Short Taxi Fares (and the associated driver rage!)

[Hvr]

And, unfortunately, it's par for the course here in MEL.

I don't think i've ever taken a cab ride here where the driver (of any ethnicity) hasn't spent 95-100% of the time on the phone.

Sometimes I think they must be running a phone sex ring in their cab to subsidise their short fares from the airport

MEL cabs are totally out of control, it is a rare driver who knows where they're going. Credit card fraud is absolutely rife. I reckon they would whinge about any fare.

 

[anat0l]

That's true. I wonder how much they make per shift on multiple short fares compared to taxi drivers in other cities who prefer to wait for long fares.

Don't forget that with every fare (long or short), there is a flagfall (or "minimum fare"). Not only that, but for long fares, the chances of your picking up a new job relative to the time you have to drive on to find that new job usually diminishes.

That is why good cabbies will try and get multiple short fares where they can, rather than trying to stake for only long fares. And when times aren't busy at all, it's not worth griping whatever kind of job you get!

 

[Hvr]

Don't forget that with every fare (long or short), there is a flagfall (or "minimum fare"). Not only that, but for long fares, the chances of your picking up a new job relative to the time you have to drive on to find that new job usually diminishes.

That is why good cabbies will try and get multiple short fares where they can, rather than trying to stake for only long fares. And when times aren't busy at all, it's not worth griping whatever kind of job you get!

There is an irregular poster on AFF who is a taxi driver and he says exactly the same.

 

[DC3]

The money is in the flagfall fees. The more flagfall fees the better. In Melbourne the fee is $3.20 just to sit in the seat for one second, then $1.60 per km.

Get the passenger in for a short trip, and then get them out @ $3.20 a time, just in the flagfall fee. If the driver gives good service for a short trip a tip should round the fare up a bit as well.

 

[jetlagger]

MEL cabs are totally out of control, it is a rare driver who knows where they're going. Credit card fraud is absolutely rife. I reckon they would whinge about any fare.

& most of them look quite scary, even under the shadows of the night. :-|

 

[boomy]

& most of them look quite scary, even under the shadows of the night. :-|

We should salute the heroes that dare to catch a taxi in MEL

 

[harvyk]

on the phone to someone doing god knows what.

Yeah, I've come across quite a few drivers who have been distracted on the phone (often without hands free and / or SMSing)... Ignoring the safety aspect of it (I want a driver who is 100% focused on the road ahead), in quite a few places it is highly illegal.

Don't get me wrong, I know been a cabbie is hardly easy or glamorous work, it's just unless I have had a really bad repeated experience, I would say that it's not just a case of "a few bad apples", but more a case of "the few good ones" in an industry which really needs to change...

 

[Buzzard]

I think I live pretty close to the ADL airport but it's still a $35 fare. IMHO thats not bad for a small city.
Have spoken to cabbies that simply refuse to pick up at the airport stating there is better money to be made. Fare nuff.

When in Newcastle I like to use Newcastle Hire Cars. Clean, reliable, never complain (yet), just show up on time and take you where you want to go - even SYD if you like. Sometimes they are even cheaper than a cab. Nice Statesmans too.

 

[jetlagger]

We should salute the heroes that dare to catch a taxi in MEL

I have taken many a taxis in MEL, though I'm rarely impressed.
My preferred option is a limo - very little difference in price compared to taxis & more desirable standards.

 

[boomy]

I have taken many a taxis in MEL, though I'm rarely impressed.
My preferred option is a limo - very little difference in price compared to taxis & more desirable standards.

Couldn't agree more (post #43)

 

[medhead]

Yes, the driver should be reported. Sad but that's how the theory works. However if I was on the other side and the actual taxi driver owner, paying for the license, costs etc I would expect that I be able choose how I operate my business, and if refusing a short fare was more worthwhile to me, than that should be my right.



The two exceptions I know of, are; 1. if the driver reasonably believes the person/s would be unable to pay for the fare and 2. if the driver reasonably believes that the person/s may be a safety risk

The owner of the taxi wants that meter running for every km it drives. Every taxi I've driven, the owner has required me to report the cents/km, along with number of flag falls, total take, distance for every shift. I know drivers were spoke to about lower cents/km, total take and high flag falls or high extras.

An owner will get the Tom cough if the c/km is low, especially if sharing fuel, as the driver is using the car without earning, or running off meter. Low number of flag falls also could be off meter running. Obviously total take is an issue with each shift having an expected average. Good owners will also monitor extras and flag falls because they can tell if a driver is ripping people off. For example one extra for a phone booking, it's extremely unlikely that every fare or more than every fare will be a phone booking.

The most flag falls I achieved per shift was maybe 40 on a New Year's Eve. ~$120 (or $60 for me) just for turning on the meter. :!:

 

[QFflyermelbourne]

I also had a guy a couple of months ago in Melbourne heading to the airport very early morning who was playing Bollywood tunes very loudly on the CD player the whole way there. At some point on the tullamarine freeway, while swerving in and out of lanes he changed CDs and said to me, "hope you don't mind the music mate. I need it to stay awake." That was reassuring....

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The money is in the flagfall fees. The more flagfall fees the better. In Melbourne the fee is $3.20 just to sit in the seat for one second, then $1.60 per km.

Hahahaha. I live 3.2km from the Melbourne CBD. According to this calculation my fare should be around $8.80. Let's even round that up a bit... make it $10.

I can't get a cab (with lights and traffic) for under $15-17. Cabbies love to take routes with known queues at lights.

 

[anat0l]

Hahahaha. I live 3.2km from the Melbourne CBD. According to this calculation my fare should be around $8.80. Let's even round that up a bit... make it $10.

I can't get a cab (with lights and traffic) for under $15-17. Cabbies love to take routes with known queues at lights.

Is that 3.2km ground distance or as the crow flies?

Those flagfall and per km rates seem low. Or are taxis on average cheaper in MEL compared to BNE?

Waiting time certainly comes into it, but I assume you're not always travelling during traffic times (and in any case you'll direct the cabbie, unless you get a chestnut). Then you still have booking fee (if not hailed or taken from rank), late night fee, 11% EFTPOS fee....

 

[DC3]

As a guide. Taxi fare calculator (for some major cities):


http://www.taxifare.com.au/rates/australia/

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Is that 3.2km ground distance or as the crow flies?

Those flagfall and per km rates seem low. Or are taxis on average cheaper in MEL compared to BNE?

Waiting time certainly comes into it, but I assume you're not always travelling during traffic times (and in any case you'll direct the cabbie, unless you get a chestnut). Then you still have booking fee (if not hailed or taken from rank), late night fee, 11% EFTPOS fee....

that's the distance as per google maps, driving.

the taxi fare calculator confirms ~$8.

if it was actually that price I could give up my $3.50 two hour train fare and take a taxi!!

 

[anat0l]

Not quite related to the "short fare" thing, but then again, maybe it is a little:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/12/16/17/24/woman-says-she-paid-$200-for-8km-taxi-trip

A Melbourne woman says she forked out $200 to a taxi driver to take her just eight kilometres to a party on Friday night.

Marnie Reid had been trying to get from Federation Square to Northcote, northeast of the CBD, after a work Christmas party, The Age reports.

Reading the article and taking it as it is, I'm actually still wondering who is the bigger idiot in the story to be honest...

 

[Hvr]

She is an employee of 3AW and the story has also received huge coverage on their site:

Cab driver charges $200 for city-Northcote fare | 3AW News

I agree that there are some questions about her intelligence. Did she go along with it to set up a story?

 

[OATEK]

A variation on a theme is "where's that" when saying I want to go to an address in Sydney's southern suburbs. Lots of grumps about how far they will have to drive to get home late at night after dropping me etc.

Then you have to direct the cabbie when to turn, and how to escape when I have been dropped off - and this is with a $65+ fare. Its got a bit better now they all seem to have GPS systems, but still get lots of grumps if not going E/N/W. The only exception has been Silver Service - never a grump!

 

[cove]

Melbourne has a job fixing the taxi mess.
Sydney has a job fixing the taxi mess.
I could go on.
Start by putting the vehicles over the pits and get the unroadworthy vehicles off the road.
Re-test the drivers when they score 6 demerit points on their licence including using a mobile phone while driving passengers being scored at 3 points per offence.
Send them to a taxi etiquette class to raise their standard.