Uber X Now Available to Melbourne Airports

easternculture on 17/08/2017 - 14:08

It’s all thanks to Parliament (we’ve been waiting to use that sentence for years), who last week passed a Bill that gives Uber access to areas that were previously off-limits. Like Melbourne airport. Finally, some politicians that are earning their keep.

Here’s how it’s gonna work. There will be designated ‘wait zones’ within the airport complex and in the T4 transport hub. From there, and only there, will you be able to hail an UberX. Coincidentally, taxi drivers also pick people up from T4, so chances are good you’ll also see some irate street theatre.

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MrHyde on 17/08/2017 - 15:05

+8

UberX will be slugged a $4 airport fee (more than the taxis $3.78.

Plus all taxi/rideshare users will also be slugged an $1 to pay for the buyback of the taxi licenses. I strongly disagree with the buyback program. Why do we have to pay for the taxi owners bad investment decisions. I don't see the government handing me money when my house price goes down or my shares tanking.
- R-Man on 17/08/2017 - 15:43
  
  +5
  
  Totally agree with this. Nor did we see a government buy back Kodak's film when digital became popular :)
  - qwerty on 17/08/2017 - 18:05
    
    The government didnt charge all kodak film users $100k to take photos .
- SydStrand on 17/08/2017 - 16:55
  
  -4
  
  The barrier to entry for taxi drivers is very high, and plenty got the job when you could make a living wage, now have dependents, and too old to suddenly change track. I have somewhat less sympathy for new recruits, who had to know Uber and self-driving cars were on the way.
  - Itburns on 18/08/2017 - 07:47
    
    Surely that is the risk you take when you buy a business/licence etc?? There is no guarantee that it will stay profitable forever e.g. if I buy a small grocery business & Coles/Woolworths/Aldi/IGA open across the road, I can't go crying to the government & ask for compensation - that's all part of private enterprise. The taxi owners need a reality check. I despise having to pay a $1 tax to bail them out - they need to adjust their business model to compete or get out & shut up.
    - SydStrand on 18/08/2017 - 17:13
      
      -1
      
      The problem isn't that cabbies made a bad business decision, because we've always needed then and many licences were purchased decades ago. The problem is that the government sold taxi licences that are outrageously expensive, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars, and now asking Uber users to bail them out, instead of doing the right thing by reimbursing cabbies for the licenses they gladly accepted payment for.
    - Itburns on 18/08/2017 - 19:06
      
      +1
      
      @Strand0410: Bad business decision! They overpaid for a licence they thought would guarantee them a good income forever because "we've always needed them". Guess what? Times change & nothing stays the same forever - I (& most Victorians) have absolutely zero sympathy for them. Sick of their shit service, shit vehicles, shit navigation etc etc- they thought they had it made!
    - SydStrand on 18/08/2017 - 20:59
      
      @Itburns:
      
      They overpaid for a licence they thought would guarantee them a good income forever
      
      You could say this of anything, e.g. spending tens of thousands of dollars on a university degree only for the government to revoke the protected status of your profession and thereby legalising its practice to anyone. Difference is, while a college education can justify that cost, a taxi license should not. The government profited from selling them and asking Uber users to foot the bill for buyback.
    - Itburns on 19/08/2017 - 15:38
      
      @Strand0410: The government profited because people were greedy enough to buy the licences & didn't think through the risk/reward equation. Did the government say that they would guarantee their income….I don't think so. Buyer beware.

Uber X Now Available to Melbourne Airports

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