Have you ever tried to order an Uber ride from the airport, only for the driver to accept and then cancel the ride? Then, when you tried to order another ride, the same thing happened again?
You wouldn’t be alone. Many travellers have commented on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum that this has happened to them too, especially at Cairns Airport.
AFF member experiences ordering Uber rides from Cairns Airport
This is what one AFF member had to say:
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.
Other forum members have had similar experiences with Uber drivers accepting and then cancelling rides from Cairns Airport…
Very accurate observation about CNS; matches a lot of my experience. I stuck out for a fair fare on rideshare from CNS airport recently, and I eventually got one, but it took so long.
We then tried Uber which had some ridiculously high surge pricing….we waited 15-20 mins and the price dropped significantly ($16.81 to Hilton -13 min ride). No issues catching an Uber back to airport ($12.49 but we had some promo which gave us $8 of the ride -12 min ride).
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.
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.
This doesn’t just happen in Cairns, though. Another AFF member says they’ve experienced similar at Sunshine Coast Airport:
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.
What’s going on here?
There are a range of valid reasons that Uber drivers might cancel a ride after accepting it. For example, they may be intending to drive in the complete opposite direction. Or perhaps they might get stuck in traffic, or any number of other things.
But the frequency with which this happens at Cairns Airport suggests that some drivers could be trying to manipulate the system deliberately. By routinely cancelling rides, it forces travellers (those who don’t give up and jump in a taxi, anyway) to order a new ride.
Most AFF members say they now prefer to catch a taxi from Cairns Airport as it’s usually cheaper and hassle-free. (It’s not usually cheaper going from the Cairns CBD to the airport).
This doesn’t actually cause surge pricing
Some have speculated that Uber drivers might be doing this because they want to cause “surge pricing” to kick in. However, Australian Frequent Flyer understands that this is not how surge pricing actually works.
Surge pricing is based on the current supply and demand in a location. But only new trip requests could lead to an increase in surge pricing. A driver cancelling a trip would not contribute to this.
When someone requests a new ride after the driver previously cancelled on them, the surge pricing algorithm does not count this as a new trip request. (Perhaps someone should inform the drivers who are engaging in this behaviour…?)
Uber may suspend drivers for routinely cancelling rides without a valid reason
In response to our questions, a spokesperson for Uber told Australian Frequent Flyer that driver-partners who repeatedly cancel trips without a valid reason could be booted from the platform.
“We understand the concerns raised regarding frequent cancellations and recognise the impact this has on the rider experience. We are committed to ensuring our platform meets the expectations of riders, and we are actively working on addressing situations where rides don’t go as smoothly as expected,” the Uber spokesperson said.
“We proactively remind driver-partners that cancellations, especially when done without a valid reason, can negatively affect both riders and other driver-partners. Repeated cancellations may be seen as a violation of our Community Guidelines and could result in consequences, including loss of access to the Uber app.”
DiDi doesn’t work at Cairns Airport
In many places, DiDi is available as an alternative to Uber. However, the DiDi app will not let you select Cairns Airport as a pickup location. It seems DiDi does not have a deal with Cairns Airport to use the ride-share pickup area. So, the app geo-blocks Cairns Airport and moves the location pin to a point outside of the airport grounds.
As there is also no public bus service to Cairns Airport, the alternatives if you don’t have a car are to catch a taxi, catch a shuttle, or walk.
In Australia, you can earn Qantas points when riding with Uber to or from an eligible airport, or Velocity points for riding with DiDi.
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