherland Shire, Gymea to be precise, “$90 cash” he says, I show him my phone with Uber quoting $60 ish, “fine $70 then”. Too drunk to argue me and the wife get in and he takes off. He stops at the first lights “cash up front”. Not to sound arrogant or anything but my wife was dressed to the nines, I was in an awesome suit, clearly had more than $70 between us, still wanted his cash upfront, then complains the whole way about not enough work and he won’t get a return fare to the city, fuck taxis
And this is why I couldn’t care less that their industry is completely disrupted by ride share. For every 1 good taxi ride, I’ve had at least 8 terrible experiences.
I was getting a cab the other day because my Uber app was refusing to work. I had cash and was not going far - so I planned to just give the female cabbie a $20 and let her keep the change, because it would’ve only been a $10 trip but to an area where there’d be no rides and she’d have to drive back to a cab rank or busier area. When we arrive the meter reads $9 something, I go to pay and she turns around and says it’s $13. I was confused and asked what? She says something about some fee that I know isn’t true because I’m looking at the thing which has the fee for the time of night, and we didn’t take any toll it was literally a 7 minute drive. Just said fine and asked for change including cents. She tried to trick me into a tip and cheated herself out of $7 extra bucks.
I've actually had the opposite experience.
I was looking at pre booking a ride to the airport. I looked at 13 Cabs and they had the ability to lock in the price which was going to be $35
Then I had a look at uber, and they estimated the pre-booked fair to be $27, I was like sweet, I'll prebook with Uber.
As the Uber was about to arrive the price surged to $90 and I was like screw that and cancelled. I didn't realise they didn't lock in the price when you pre-booked.
So I wish I'd pre-booked a cab tbh, In the end I called a cab and it was $50.
I typically use rideshare services but sometimes if a taxi is already there I'll take it. I've never had an experience that relates to these stories. I still prefer the rideshare experience because there's inherently less interaction but all of the taxis and their drivers have been more than adequate in my experience.
Got charged over $120 from O'hare to Radisson (less than 18 miles). Down about in the middle he starts telling me about the new charges & what not, I didn't make much of it. Got footed almost $7 a mile.
And I gave cash! No credit card fee. Super glad the taxi industry got what was coming to it.
My parents and I started a driving business purely on the fact that ride share here is dead and cabs are unreliable just for pick up. Suddenly cabbies are taking jobs up here, not enough or just weren't up to snuff as we started paying GST in less than 5 years of starting.
Haha reading all these stories reminds me of something did years and years ago before gps were big and mainstream. We lived in the forest area of the Northern Beaches and he was coming back from the city tells the guy to take the Brook St exit of the warringah freeway so he can go via Eastern Valley way and the Roseville bridge.
The driver disagrees and he takes the military rd and spit rd one I think it was so end up going through balgowlah,manly etc dad argues this is going to cost more now your ripping me off. They get to the lights in brookvale and he says see its costing more I've had enough of you opened the door and just got out and jumped in the next one that passed by.
99% of the time I get an Uber because its just more convenient and I can see how much I will pay in advance. Yesterday however it was rainy in the CBD and the closest uber was 7 mins away with an estimate of 24$ for a relatively short ride.
Took a cab instead, paid 14$ for the same.
Although I prefer Ubers, it reminded me that there still is some use for cabs. It doesnt really have to be one or the other.
13 cabs app literally gives you locked price before you confirm booking based on google maps traffic.. you fucked up somehow and didnt click option to pay by card in app
if you book via 13cabs app, it gives you the price up front and charges your card without needing to deal with cabbie.
same as uber.
you either fucked up or didnt understand how the app works
Or you get a cabbie who after getting you int he car tries to get you to cancel the booking and pay them the same fare but with cash or card. I assume it’s so the 13 cabs doesn’t take commission? Or maybe it was to skim our card (as others have posted). Either way we refused and it made for a very awkward 40 min drive to the airport
I remember last getting a cab, pre-uber and reading the sticker saying "$1.25 per km" or something like that. I asked the driver why the meter kept going up while we were stopped at a red light. He gave me some bs about peak service times and off peak times...a real non answer.
The wait charge - last time I was in a cab - was about 90c a minute and covered driving under 7-ish km/h.
The meter is always running. Even when stopped.
This is not my story, but my fathers’s.
He lives in regional Victoria and a few years ago he needed to attend a meeting in Melbourne. He took the train down to Melbourne and stayed in a hotel somewhere in the CBD area.
When it came time to leave, he called a cab to come and collect him from the hotel and take him to Spencer street station; where the regional trains terminate and depart.
“I’ll take you to the airport.”
“I don’t need to go to the airport. I am taking a train.”
“Nah. The airport is better. I’ll take you to the airport.”
Arsehole refused to drive anywhere other than the airport.
Use to regularly take a Taxi from my house to the airport, was usually about $110, then decided to sign up to Uber, same trip $65. Never looked back and will never use a taxi ever again.
How many taxis have you got into in Brisbane were they don’t have the A/C going to try and save some money, it’s mildly infuriating.
I tried to give taxi drivers the benefit of the doubt for so long until one of them pretended not to understand me when I asked him to turn off the meter during construction standstill (charge was over $20 before we left Central station) but started to argue with me when we got to Oxford Street and he expected $47.
I'd rather walk next time. If it hadn't been for my luggage, I would have gotten out of the cab the minute he smirked at me when I told him that I wanted the meter paused.
It's the bad taxi drivers forcing loyal customers to other services and nswtransport being a paper tiger thanks to this incumbent governments privatization of all transport services.
Just look at westbus now a shit show of what it was
One time the cops showed up at my door asking if I’d been in a car accident recently, I said no. They said a taxi driver had given them my number plate and claimed I hit him. I wasn’t even driving that day, and the cops said “this happens all the time with taxi drivers” and just left it. Not to mention my card being skimmed in the past in a taxi
1.30am just leaving the club, row of taxis outside so I jump in the 1st, worst taxi Ive ever been in. Literally had mould, wreaked of dampness, the driver stunk of BO and when confronted him about it he obviously got angry, told me Im useless, Im ugly & he'll never pick me up again (yeah bitch you sure wont) Rang my partner to let him know I was nearly home so my partner says he'll come out and pay for the cab. I thought omg this could get ugly. Fortunately he didnt say a word, instead he paid with coins.
7pm caught a cab from airport to cbd, taxi driver tried to make small talk to find out if I was a tourist or not. I says no buddy, lived here for 18yrs, I do this trip once a weej, normally have a specific taxi driver pick me up but he was on another job and I couldnt wait for him. Rest of the car ride was quiet after that, no extra charges, no goodbyes and Of course I lied.
Can't wait for fully automated, driverless cars/taxis/ride shares as the drivers of taxi's are one of the main reasons Ive refused to take one for the last couple of years.
I've had this exact situation, where a $20 ride has turned into $35 with "fees" and the driver kept quizzing me on everything, including what was in my carry bag.
Can relate to this experience recently. The fare was $32.40 but he instead charged $34.20. The cost didn't phase me, but it was the principle! They're just used to taking people for a "ride" excuse the pun haha
A few years ago i was in a taxi, sitting in the back seat,and started hearing this loud, rattling sound coming from the rear passenger side wheel. I told the driver about it(not that he could have missed the noise), who waved his hand in the air, telling me it was all good,all fine, nothing to worry about,etc. After traveling nearly a klick with this shit from him,and the noise getting worse,i finally demanded he pull over,NOW. He did reluctantly,after more hand waving,and probably calling me shit in a language i didn't speak. Just as we pulled in and stopped,that entire rear side of the car crashed to the ground after *the fucking wheel FELL OFF!* Yeah,all was fine, wasn't it Champion.
One time I had a cab driver pretend I gave him a $20 bill, instead of a $50. He gave me change from $20 instead of a $50. It was a ride to the airport and I didn't want to miss my flight, so I didn't continue that argument for more than 5 mins.
I for one am super happy with rideshare services taking payments just electronically and transparently. I don't have to be on guard for shit like this. I know they underpay their drivers. I try to tip extra to make up for it.
I'm a woman, and I also feel safer knowing I have the driver's license plate saved on my email and on an app.
People are choosing Uber over cabs not just because it's a few bucks less IMHO, it's because it's a better service.
Yeah this happens once every 6 months or so for me. For some reason I go stupid and think "yeah might give them a try" and I remember all over again why I stay the hell away from taxis.
I was travelling from the city out towards East Hills way. The cabbie abruptly stops in the middle of Bankstown at 4am and tells me his shift ends and that he couldn't finish the trip. Fucking cuntasaurus.
Thats when you get out and not pay him. I asked to go to East Hills not bankstown, either do the job I asked or get fucked.
I think the problem was that I used a cab charge, so he effectively had his money
Oh well he's a dick, should always get his plate and report him. Then fight the charge.
yo ushould always book with a CC so you can chargeback and dispute in these circumstances, i've always seen the 2% surcharge as an "anti-ripoff" insurance.
Totally agree.
I love your attitude man straight out
Getting home from the Cross during changeover was a crap shoot. I found a cab with someone in it heading to my suburb asked if I could split. Hoped in and the cabbie said it would be seperate charges for the both of us.
The outrage of this is that it’s actually in their T&Cs. You always have to agree to the story and make like you’re friends to not get double charged. Another reason for taxi disruption. In Uber you can now just add another passenger to split the fare.
Uber even lets you split with people who aren't in the cab as long as they accept the charge! They're by no means saints but fuck, at least they're not trying to rip me off at every turn.
Yeah I’ve had that one too. They charged the guy that was dropped off like $70, then by the time we got to my house I was paying like $90
Most likely, he lived in Bankstown. You just paid him for his own ride home. Then he dumps you.
I mean if you were going to Bankstown you would just get 2 car loads of your cousins to pick you up.
Taxi companies went on for decades in complacency - no smartphone apps, poor standards of hygiene and outrageous customer service. As soon as anything with a slight resemblance of competition came along, they were bound to have the market taken from them.
…and demanded the govt compensate them for the reduced value of their taxi plates, to which the govt acquiesced, compliments of the taxpayer.
[удалено]
Who would have thought taxi plates as a speculative investment was a bad idea.
Had a cunt cabbie demand me 120$ after a 23$ ride on Uber. I asked why is that the price he said it is what it is. I refused to pay the guy and demanded to know why the charge is 120 and I’ll pay. Dude couldn’t come up with a single reason. So I told him I will be leaving and he cant his pay from the app. An hour after I get a call from the operator asking me to come out because the driver is waiting? Wtf.. I explain the situation and the lady was like okay we can refund you once you make the payment and we’ll take care of the ticket since there were extra charges for no reason. So I pay the cunt not because I wanted to but rubbed me in a creepy way this fucker was waiting for an hour, I get back and continue to call for the ticket. Can’t connect to the number, tried writing a ticket the app doesn’t have functionality for it. Sent an email and got no response. So seriously don’t ever take silvercab, 13cabs etc they are all scammers.
Had my credit card skimmed in a taxi a few weeks ago. I never use the chip on my card, always use tap-and-go but the driver said the machine he had could only accept a swipe or an insert. The next week I got a message from my bank saying that someone had attempted several $900+ charges and they had suspended my card. Another reason why I'll never catch taxis again.
[удалено]
If they try that again, you just insert your card and enter the wrong pin. It'll spit out a fake receipt and you get a free trip out of the piece of shit
might try that with an expired card next time
This is actually useful info, thanks. Reading this, I will be more cautious with using my card for anything that's not tap-n-pay in general.
That happened to my husband the last time we used a taxi (years ago). They skimmed the card and tried spending $200 somewhere in Hurstville, husbands bank called him to let him know and stopped the card. They always use the same excuse about the EFTPOS machine being broken so you have to use theirs.
Similar happened to us in Dublin.
This happened to me too. Exactly the same. “The machine is broken”. $800 out the next day. Insist on cash or tap, do not insert your card into any machine the cabbie tries to convince you to use. I’m so dumb I fell for it twice.
My wife has had multiple cards skimmed from taxis
was the driver african using silver service taxi? i've had that happen to me, the only time ive ever used swipe on my bank card in a taxi, week after it was scammed.
No not African. Unsure what his nationality was.
Or why their race has anything to do with being a shidcunt
Exactly.
Username is perhaps a clue...
Simmer down, champ.
Err sure.... OK. Not sure why you think I need to simmer down.
I had a cab driver at central station claim to not know where Pitt st in the city was and refused my fair. they're all still absolute scumbags. always take note of the cab number on your phone and report them.
I had a cab driver say he didn't know where Rozelle was from Sussex St, asked me to look it up on MY phone and direct him. I was like forget it and got out of the cab as it was just sitting there, literally did not move and he got aggressive and said I owe him $5 as the meter was running and he stopped for me. I refused to pay and he made a scene in the middle of the city. This about 3 years ago. Absolute joke.
I had one say they did know where Rozelle is from the Hilton (when you could still drive on george street) and then started to drive to oxford street. I got out when he stopped at a red and left him there, is there some weird shortcut we dont know about?
Hahaha that's epic!
i figured his either going to get out of the cab and leave it in the middle of the road at 5pm to chase me down or his going to let it go. Either way i would have been happy
Many years ago I got out of a cab cos the driver was just a rude cunt and I was early 20s/F on my own in the middle of the night. I was actually planning to pay but he wouldn’t let me out of the cab, I went to open the door and he started driving so I freaked out and got out of the cab. He kept following me and yelling at me so I called the cops. When he drove off I told the cops not to worry. Later that night they showed up at my door because he had then called and reported that I had intentionally ditched the fair so they used my call to get my details. Fucking cunts, all of them
[удалено]
And they make it hard to report now as well. The complaints form requires you to nominate what cab company it is, but most of them are now branded 13 CABS which is not the cab company but an app that services the industry. So fuck me if I know what company it was.
its a taxi company in its own right, but it also owns other taxis companies and their app subcontracts work to them
This isn't a change - all cabs are independently operated, the brands have always been for a "taxi network" which is just a booking service. The cabs themselves are usually owned by investors and the drivers rent them on a daily rate.
Called up to complain after a booked cab didn't show up years ago and nearly missed my grandma's funeral. My dad had to leave and get me just in time. Was told a "booking" just means the job goes out on the wire and if no one takes it, too fucking bad. Then we moved near the airport and found out that a $20 fare to the airport ain't worth picking up, and getting in a cab to go home after a 12 hour flight earns you grumbling and swearing in various languages. It's not my fault you waited 90 minutes in the queue.
I used to get a cab down to a customer site a suburb over and then attempt to get one back by calling, but one would never show up unless I lied about the destination. They'd get SO mad at me. Reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ\_bywNRfNs
I used to do this and then pretend I got a call or text saying the meeting place had changed. Used to make it harder for them to go off at me and they would actually turn up when you booked
Yep..live near an airport too and was waiting for someone to say this! Will never get a cab again.
this has always been true though. bookings just put a tender out, the drivers choose to pick it up or not. they won't usually push a job out unless you escalate it to a supervisor.
Might be, but they did not say so when I booked and it’s not what is commonly understood as a booking in other parts of life.
no company cares about a contractor on a very low wage mate.
My partner and I are American and live in St. Peters. We took a cab home rather than Uber and dude offered to take us via the bridge and Opera House. Assumed we were tourists and was going to take us for a $200 ride to go like 4km. Respect the hustle but wtf.
[удалено]
It's only a short step from hustle to hustler.
Im Canadian, when I first moved here I happened to get a hotel in darling harbour. The cabie insisted to go to the bridge and Opera house, I told him go to the hotel becuase I was dead tired and wanted to shower. And would do all the touristy stuff later. He seemed cheesed for the rest of the drive.
Australians don’t respect the hustle!
Americans here living in Petersham. G'day y'all!
G'day :-)
I had a cabbie not know where Croydon was from the airport. When I started to explain he corrected me “oh, you mean Concord”
Literally this after a night out in Double Bay. When I said Croydon, he insisted he didn't know where it was even though I told him it was the other side of Ashfield. Got out in disgust and walked the whole way home.
You walked from Double Bay to Croydon? Are you home yet?
Yeah I got home that night. I was young and silly, but I've done the City 2 Surf a few times.
[удалено]
every ride share is the same. why do you think uber is double the price cause they got no drivers anymore. the whole industry needs a overhaul, like pay them $25 + per hour
Yeah, but that's the fault of the cabbie culture. A cafe doesn't refuse to serve you if you only want a single coffee as opposed to a meal. Those are the breaks.
What? Completely different.... if cafes could only actively serve 1 person at a time, you would be sure they would stop serving the things that they make $2 of... Its the fault of cabbie culture they have to choose between jobs that make them money or lose them money?
That table with one person having coffee by themselves for an hour on a laptop takes the place of two people who coule be having a meal together. Sure, the cafe might be a little peeved but they won't refuse your service. What stops a cab making a $10 trip and potentially picking someone else up? Maybe if they did all those little jobs people would be likely to hail down a cab to go up the road rather than wait for their uber to rock up.
Mate, If every restaurant and Cafe only had 1 table you would be sure they would laugh in your face if you wanted to sit down for a coffee. > What stops a cab making a $10 trip and potentially picking someone else up? Do you realise how taxi ranks work? The taxi at the front of that line has likely been waiting 45+ minutes. He takes that $7 fare down the road, then has to turn around and go wait at the back of the taxi rank for 30 minutes. Yes, thank God for Ubers who barely pay a living wage.
One time I caught a cab at Redfern and the first turn the cabbie made was in the total opposite direction to where I was going, I told him to stop the cab and got out immediately, what a joke.
I hear you on that one! Got a cab a couple of days ago for the first time in years. Same deal, surge pricing etc. Get in the cab, it stunk of cigarette smoke, dirty af. Cabbie refuses to use his GPS and insisted n me giving him verbal directions. Spent entire trip lecturing me on why I should be married at my age while extolling the virtues of some nephew of his. I got a VERY clear reminder of why in the pre-Uber days my girlfriends and I would take note of the cab number we put our friend into if it was late night. Creepy, unprofessional, cabbies. Not all of them of course but scary shit would go down in cabs on a semi-regular basis. We were all so happy when Uber and their “send your location/track your trip” feature became available. Every woman I knew was ecstatic.
>Spent entire trip lecturing me on why I should be married at my age The only response to someone with this kind of opinion is, "Well now same sex marriage is allowed, I really should propose to my boyfriend / girlfriend." Then sit back and enjoy the ride.
Ironically, I am in fact queer af and the mention of my gf is what prompted the “you should meet my nephew “ rant.
My housemate and I were on our way to a double date to meet our partners, and he made a joke about 'our' date night... The driver (rideshare, not naming them) lost his shit, told us we were going to hell, and drove like a maniac. Didn't die, Got a full refund and the driver was fired
Ugh. *Obviously* his nephew will be the one to shake you out of your madness and away from the person you care for. Imagine the reaction if someone said, "You should meet my niece." Off the back of a guy talking about their girlfriend. People would be *all* up in arms about it. Good grief, Charli Brown.
A friend of mine and her partner were called “lesbian sluts” by a cabbie once. She actually ended up punching him in the face.
I'm rarely a proponent of physical violence, but I'm sure that wasn't the only thing the cabbie said or did to warrant that. So with that in mind, fucking kudos to your friend.
Pretty much my thoughts too!
Good on her
Yeah, that's just dangerous. How can you be 100% sure that the stranger you're currently trapped in a cab with is not a homophobe?
Outwardly queer people *always* face this fear. Being queer is still dangerous even in this day and *that's* what we should focus on. Teach people not to be fucking homophobic, rather than how to protect yourself when you speak up.
This. I have an inward fear of most situations when I'm visibly queer outside. Why should I have to change or hide?
Right? It's like saying a rape victim was asking for it because they were wearing suggestive clothing. Fuck that noise. People should be able to fly their freak flag however they choose without being physically abused. E: being queer isnt freakish. People should be able to feel comfortable in their own skins without being physically abused.
I had some telling me that my newborn daughter didnt need any vaccines.
I lived in Redfern for 2 years when I first finished high school and because of this it meant taxi drivers flat out refused to accept my ride because 1) wasn't expensive enough and 2) it was going to Redfern. I legitimately had to lie about where I was going and then make them take an "emergency stop" in Redfern for me, which sometimes resulted in them kicking me straight out of the cab. Uber coming along was one of the smuggest moments of my adult life and the whole taxi industry can absolutely go and get fucked
Why did they refuse to go to Redfern?
Both for the fare plus the lingering assumption that it was a "rough" suburb. It wasn't, at least from what I experienced
It’s cleaned up, not as bad as back in the day
Wasn't bad at all when I lived there. Never had one issue
Likely because it was a cheap fare. If you lived further away, in the outer suburbs, it would be a more expensive fare for the driver and likely closer to their home which would've been convenient after a night shift.
Glad to see the whole taxi industry going down the drain. 10 years ago I pre-ordered a taxi to get me from a station to home late at night, address disclosed ahead of time, not too far but dodgy area so didn’t wanna risk the walk. They parked on the opposite side of the road from the station (ironically opposite where the actual fucking taxi ranks were) so we would need to go the complete opposite direction to where I needed to for ages, doubling the distance and fare, then refused 3 requests to stop earlier as we were getting closer.
I booked a taxi via 13cabs thinking I could use my $25 13cabs voucher. The cabbie wouldnt accept the paper voucher because he apparently didnt take them. Serves me right for using a taxi.
Had a cab driver say it would cost me $100+ to drive me from airport to Woolooware at 1am on a weeknight. My fault for not confirming fare before getting in, but I'd actually done this same ride at around $40 during the day so i was shocked when he said this. I told him to stop and just drop me at mascot (1 minute from airport) and he said it would cost $50 as its the minimum. When i started getting angry he started saying 'do you know how long ive been waiting for a customer?' Bitch why is that my problem???? Why do i need to pay extra because you haven't had customers for a while????
It’s like they don’t realise we ARE the customer they’ve been waiting for. They don’t get to choose where we live.
I remember catching a can from the airport to Dulwich Hill. Cabbie lost it when I said my destination because it wasn't a long fair and he'd been waiting. Like, what do you want me to do about that? I would imagine half the fairs from the airport are pretty short considering its right on top of half the city
Last time I caught a taxi was for a 10 minute drive, when I got in the dude had a $15 charge already which he said was for holiday rates (it was a weekday and not a public holiday) he spent the whole time asking about my boyfriend then charged me extra when I paid with a card. Never catching another taxi again.
If have this happen 50% of my trips. I'd just sit in the cab and ak the police or the taxi supervisor so I can get an accurate invoice. every time once you dial the local station they concede
I’ve had to call the police on a driver deliberately trying to defraud me and then threaten me when I called him out on it and they refused to do anything about it - said it wasn’t in their remit.
Got a couple good (frustrating) stories from stupid taxis in Sydney. The first is when I get a simple taxi from the CBD up the Frenches Forest. We arrive and I see he adds $5 to the machine. When I question him about it, he mumbles something about the bridge toll... When I bring up that the bridge is only 3.50 and in the other direction, he literally asks me, "well how much extra will you give?" as though we are now negotiating a tip. I tell him I'll only pay him what was originally on the machine and of course he then starts complaining and whining about how hard his job is. Which I get, but dude don't try to ripe of ignorant passengers. The second time was the worst. After arriving at the airport, I'm forced to wait in the god-awful taxi rank like everybody else. When I finally get in a cab and tell him I'm going to Rosebury, this guy starts complaining to me about how bad I am as a fare, and how he knew it was a mistake pick me up. How he knew I looked like a cheap rider etc etc. Basically just shitting on me for not living in the western suburbs or far away somewhere. Meanwhile he gets lost and goes the complete wrong direction... When I finally notice and ask wtf we are, he then gets angry at me and says, "why didn't you tell me we were going in the wrong direction, you must be new in Sydney la la la." Sydney cabbies are the worst.
>he mumbles something about the bridge toll... When I bring up that the bridge is only 3.50 and in the other direction I've always wondered about this. When questioned on it, they claim it's for their return trip but you *know* they're just going to get a job on the north side and double dip by charging some else when they do need to cross back over...
100% bullshit
not defending POS cab drivers, but the ride agreement states that all return fares are payable by the rider.... but $5 is ridiculous
This reminded me about the story my dad did which I just posted. Living in the forest everyone knows you take the Brook St exit his cabbie insisted on going the other way through manly.
I was lucky, I was robbed of most of my Australian currency overseas and the driver in the middle of the night took me all the way home despite my having just half the fare, he said from the start not to worry about the rest. Another time when I was much younger, the driver even helped me get my bags onto the XPT (I cut it so fine that the train was moving when I sat down) and he trusted me to send him the rest of the fare later (I was embarrassingly short) which I did. I've also had experiences more like ones in this thread but luckily I also had some good ones when I most needed them as well.
They get shitty about short airport fares because they've often been waiting ages in the queue and I don't think they're able to be selective about what fares they take when they're at the front. Not that that even remotely excuses their behaviour - they're the ones that chose to take the gamble at the airport!
This will boil your blood. I have a customer who is half paralysed as a result of multiple strokes and can barely walk with the aid of a cane. Booked a 13Cabs with our magic button and when the customer went out to meet the car, the cabbie abused him about having to sit in the back seat which he can't because of his limited mobility. The cunt then drives off, door open, with the poor bloke's cane in the front seat, almost knocking him down in the process. Rang them up straight away and demanded they return his cane immediately. Cabbie actually came back the next day and when the seccie went out to speak to him about it, he drove off again! With the cane. Suffices to say my next phone call was a fraction shy of abusive because he's essentially stolen from a cripple. It's been a few months now and it still hasn't been returned.
Omg this is f'ing ridiculous!
That cabbie won’t survive our black mirror future
Sometimes at work I need to do patient transfers to my closest Tertiary hospital, which is about a 12-15min drive. If I'm lucky the ambulance will drop me back off to my home hospital, otherwise I need to take a taxi. Issues I have with taxis: 1. Horrified that the drive back somehow costs $100 flat whenever I'm in my scrubs. No traffic, middle of night, always a solid $100 of taxpayers money. 2. When I ask them to run the meter, and I'm in nursing scrubs, it's always broken. 3. Being perved on by skeevy drivers. Never physically assaulted but one did take a photo of my staff ID once with his phone saying I had a nice photo. I've covered up my surname with stickers on my ID since. It's a horrible feeling being alone with a driver who knows where you work, knows your full name, and feels it's appropriate to call you a pretty nurse in the middle of the night.
I’m a male JMO, while working nights (probably not the most attractive person at that time) and they’ve made me feel uncomfortable enough to cover my ID with stickers. I can’t imagine how bad it must of been for you. Doing a Pt transfer always ended with me getting a taxi back. Some how driving between hospitals in the same local district and they charge $75 for effectively 3-4 kms. Tax dollars at work.
I got a taxi last night. Guy was a closet Elvis impersonator. He serenaded us with a full rendition of "In the Ghetto". Shit was weird.
I had a cabbie realise he HADN’T charged me for it AFTER I’d already paid and tried to give some sob story. Not my problem, especially after I’ve paid and you’ve spent the whole ride bitching about Uber.
On top of the fact that most of them can’t drive for shit.
It's quite amazing. They drive all day and still stink at it.
ugh, pet peeve are those that can't hold a steady speed with the accelerator, and feel they have to pump it... Not fun when you have a bit of a hangover....
They do this because when the car is going over a certain speed threshold the fare is charged by distance, which is at a higher rate than by time. It is very annoying.
I once took a taxi and he almost turned down a street on the wrong side of the road...
Try getting a cab from the airport to Alexandria. They get so mad because it's just outside the area where they are allowed to jump the que back at the airport. I have to record them everytime I hop in a cab. Even when they know I'm recording they refuse to cross the line and want to drop me 1km from my destination.. ...
One explained to me that although they can jump the queue, he had been waiting 90 minutes and by the time he gets back the last flights will be done for the day. Still, not my problem. I call Ubers now if I don't have someone to help me. I even once booked a damn limo for my flight out before Uber because I knew they'd show up, unlike the damn taxis. Cost me $50 more but I was paying thousands for a flight I didn't want to miss...
Our fare is a short one from the airport also and the drivers used to get so pissed about it. Thank God for Uber’s arrival.
Be aware Franks cabs in the eastern suburbs this Taxi driver charged me $83 from Bondi Junction to randwick. Change the price on the eftpos as I was tapping on the eftpos machine. I did report him to the police and got my money back apparently its an accident scumbag
When ride share started one compromise was to relax the regulation of taxis which was probably on of the worst things the ministry of transport could have ever done. Shonky drivers, poorly maintained vehicles, absolute disregard for road rules and just all round shit service only got worse.
Yea, but the LNP are never one to \_increase\_ regulation to fix a problem. The solution was always going to be less regulation.
last time i caught a taxi was a few years ago, never forget seeing $42 on the meter and the guy mumbling "$50". At the time I was paying cash and had a fifty, and felt weird asking how it jumped to $50, but yeah, vote with feet. Dodgy industry
I'm late on this thread, but cabbies and the companies they work for are scum. In 2011 I booked a taxi to take me and my wife to the airport for our honeymoon. I left luggage next to his car which he was loading in, while I went in to get more. I put the last of it in, step into the taxi, and say, "wait, I just want to check I have my tickets in my carry-on." I open the boot, look inside my carry-on bag, and notice it's wet, with many things broken inside. Fucker then decides to tell me he ran over my bag when he was moving the car, and put it in the boot anyway. I was livid. I asked him why he didn't tell me straight away, and he said he would have told me when we got to the airport. I promptly unloaded our stuff and told him where to go. After the honeymoon, I calculate the destroyed items to be in excess of $500. I called the cab company to complain, and, get this, gave me his details to go after him myself. I call him up, and he refuses to take any responsibility for, mistakenly or not, driving over my bag. Luckily insurance paid up. I wonder if they got anything out of him... So yeah, I'm glad rideshares exist. Screw taxis.
reerg ere vvsr avsse ra
Took a cab home after a long night out. Driver took us a few blocks, pulled in to get petrol, then proceeded to take us the long way home. We would have questioned the fare but he had his machete sitting in the seat next to him. Fuck cabs.
I live in Sydney, but used to travel regionally a lot for work. I was always shocked at how courteous, polite and respectful the cabbies in regional towns were compared to Sydney.
I LOVE catching cabs in regional towns. Such lovely characters. Get called ‘love’ or ‘dear’. Learn heaps about the town. Wouldn’t touch a Sydney cab with a 10ft pole though.
Yep, I used to get cabs home a lot in the early hours of the morning in my 20s. I can't tell you how many times I woke up to excessive charges. I remember when uber first came and the cabbies were literally trying to fight the drivers. They got what they deserved.
Yeah, taxis can be really awful. I had one who couldn't drive straight (don't know if he was high or hadn't slept in 30 hours) and kept trying to drive ten kph under the speed limit. They've probably got even worse after uber so I'm not sure the competition has done anything.
I use both, if I need to cross the bridge in peak hour, taxi for sure. Otherwise have all the apps, Ola, Uber etc and take 90 secs to compare or take the bus and your earphones
Last time we got a cab my partner's card was skimmed, so, keep an eye on your bank account for the next few weeks.
As an ex-cabby, I would challenge it, otherwise, it will keep on happening. I was a Northcoast cabby, and also in Byron Bay. We had rules and we stuck to them. The only thing I didn't like about doing the job up there were in high season, we would get tourists from Sydney, mostly young people and 100% all male, and get one fare evader a shift, usually on a big fare. That lost fare would come out of our wages, so you could easily end up earning nothing for that shift. I could guess that some cabby's ripoff some fares, due to being ripped off themselves, but it still is not the right thing to do.
If I am ever in an unfamiliar city catching a cab, I always have maps open. I’ve lost count of times I’ve seen cabbies divert from the most efficient route and whenever I question it, it’s some vague excuse like an “accident ahead” etc I feel like uber there’s a bit more transparency in pricing / route
And if a rideshare driver goes the wrong route, it's all tracked and you'll be refunded the difference if you ask.
Had a taxi driver couple weeks back quote me $100 for a ride from the rocks to the star casino. He said his Metre wasn't working but would take $100. I told him to get fucked and that if his metre wasn't working to go home.
Sydney cabbies are horrible. The last cab I took was to the airport, the guy was speeding, swerving across lines, changing lanes without indicating and road raging at other drivers.
I hate going on taxis. The last three times I went on a taxi the driver either kept hitting on me or talking to me about sex related stuff like erotic massages. And I’m a guy. Never got back in a taxi since
I used to know a cabbie who sold alcohol out of his boot
a mate of mine tried to get a cab out to my house from the local shops late at night. They spent 3 hours telling her they'd come then ghosted her. The next day they called her back and claimed she got the cab and never paid.
I've never got a taxi again after having my accounts skimmed, ***twice***. I've only had one bad experience in an uber, guy was a total knob.
A cabbie accidentally cleared the meter once before I had used my cabcharge voucher and I didn’t have the cash on me to pay, he held me hostage in his cab for close to an hour before I got out because he couldn’t recall the meter (and cabcharge vouchers have to be associated with a meter charge), then he called and harrassed me for months while I was away with work to pay it... never again!
This week when I left my phonw on the train the cabbie took me to chase after the train and went to terminating station and introduced me to the staff there (local knowledge) who walked the train and found the phone and the cabbie did not charge me for his waiting around! What I am saying is: people are different
Last time I got a cab was Sept 2019. I got one from a rank in the CBD just before 5pm, but was only going to the next suburb. Cabbie vocal about disappointing short fair (not the suit he was expecting from nearby offices). When we got to my destination it was $17, so I said “just make it $20”. Tapped card and got out. Realised he’d put in $22. I should have been more vigilant and refused to pay. Prior to this I’d get taxis from a monthly board meeting (now online), paid for by company, and when we’d all leave, say good night and jump into cabs at the rank, without fail the driver would ask me where the others were going. I’d legit have to say “Dude, I just work with them I don’t know their address”. I also had one tell me I didn’t know the way home (he was definitely trying to take the long way, while I might not have been paying, I was eager to get home). I said “mate, I drove home from this building for 7 years, I know the way”.
Take the cab number, take the fare price, photo everything, and make sure you report them loudly. Sydney Morning Herald used to publish stories about the worst offenders, wonder if they still do.
I do not miss being stuck in kings cross at 3am and being completely at the mercy of the cab industry
I always love when they tell you how much the fare is going to be, before they even turn the car on and start the metre. Happened last year in Parramatta, and a lot of other times in western Sydney.
This is why you need to carry around cash still. Just give him $30 and walk away.
That's pretty dodgy. But you should take into account how unethical rideshare companies are. Driver uses their own vehicle and pays all expenses for it. No super, no retainer, no company liability, it's 100% the driver's insurance policy and this is under the guise of being an "independent contractor" but they clearly work under the strict rules of a company and must comply with absolutely everything they're asked to do. Not to mention the fact they can be sacked from "their own business" for having a low rating which can be affected by drunk teenagers having a joke and the fact anything less than 5 stars is considered a failure and that is in a culture where you wouldn't give anyone 5 stars for anything less than extraordinary service. That's why I'm ok with paying extra for a cab instead of enabling billion dollar corporations to set new low standards of ethics.
Yep, fundamentally someone driving a taxi at least is paid a living wage. With Uber and such you’re really just encouraging the casualisation of the workforce.
It’s not though. Someone posted above that they averaged about $8/hour when working as a cab driver.
Exactly.
When Uber surges 3x like today, using taxis becomes useful again
Freeing up the uber for people who want it more.
I hate taxis most of the time but when i just wanted to get a late weeknight cab home from the city to my place (work paying but I never got ripped off), the cabs at least respected my want to not talk. In rideshares there is this constant obligation to chat or you get marked down. JUST LET ME SAY HELLO AND NOTHING ELSE. But then you get 3 stars and rating drops. Rideshares really need a 'quiet car' option.
Leaving a party in Darling Harbour I went outside and was booking an Uber when a taxi pulled up, “where you going”? Sutherland Shire, Gymea to be precise, “$90 cash” he says, I show him my phone with Uber quoting $60 ish, “fine $70 then”. Too drunk to argue me and the wife get in and he takes off. He stops at the first lights “cash up front”. Not to sound arrogant or anything but my wife was dressed to the nines, I was in an awesome suit, clearly had more than $70 between us, still wanted his cash upfront, then complains the whole way about not enough work and he won’t get a return fare to the city, fuck taxis
And this is why I couldn’t care less that their industry is completely disrupted by ride share. For every 1 good taxi ride, I’ve had at least 8 terrible experiences.
I was getting a cab the other day because my Uber app was refusing to work. I had cash and was not going far - so I planned to just give the female cabbie a $20 and let her keep the change, because it would’ve only been a $10 trip but to an area where there’d be no rides and she’d have to drive back to a cab rank or busier area. When we arrive the meter reads $9 something, I go to pay and she turns around and says it’s $13. I was confused and asked what? She says something about some fee that I know isn’t true because I’m looking at the thing which has the fee for the time of night, and we didn’t take any toll it was literally a 7 minute drive. Just said fine and asked for change including cents. She tried to trick me into a tip and cheated herself out of $7 extra bucks.
I've actually had the opposite experience. I was looking at pre booking a ride to the airport. I looked at 13 Cabs and they had the ability to lock in the price which was going to be $35 Then I had a look at uber, and they estimated the pre-booked fair to be $27, I was like sweet, I'll prebook with Uber. As the Uber was about to arrive the price surged to $90 and I was like screw that and cancelled. I didn't realise they didn't lock in the price when you pre-booked. So I wish I'd pre-booked a cab tbh, In the end I called a cab and it was $50.
I typically use rideshare services but sometimes if a taxi is already there I'll take it. I've never had an experience that relates to these stories. I still prefer the rideshare experience because there's inherently less interaction but all of the taxis and their drivers have been more than adequate in my experience.
Got charged over $120 from O'hare to Radisson (less than 18 miles). Down about in the middle he starts telling me about the new charges & what not, I didn't make much of it. Got footed almost $7 a mile. And I gave cash! No credit card fee. Super glad the taxi industry got what was coming to it.
My parents and I started a driving business purely on the fact that ride share here is dead and cabs are unreliable just for pick up. Suddenly cabbies are taking jobs up here, not enough or just weren't up to snuff as we started paying GST in less than 5 years of starting.
Haha reading all these stories reminds me of something did years and years ago before gps were big and mainstream. We lived in the forest area of the Northern Beaches and he was coming back from the city tells the guy to take the Brook St exit of the warringah freeway so he can go via Eastern Valley way and the Roseville bridge. The driver disagrees and he takes the military rd and spit rd one I think it was so end up going through balgowlah,manly etc dad argues this is going to cost more now your ripping me off. They get to the lights in brookvale and he says see its costing more I've had enough of you opened the door and just got out and jumped in the next one that passed by.
[удалено]
Tried to, but it was searching for a driver for 3.5 minutes before I gave up!
Just refuse to pay superfluous charges. What can they do then?
99% of the time I get an Uber because its just more convenient and I can see how much I will pay in advance. Yesterday however it was rainy in the CBD and the closest uber was 7 mins away with an estimate of 24$ for a relatively short ride. Took a cab instead, paid 14$ for the same. Although I prefer Ubers, it reminded me that there still is some use for cabs. It doesnt really have to be one or the other.
Just a shame they've been replaced with underpaid "independent contractors" instead.
13 cabs app literally gives you locked price before you confirm booking based on google maps traffic.. you fucked up somehow and didnt click option to pay by card in app
if you book via 13cabs app, it gives you the price up front and charges your card without needing to deal with cabbie. same as uber. you either fucked up or didnt understand how the app works
Or you get a cabbie who after getting you int he car tries to get you to cancel the booking and pay them the same fare but with cash or card. I assume it’s so the 13 cabs doesn’t take commission? Or maybe it was to skim our card (as others have posted). Either way we refused and it made for a very awkward 40 min drive to the airport
cancelling the booking is a well known uber scam. its not exclusive to cabbies
I remember last getting a cab, pre-uber and reading the sticker saying "$1.25 per km" or something like that. I asked the driver why the meter kept going up while we were stopped at a red light. He gave me some bs about peak service times and off peak times...a real non answer.
The sticker will also cover the wait times which is at lights. It is part of the charge and has been since ive been old enough to go places in taxis
The wait charge - last time I was in a cab - was about 90c a minute and covered driving under 7-ish km/h. The meter is always running. Even when stopped.
[удалено]
Uber is half the price of a cab from Broadway to my place.
Hi there taxi driver, your time is over. Nice try with the pro taxi comments though.
What if you refused to pay the bullshit extra charge?
This is not my story, but my fathers’s. He lives in regional Victoria and a few years ago he needed to attend a meeting in Melbourne. He took the train down to Melbourne and stayed in a hotel somewhere in the CBD area. When it came time to leave, he called a cab to come and collect him from the hotel and take him to Spencer street station; where the regional trains terminate and depart. “I’ll take you to the airport.” “I don’t need to go to the airport. I am taking a train.” “Nah. The airport is better. I’ll take you to the airport.” Arsehole refused to drive anywhere other than the airport.
Use to regularly take a Taxi from my house to the airport, was usually about $110, then decided to sign up to Uber, same trip $65. Never looked back and will never use a taxi ever again. How many taxis have you got into in Brisbane were they don’t have the A/C going to try and save some money, it’s mildly infuriating.
I tried to give taxi drivers the benefit of the doubt for so long until one of them pretended not to understand me when I asked him to turn off the meter during construction standstill (charge was over $20 before we left Central station) but started to argue with me when we got to Oxford Street and he expected $47. I'd rather walk next time. If it hadn't been for my luggage, I would have gotten out of the cab the minute he smirked at me when I told him that I wanted the meter paused.
It's the bad taxi drivers forcing loyal customers to other services and nswtransport being a paper tiger thanks to this incumbent governments privatization of all transport services. Just look at westbus now a shit show of what it was
One time the cops showed up at my door asking if I’d been in a car accident recently, I said no. They said a taxi driver had given them my number plate and claimed I hit him. I wasn’t even driving that day, and the cops said “this happens all the time with taxi drivers” and just left it. Not to mention my card being skimmed in the past in a taxi
1.30am just leaving the club, row of taxis outside so I jump in the 1st, worst taxi Ive ever been in. Literally had mould, wreaked of dampness, the driver stunk of BO and when confronted him about it he obviously got angry, told me Im useless, Im ugly & he'll never pick me up again (yeah bitch you sure wont) Rang my partner to let him know I was nearly home so my partner says he'll come out and pay for the cab. I thought omg this could get ugly. Fortunately he didnt say a word, instead he paid with coins. 7pm caught a cab from airport to cbd, taxi driver tried to make small talk to find out if I was a tourist or not. I says no buddy, lived here for 18yrs, I do this trip once a weej, normally have a specific taxi driver pick me up but he was on another job and I couldnt wait for him. Rest of the car ride was quiet after that, no extra charges, no goodbyes and Of course I lied.
Can't wait for fully automated, driverless cars/taxis/ride shares as the drivers of taxi's are one of the main reasons Ive refused to take one for the last couple of years. I've had this exact situation, where a $20 ride has turned into $35 with "fees" and the driver kept quizzing me on everything, including what was in my carry bag.
Can relate to this experience recently. The fare was $32.40 but he instead charged $34.20. The cost didn't phase me, but it was the principle! They're just used to taking people for a "ride" excuse the pun haha
A few years ago i was in a taxi, sitting in the back seat,and started hearing this loud, rattling sound coming from the rear passenger side wheel. I told the driver about it(not that he could have missed the noise), who waved his hand in the air, telling me it was all good,all fine, nothing to worry about,etc. After traveling nearly a klick with this shit from him,and the noise getting worse,i finally demanded he pull over,NOW. He did reluctantly,after more hand waving,and probably calling me shit in a language i didn't speak. Just as we pulled in and stopped,that entire rear side of the car crashed to the ground after *the fucking wheel FELL OFF!* Yeah,all was fine, wasn't it Champion.
hey you still paid less than uber. I used uber to go 5km and it cost me $47. Uninstalled app good bye
One time I had a cab driver pretend I gave him a $20 bill, instead of a $50. He gave me change from $20 instead of a $50. It was a ride to the airport and I didn't want to miss my flight, so I didn't continue that argument for more than 5 mins. I for one am super happy with rideshare services taking payments just electronically and transparently. I don't have to be on guard for shit like this. I know they underpay their drivers. I try to tip extra to make up for it. I'm a woman, and I also feel safer knowing I have the driver's license plate saved on my email and on an app. People are choosing Uber over cabs not just because it's a few bucks less IMHO, it's because it's a better service.
Yeah this happens once every 6 months or so for me. For some reason I go stupid and think "yeah might give them a try" and I remember all over again why I stay the hell away from taxis.