Australia’s most liveable city has a problem.
Melbourne prides itself on having a great night-life, but a good time out at our buzzing bars, restaurants, theatre shows and sporting events is being soured.
Standing on a kerb in Melbourne’s CBD on Friday night, I watched cabs circle the block like sharks, refusing to turn their meters on and rejecting rides until someone became desperate enough to pay a significantly higher flat fare.
I watched the cab I booked (and waited half an hour for) drive straight past without slowing down or even looking at the pick up address. It continued to drive out-of-sight without any attempt to turnaround. The driver marked the ride as “passenger not found”.
Another cab driver from the same company who was waiting out the front told me bluntly the driver of the booked cab wouldn’t have wanted my ride. I only needed to travel 12km.
That cab driver? He wouldn’t take me unless I paid $65, which I later discovered was $25 more than the cost of the journey with the meter on.
I asked a couple heading for a cab they booked how they managed to get the driver to show up. The woman knew a guy.
On my phone, I waited patiently to be connected to a rideshare driver. My ride was accepted and cancelled repeatedly on both Uber and DiDi. The prices fluctuated between about $40 and $80. Earlier in the night, Uber was wanting $100.
This is not an isolated experience. Reports from fed-up Melburnians are coming in thick and fast. And I hear Sydney is also copping it.
“Makes me question going out again if I can’t get home,” said one disgruntled reveller.
“As a single woman it was very upsetting being left on my own with no way home,” another added.
“It’s an absolute disgrace,” a third said.
Melbourne journalist Brianna Travers tweeted about being rejected by six cabs in the CBD for not paying a cash price around double what she would usually pay on Thursday night.
The thread was flooded with people sharing similar experiences about taxis and constant cancellations from rideshare drivers.
Is it time for the regulators to step in and get this under control?
Dynamic pricing or surge pricing (where the price changes based on demand) is not a new concept. It is used by airlines, hotels, for concert tickets and sports games.
But most of the time these things are booked in advance and won’t leave you on the street in a vulnerable position.
Aussie TV presenter Scott Cam told Ben Fordham last month he worries about his daughter being left “exposed” on the street trying to get a ride home on a night out.
“We’ve got to stamp this out, mate,” he said. “They’re ripping kids off. They’re ripping people off. You and I can afford to get a cab but, you know, kids can’t, trying to get home late at night and that’s what worries me.”
Surge pricing with rideshares (set by the company) and taxis (drivers doing it themselves) is legal under Australian consumer law because the consumer knows about it prior to their purchasing decision and can choose to accept the service or not.
Basically, because it’s not considered misleading behaviour, I’m told we’re unlikely to see the consumer watchdog look into it.
Regulation of the industries differ by state but in Victoria, it’s completely legal for taxis to set their own flat rate and refuse passengers if they are not willing to pay it.
“Taxi drivers are legally entitled to negotiate a fixed fare price with the passenger at the beginning of the trip,” Safe Transport Victoria safety operations director Chris Banks said.
It is not an offence in Victoria for drivers to refuse to take a passenger, provided they do not breach anti-discrimination legislation.
The option of fixed fare or metered fare must be agreed between both the driver and passenger before the journey starts, and cannot be changed during the trip without agreement of the passenger.
But not even the industry itself agrees this is not right.
A 13cabs spokesman told news.com.au when passengers hail a taxi, drivers should not demand a fixed cash price.
“When it comes to drivers demanding above metered rates for rank and hail trips, we are working closely with the government – who is the regulator and can take disciplinary action – to stop this behaviour as it is clearly not acceptable,” he said.
Over in NSW, last month Taxi Council chief executive Martin Rogers said action needed to be taken to “stamp out” the practice.
“Drivers in the industry are being tarnished by this,” he said. “There’s no negotiation, it’s by the meter.”
As for rideshare surge pricing and cancellations, Uber defended the dynamic pricing model saying riders benefited because when the price is higher it means more drivers will go to the area to service the demand.
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Uber assured me that driver cancellations do not affect surge pricing and only drivers on Uber’s Gold tier or higher (which they earn by being good drivers) can see the duration and direction of the trip before accepting a ride.
But the rideshare giant knows cancellations are an issue because as of December 5, it introduced the rule that drivers with cancellation rates above 25 per cent are ineligible for incentives and promotions, such as “complete a weekend trip and earn an extra $100”.
DiDi did not respond to questions.
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