Uber drivers at CNS routinely cancelling rides to manipulate surge pricing

[BCons]

Arrived into CNS and decided to use Uber. Booked and then driver assigned and soon cancelled. New driver assigned and then cancelled. happened three time and each time the price was going up - due to "high demand". Gave up and wandered back to the taxi rank and no wait at all and a very pleasant taxi driver. He explained that the Uber drivers often manipulate the surging at the airport in this way. Taxi ride was lower cost than the surging Uber price at that time.

Return to the airport and Uber drivers were unable to manipulate the surging and readily/quickly available. Got a very pleasant Uber driver who confirmed they never wait at the airport for inbound flights because a cartel of drivers try to make everyone play their game.

heading back to CNS soon. Will head straight to taxi rank. return to the airport will likely be Uber.

Thanks, your post supports a suspicion I had last w/end at Hobart. Arrving mid evening, which means few flts left to come in, booked an Uber, get a confirmation as we walk out, and then a cancel followed by a long wait while Uber waited for another driver to take up the fare. After 10m and growing doubts (despatcher/traffic naz_ confirmed plenty of cars in the holding pen) I just walked across the road to the taxi rank. And I'll do that from now on..

 

[RooFlyer]

Yep, same experience at the one and only time I've landed in CNS and sought an Uber. Two cancellations then no acceptance- I didn't understand at the time what was going on. Got a taxi.

 

[k_sheep]

I think this goes on at more airports than CNS too. Last year at MCY, the drivers kept accepting/cancelling. One texted me to ask where I was going. I said SCUH and he said he was going to Noosa and then cancelled. One eventually accepted and didn't cancel. An airport employee was asking those in the waiting area how many times drivers had accepted then cancelled. All said it'd happened several times.

Totally normal for MCY. Have had maybe one successful Uber out of MCY out of many dozen attempts. Now I don't even bother and just head for the taxis. They all accept, then never move and wait for you to cancel.

 

[clifford]

Last year, I arrived at CNS around 2pm and thought, why not walk to the highway, and then catch a bus. I had plenty of time and was going well. About a third into my journey, a car pulled up and offered me a lift, which I accepted. The gods were looking at me favourably that day, although it wasn't a bad walk to that point.

And talking of Uber, my experience at LST one night around 9pm left a bit to be desired. I needed to go to Longford and used the Uber app to get a price. First time it came in a bit over the odds, so I cancelled and tried again. This time it came in at a stupid price, so I just booked a cab and got to my destination for a (almost) reasonable price. That put me off Uber, although the return journey several days later was as per the expected cost.

 

[Happy Dude]

Totally normal for MCY. Have had maybe one successful Uber out of MCY out of many dozen attempts. Now I don't even bother and just head for the taxis. They all accept, then never move and wait for you to cancel.

Presumably they'd need a few cars to have several riders cancel on them each to make the price surge, but this pattern be visible to Uber. Repeat offenders would be weeded out quickly and easily. If Uber wished that is, but they benefit too.

 

[Captain Halliday]

I can also confirm I’ve had multiple Uber cancellations on arrival at CNS.

And that because of this apparent price manipulation, CNS airport to CBD hotels is usually $4-8 more than CBD-CNS.

I recommend taxis when arriving in CNS.

 

[NM]

The Uber drivers, afaik, get to wait in the Taxi/bus/overflow area near the entrance roundabout, so there’s no reason for them to not be near the airport.

Yes, they do, and the app was showing the car/driver that initially accepts the job is located there.

So I only see two options for them accepting the job and then cancelling:

1. If they all do this for the jobs, then the "demand" is seen to be rising and hence the pricing surges. Then when they get the price surged enough they decide which of them gets the job (first in the queue perhaps).
2. They are hoping to get jobs to places like Port Douglas (or even Palm Cove - basically further than Cairns CBD). So upon accepting the job and finding it is a short ride to Cairns CBD, the cancel and hope for a more lucrative job from another passenger from the arriving flight.

Either way, it serves to increase the costs to the passengers and causes delays in actually getting the ride. Having been bitten once, I will change my CNS arrivals process for my next visit.

 

[anat0l]

They are hoping to get jobs to places like Port Douglas (or even Palm Cove - basically further than Cairns CBD). So upon accepting the job and finding it is a short ride to Cairns CBD, the cancel and hope for a more lucrative job from another passenger from the arriving flight.

And this stupidity I've talked over and over again on this forum.

Notwithstanding how Uber drivers find out where a ride is going before they confirm pickup of a passenger (I think the only hint they get is the general direction where they are going), it would be best for them to take the job - if it ends up in the city, that means they are all that closer to returning to the airport for another job, additionally with the potential to do so by picking up a job in the CBD towards the airport (rather than returning there on their own coin).

The shorter a ride is, the more that the minimum charge becomes worth it.

This is advice I heard from several good taxi drivers years ago; the ones that couldn't understand why all the lowlifes just camp at the airport (or in the case of MEL, refuse "short" jobs).

 

[kevrosmith]

Yes agree with these last sentinments. The taxi drivers all prefer short city rides as they are quick turnarounds and back out to the airport for another round. If they are lucky, they even get a pick up in city back to the airport (depending on time of day).

SYD especially has a short fare system… anything within a certain GPS tracked boundary and back within a certain time and they get to skip to the front of the queue, so can never understand why they react so poorly to a short fare to mascot etc.

 

[Aeryn]

SYD especially has a short fare system… anything within a certain GPS tracked boundary and back within a certain time and they get to skip to the front of the queue, so can never understand why they react so poorly to a short fare to mascot etc.

Based on my last few trips home from SYD T3, there has been a huge number of taxis waiting and zero people in the queue, whilst people happy to wait 1-2 mins for an Uber at the pick-up spot next door.

With rideshare competition offering fixed prices and no need to direct drivers, it really is a hard sell to choose a taxi unless Uber is surging or none nearby.