Taxi Driver Complained about Short Fare from Airport

Hunter14 on 20/06/2019 - 14:53
Last edited 20/06/2019 - 15:04 by 1 other user

Hi All,

So I live close to an airport (about 6km away).

When I returned on my trip, I went to the taxi stand which had a long queue of taxis lined up. It was around midnight. I got into the first taxi in line and as we were driving off, I told him my destination and he just groaned and said if I told him earlier, he wouldn't have taken me because the trip is too short and he's been waiting there for hours. He wasn't aggressive but he did keep complaining and made me feel like I'm inconveniencing him. I told him if he doesn't want to take me then just send me back. He said it's too late and proceeded to drive me home. The final fee was $25.

Now, I can see where he is coming from. It obviously doesn't make sense for him economically to wait a few hours to earn what he did.

However, I was telling him what I'm supposed to do then? Go to every taxi driver and state my address and ask if they'll take me? Walk home? He didn't respond. In the end, I said I understand his annoyance but I need to get home too.

By the way, I've taken a taxi home from the airport many times and this was my first complaint.

So now I'm curious to know what everyone thinks about this? What should I do next time? Would love to hear your opinions!

Thank you.

Travel

Comments

  • kipps on 20/06/2019 - 14:57
    +193

    He’s a cabbie and bleeding money because his employer cannot innovate while Uber destroys his livelihood. He will soon be out of a job. Leave the poor guy bleed in peace.

    • THICKnSLOW on 21/06/2019 - 11:39
      +8

      BOOM!~ Truthdagger through the heart

    • Homr on 21/06/2019 - 13:17
      -6

      Why is it the first comment always gets the most up votes :(

    • Yorkshire-Man on 21/06/2019 - 16:15
      +64

      I do feel for the poor cabbies however it’s hard to forget the 20 yrs of them never turning up / never being able to get home on a Friday night / Being told they would take me for extra money / having taxis ask where you were going late at night cause that only wanted long fares.

      So yeah, I feel for them but their industry had it coming.

      • MetaphorOZB on 21/06/2019 - 16:37
        +28

        And still even after the introduction of Uber, they have done nothing to change.

        • Rumstein on 23/06/2019 - 15:31

          Cabbies and cab companies refuse to adapt, instead demanding the Government fix it for them.

          People who invested in cab medallions lose money, yet they demand the Government fix it for them. Just another poor investment choice.

    • Windows7forever on 22/06/2019 - 01:12

      First comment always the best 😀

    • Ahbal on 22/06/2019 - 18:43

      I have no sympathy for a business based on rorting customers going under because a business that innovates and keeps its employees AND customers happy is shitting all over them.

      Good riddance. Cabbie should become an uber driver though.

      • BigTone on 22/06/2019 - 21:22
        +2

        Except Uber drivers barely make minimum wage

        Horrible tbh

    • r3volt on 23/06/2019 - 16:53
      +1

      Innovate like uber?

      You mean avoiding regulations which governments forced taxis to follow? You can hate the taxi industry all you want but Uber is a cancer of a company which avoids it's legal responsibility while reducing the pay of people to the minimum that desperate people will take.

      Of course it's not an issue until it's the industry in which you work yourself being undercut in similar circumstances.

  • iforgotmysocks on 20/06/2019 - 14:58
    +126

    Get an uber next time.

    • npc on 20/06/2019 - 17:41
      +25

      I've got rated very low as Uber passenger several times in Sydney for my trips that were 2 km away from the airport. But yeah, the drivers didn't have courage to tell me their dissatisfaction face to face.

      • scotty on 20/06/2019 - 18:22
        +15

        Don't the drivers know about the destination before picking up the job? I live 4km from airport and sometimes it takes a while before an odd driver is accepting the job.

        • Davo1111 on 20/06/2019 - 19:09
          +6

          nah, only when you get in the car.

          For you my guesses would be they decline the job because

          1. They are going to the airport and want the sweet airport money
          2. They are already waiting at the airport
          3. you have a poor rating.
        • inconspicuous on 21/06/2019 - 09:56
          +2

          They don't, which is a cornerstone of how Uber works

        • Rumstein on 23/06/2019 - 15:32

          Only pickup location, not destination I believe.

      • [Deactivated] on 20/06/2019 - 23:31
        +5

        If its only 2km ignore their cries, they get to jump the queue and go straight back to the front if they return in a short period and don't leave a specific area

      • yippy on 21/06/2019 - 10:26

        Same thing happened to me grumpy Uber driver gave me 1 star because he wanted to stay in the city taking small fares instead of my $100 fare out to the suburbs.

        • samfisher5986 on 21/06/2019 - 11:46

          How exactly can you know this?

          Uber doesn't update your rating for about a week, the only way you can know this for sure is if its your only trip and you wait to find out.

          • yippy on 21/06/2019 - 12:28
            +8

            @samfisher5986: I don't use Uber that often it was my 8th trip and my rating was 5.0 it then went down to 4.50. Wasn't hard to work out he gave me 1 star.

            • samfisher5986 on 21/06/2019 - 12:33
              -7

              @yippy: If it went down to 4.50 a week later, after your total of one trip for the previous 7 days, yes.

              Otherwise not really.

              • yippy on 21/06/2019 - 12:51
                +5

                @samfisher5986: Well I haven't had any trips since that one or any the month previous so it was that trip!

        • Mrbean007 on 22/06/2019 - 08:45

          As above 3 Uber drivers cancelled me coming out from the airport on long distance travel $122 worth.

          Technically if Uber had a unpicked up rating on there system would be better driver's would be more careful at not accepting there passenger,s as there rating would go down.

        • bmerigan on 22/06/2019 - 22:00

          I wonder if you can complain or they have to justify giving a 1 star rating?

      • trapper on 21/06/2019 - 17:55
        -2

        Who cares about their passenger rating lol

        • serpserpserp on 21/06/2019 - 18:24
          +2

          Well if you get a low rating I think Uber drivers will decline your fare and you will basically find it hard to use Uber as intended?

          • trapper on 21/06/2019 - 18:27

            @serpserpserp: haha you really think that is going to happen, the passenger rating is just so the drivers can feel better about themselves getting rated. They ain't turning away paying customers.

            • serpserpserp on 21/06/2019 - 21:45
              -1

              @trapper: Why would you neg me for that comment?

            • SMI7HY on 22/06/2019 - 18:57

              @trapper: As an ex Uber driver of 1000+ trips I can assure you the passenger rating does matter. Myself and plenty of other drivers I’ve spoken to use this as a way to filter out the idiots and swing the chances of a hassle free trip back in our favour. The majority of the time if you’re getting rated anything less than 4-5 there’s a good reason for it, why would I want you in my car?

              • trapper on 24/06/2019 - 12:21
                +1

                @SMI7HY: You want them in your car because you want to get paid lol

                If you turn your nose up at a 3.9 rated passenger it's going to take 5 seconds for some other driver to snap them up lol

                • SMI7HY on 24/06/2019 - 21:22

                  @trapper: Of course you want to get paid but not at the risk of abuse to myself or damage to my vehicle, both of which seem to increase with lower rated passengers. I would much rather wait around for 30seconds and get a decent person. As I said before, passengers with a bad rating usually have it for a reason and in my experience are typically more trouble then they’re worth. The money just isn’t good enough to put up with that.

          • render on 23/06/2019 - 13:15

            @serpserpserp: Curious though, couldn't you just make another account?

        • TailsK on 22/06/2019 - 15:20

          You won't be able to use the service if your rating is too low.

      • dufflover on 22/06/2019 - 13:58
        +2

        I didn't realise this; that's just begging to head the same ways as taxis then, at least for airport trips.

        I sometimes use Uber for really short trips (too far to walk, but no PT route) and whilst I haven't had any shitty attitudes, I thought they knew my trip already.

    • User210686 on 21/06/2019 - 08:36
      +3

      Uber is not a very good option in Sydney from the airport. You have to walk a fair distance to the allocated pickup location and it takes for ever for drivers to get there and sometimes a driver cancels after waiting over 5 mins for some reason that I stopped using Uber from the Sydney airport. From Sydney domestic, if you don’t want to take taxi, you can ride the bus to the next stop and from there you can order Uber. Bus stop is literally outside the terminal.

      • payless69 on 21/06/2019 - 10:14

        thanks for that tip. With a seniors card this is a very good option. Even rideshare folks have to pass on airport greed charges.

      • BanannaMan on 21/06/2019 - 11:50
        +1

        I went to sydney in Feb - Took uber both to and from. Never had an issue
        You're right it is a little bit of a walk but nothing too much to complain about

      • BobLim on 21/06/2019 - 12:26
        +14

        Take a taxi to the Uber area!

        • ProlapsedHeinous on 21/06/2019 - 21:29
          +1

          this guy wins the internet for today.

      • serpserpserp on 21/06/2019 - 18:25

        Yeah, that bus ride ain't the funniest! Long wait on weekends.

      • jeffr on 21/06/2019 - 18:54

        I did the "walk" from the domestic terminal and found it wasnt that far, probably 5 mins max. The pickup area is clearly marked and has plenty of room for passengers.

        • gth on 22/06/2019 - 04:28

          Take the Blue Emu transfer bus - it's free.

    • gromit on 21/06/2019 - 18:18

      for a short trip from the airport? good luck. You think cabbies are bad wait till you try that.

      • iforgotmysocks on 21/06/2019 - 18:21
        +1

        I "try that" every week.

        • gromit on 21/06/2019 - 19:51

          then you must be aware how bad it is in peak times getting an uber for a short trip. I have had to do it regularly for work only a couple of k's from airport. gone back to Taxi's now, they may complain, but at least they are there.

          • iforgotmysocks on 21/06/2019 - 20:03

            @gromit: Well they do not know what the trip length is until they pick you up.

            • gromit on 22/06/2019 - 08:35
              -2

              @iforgotmysocks: Ahhh so they stopped showing trip length last year I see. might make them better now. I guess they got enough complaints about their dumb arse process.

    • rzkman on 22/06/2019 - 16:13

      Uber drivers only know the destination once they have picked up the customer. So from my recently experience at Avalon Airport, they do a dodgy trick where they said they have picked up the customer so they can examine the destination. Once they realised I was only going nearby they called me and tried to get out of the job saying it was too close. I was furious…but what can I do? It was late and I just wanted to get home. I ended up at the taxi rank and the first thing I told the cabbie was that I was only going nearby. He wasn't happy, but he was good about it and still took me there. I gave him a larger than usual tip.

  • GG57 on 20/06/2019 - 15:04
    +33

    If this was your first experience of this behaviour, think yourself lucky.
    The problem is not the distance / fare.
    The problem is that the driver chose to wait at the airport for that long, on the off-chance that they might get a passenger with a long trip. And, it must generally be the case that they do score a longer trip, otherwise why would they do it.

    From memory, Perth airport is not too far from the city / inner suburbs. If the driver had a fare to the airport, they could as easily left the airport and looked for fares elsewhere.

    My concern is that, as taxi companies are ramping up the use of their apps, they will become increasingly like Uber and accept jobs and then not turn up / cancel the jobs.

    • AdosHouse on 20/06/2019 - 16:16
      +17

      Regarding your last statement, as someone who works in a pub and calls them all the time for customers, quite often we have had customers waiting up to an hour for them, they don't turn up, we call them and they said the job was cancelled. So now customer has to start waiting again.

  • poboy on 20/06/2019 - 15:08
    +11

    This has happened to me. The Taxi driver signalled to the rank controller that this was a short fare. Apparently this allowed the cab to come back to the front of the line upon returning. No idea if this is still current practice (was years ago) or how it is policed.

    • burgermaniac on 20/06/2019 - 15:16
      +1

      I think that is still the case with Uber. If there is a long wait to get to number 1, Uber will automatically give drivers short rides in the meantime, to make sure that they are constantly making some form of income. Then once they get back from their short ride, it was as if they never left the Airport waiting line.

    • BunnyDownDog on 20/06/2019 - 17:17

      Similar problem but apparently I went to the wrong area to choose the cabs, there is a line for big cabs and a line for small cabs.

      The small cab was annoyed that our team had a lot of luggage, but I tipped him $10 as I felt sorry for him.

      I think the driver goes back to the end of the queue nowadays.

      • trapper on 21/06/2019 - 17:58
        +10

        People who 'get annoyed at you' are the last ones you should be tipping

    • [Deactivated] on 20/06/2019 - 23:33

      Even better, it is tracked by GPS in the taxi, if they don't leave a specific area and return in a reasonable time they get to jump the queue

    • Antikythera on 23/06/2019 - 18:20

      the airport taxi rank should have a second pickup point, much earlier in the taxi's queue, for short trip passengers.

      something like

      XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX /short trip pickup / XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX /main pickup/

      but the main problem is lazy drivers who chose to wait at the airport for hours instead of hustling the city streets for fairs.

  • kahn on 20/06/2019 - 15:11
    +14

    Come on, mate, this has been done before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ_bywNRfNs

    • watwatwat on 20/06/2019 - 17:08
      +4

      lol I knew what this link would be before I clicked it. Classic.

    • Hunter14 on 20/06/2019 - 18:15
      +2

      No joke, this scene actually flashed in my head during the awkward ride to my house.

  • Skramit on 20/06/2019 - 15:14
    +42

    Happens all the time in Melb when passengers live in north western suburbs. Passengers just have to report the driver to the taxi authority when they get complaints from drivers.

    A lot of cabbies seem to have a rather entitled attitude when it comes to this sort of stuff. I can imagine the Uber thing hasn't helped their mood recently. But I have no sympathy for them because their product is inferior and they refuse to improve it.

    • t_c on 20/06/2019 - 18:50
      -6

      Not sure that someone going to work and wanting to earn at least the equivalent of the minimum wage ($16.37 per hour) could be classified as entitled.

      • Skramit on 20/06/2019 - 18:59

        No, I agree it’s a tough gig, but they sure act like it sometimes with their attitude.

      • freakatronic on 20/06/2019 - 22:21
        +7

        Terrible that these cabbies are enslaved like this with no choice but to sell their labour for the barest minimum. The threats of violence or even death from their employers must be what makes them show up every day. What an awful country.

        • brad1-8tsi on 21/06/2019 - 08:13
          +3

          They aren't employed. They lease the taxi for the shift. If they want to sit in the holding bay for an hour that's their issue.

          • [Deactivated] on 23/06/2019 - 13:52

            @brad1-8tsi: He was being sarcastic.

          • macrocephalic on 23/06/2019 - 16:27

            @brad1-8tsi: Only an hour? I used to work at the Brisbane airport and you'd see cabbies sitting in the line for three hours during the day. The minimum fare from Brisbane airport to the nearest residential area would be $30, and to the city (where a lot of travellers would be going in the middle of the day during the week) would be more like $50 I think. It's no wonder that the cab industry is dying.

    • Kranbone on 21/06/2019 - 20:09
      +1

      Agree, report the cabbie. Drivers can't expect massive long fairs and don't dictate where customers go.

  • chumlee on 20/06/2019 - 15:14
    -4

    Next time tell the driver your an investigator with the ATO and just come back from a conference interstate on catching tax cheats in the transport industry.

    See if the driver complains or just quickly takes you home

  • [Deactivated] on 20/06/2019 - 15:17
    +26

    Isn't it illegal for cabbies to turn you down because your fare is too short?

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https:/…

    • apple2016 on 20/06/2019 - 16:12
      +5

      Yes it is illegal. Taxi drivers can be fined for refusing…

    • SirFlibbled on 20/06/2019 - 16:47
      +19

      Which is why the cabbie didn't actually reject him rather he just bitched about it.

      • Hunter14 on 20/06/2019 - 18:14
        +3

        However, he did say if I had told him earlier, he would have refused to take me and that's what triggered me the most.

        • nakahanap on 21/06/2019 - 22:38
          +2

          I’ve had taxis refuse to take my fare because it was “too short” on a number of occasions. I didn’t pursue it - ultimately I am not sure I’d feel safe in their vehicles anyway.

          I have come to like the ride share apps, both here and os as it eliminates the dodgy drivers that try to scam you, it gets around language issues and I’ve had better experiences.

    • trapper on 21/06/2019 - 18:37

      He didn't refuse to take him though.

      Although in the bad old days cabbies would often ask your destination before letting you into the car. I think to exploit a loophole where you were not technically a customer yet, so they were not technically refusing your fare.

      • macrocephalic on 23/06/2019 - 16:28

        That's why you tell them you want to go someone further away, then when you get in the cab you tell them you've changed your mind.

  • slow on 20/06/2019 - 15:18
    +3

    Apparently in the past if it was a short fare they got a special ticket or something which enabled them to come back and jump the queue.
    But they stopped this recently
    Had a driver complaining about this recently

  • Archi on 20/06/2019 - 15:20
    +1

    as an uber driver… i encourage you to use uber in the future.

    • payless69 on 21/06/2019 - 10:11

      you should be encouraging to use an Australian owned option!

      • Archi on 21/06/2019 - 10:22
        +1

        that would be?

        • ol mate on 21/06/2019 - 12:23
          -5

          OzBargain's favourite - GoCatch!

        • SirFlibbled on 21/06/2019 - 21:11

          Port Hedland has it's own app.. seriously it's called H Ride. It's Australian owned and amazing (if you live in Port Hedland).

  • rambutann on 20/06/2019 - 15:22
    +1

    I too face this issue in Melbourne, cabbies wait hours in the line to get a 15 minute, $25-30 ride..

    I do one of two things:
    - Catch an Uber
    - I ask people at the taxi rank where they are going, explain my situation, ask if they wouldn't mind if we went together, I pay for the first portion, they pay for the second portion.

    Quite often, people are stoked for option 2 as it makes their journey way cheaper, and cabbies are stoked to do it because they get 2 fares out of it..

    But I do avoid option 2 unless Uber is surging..

    • GG57 on 20/06/2019 - 15:29
      +2

      Your option 2 used to be an acceptable and actively encouraged thing, but I haven't noticed it over recent years.

      • Archi on 20/06/2019 - 15:33
        +12

        sort of reminds me of the movie taken,
        would you like to share a taxi, because is Paris they a damn expensive

        NEXT MINUTE i dont know who you are or what you want

        • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 20/06/2019 - 20:32
          +2

          Taxi drivers also like to quote Taken whenever whinging about Uber:

          "I have a particular set of skills…skills I have acquired over a very long career…."

          • macrocephalic on 23/06/2019 - 16:33

            @Typical16-bitEnjoyer: "I can go for days without bathing. I can camouflage into this beaded seat with a thick layer of crumbs and stains. I can forget the fastest way to get almost anywhere, even though I travel there multiple times a day.

            I remember, years ago when I was a student, walking past the UQ bus stop late one evening and a cabbie pulled up next to me and asked me how to get to the city from there. UQ St Lucia has 20k+ full time students, that makes it probably the second most travelled to destination in Queensland - after the Brisbane CBD. They are less than 10km apart. This cab driver didn't know how to get from one to the other (in the days before ubiquitous GPS).

  • trustnoone on 20/06/2019 - 15:23
    +1

    So now I'm curious to know what everyone thinks about this? What should I do next time? Would love to hear your opinions!

    Very common when I lived in Adel that taxi drivers would leave there doors locked (but window winded down half way), they'd ask where I was going and they wouldn't unlock the door unless they felt like it was worth their time (I never had this problem at a taxi rank though). I don't think all taxi drivers are like this but it happened a lot to myself and people I know, in particular on weekend nights.

    I know in Sydney, I've definitely had taxi drivers complain about distance, was quite a shame because one of my parents can't walk very well due to age (its not bad, just take a bit of time and is painful) but a lot of drivers don't care and complain or outright won't take him because of distance (or will park far away from where we want to go 'because you can just walk'. Please note its not all drivers though, I've had drivers that were absolutely amazing and have gone above and beyond to help my parent out or even myself.

    I know last time I called up to book an appointment I had some lady who was very sharp and mean about it, she ended up getting the wrong suburb (chose one in Melb instead of Sydney) because she cut me off when I tried to state the city after the suburb, she just said "I booked it" and then hanged up.

    I have never tried any rideshare apps though, so no idea how they compare, I like that I can just grab a taxi on a whim, esp at taxi ranks, and I didn't think the price would differ much, but yeah.

    • SJDR on 21/06/2019 - 16:46
      +2

      I've had the same problem in Sydney when going from the airport to St Peters ($14 fare or so).

      You have to get in and let them drive off before telling them where you are going otherwise they refuse to take you.

      Then you have to endure them swearing and carrying on like idiots for the entire journey whilst driving erratically and racing over speed humps etc.

      LPT: when booking a taxi for my return to the airport I had to tell them I was going to an entirely different suburb a decent trip away otherwise they just don't turn up. This happened week in, week out without fail.
      When you ring and ask where they are, they say the driver came and no-one was there.

      They are quite happy to take the profitable trips, they have to deal with the short trips too.
      It's part of any job.

      It's no wonder Uber came in and shat all over them, they have done nothing to help themselves.

    • trapper on 21/06/2019 - 18:40
      +2

      taxi drivers would leave there doors locked (but window winded down half way), they'd ask where I was going and they wouldn't unlock the door unless they felt like it was worth their time

      This was very common where I grew up. I think they did it so your not technically a customer yet so they are not technically refusing the fare.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/06/2019 - 13:59

      You wrote 3 paragraphs about why taxis suck, and yet you still don't use rideshare apps? Wtf? Are you ok?

  • Marty-69 on 20/06/2019 - 15:28
    +30

    A short trip in the CBD, driver cries it's too short (it was raining and I carried stuff).
    The same trip in CBD, different driver, he didn't complain but decided to give me a (de)tour, the fare was more than double.
    From CBD to a suburb 50 minutes away, the driver complained that it's too far and refused to take me.

    I gave up on taxies…..

  • bobbified on 20/06/2019 - 15:32
    +33

    Did you explain that you can only take his stinky BO in small doses?

    You can't win with taxi drivers. They complain and don't want to drive. Someone else who wants to drive (uber) comes in and then the taxi drivers complain that the new drivers are stealing all their jobs.

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 20/06/2019 - 15:35
    +13

    I'd have told him to stop complaining and to be grateful for having a job.

    The cabbie chose to wait so long for a fare. He knew that a short one was a possibility.

    Too bad, too sad. If he doesn't like it, don't queue at the airport.

    • tempura on 20/06/2019 - 16:08
      +36

      I disagree; it's the mentality of taxi drivers need changing.

        • ProlapsedHeinous on 20/06/2019 - 19:02
          +8

          Yes but they don't complain when they get a big fare, you cant have your cake and eat it too. I work in a similar industry, and you have to take the good with the bad, and hope it evens out. The more you whine about it to your paying customers, the more you will just push them towards companies like Uber. And as unfortunate as it is, the bad ones will spoil it for the good ones that make sure the customer isnt made to feel bad about something that is entirely out of their control.

        • brad1-8tsi on 21/06/2019 - 08:20

          But also, I can understand from the customer's side. Let's say I'm a group of 4 people, if I take train to go to Mascot at least per person costs $10? so 4 people costs $40…I might as well just take a taxi which costs approximately around $25/4 = $6.25/person - cheaper and less hassles carrying all the luggage.

          you have no idea what the train fare to either airport station is…

          The taxi drivers issue isn't the $25 fare. They are quite happy to take you to the airport for $25. It's their mindset of not wanting to drive away from the airport and getting a $25 fare to take you home after an hour in the holding yard.

          I do $25 fares with taxis often. They don't complain

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