Okay so tonight I catch a cab home from the regatta(cab rank) to annerley, it totals at $28.

I get a cabcharge home from work most days which gets me from the casino rank to my place at around 10-12 dollars.
So basically I get in the cab and the fair starts at $6.5.... I think wtf so I asked the cab driver why the tariff/fare was so high, considering I looked at the machine and it said "booking" under the name "Mayne" from the airport (im at the regatta ffs) and he says that after midnight it goes onto tariff 3 which is higher, so I say okay (still highly sceptical at this point). So we get near to my place and the fare is at $24 so I just told him to stop so I can walk the rest of the way. I give him my eftpos card and the charge goes from $24 to $28, I ask him why and he says that it's 10% extra on eftpos charges [at this point anyone with half a brain should understand my concern] So I say okay f*** you, get the cab number and leave.

So I've gotten home, gone to the yellow cab website and checked out their Tariffs/rates, which disagree with everything I've said above. I've already called up and found out who I have to talk to to find out whats right.

So my question is has anyone else had any sort of run-in or dispute with the cab companies? How did you deal with it if you thought you were getting ripped off, get results or what?

damm I was hoping this would be another runner story. But yeah cabbies are stingy.

tbh I was thinking of doing a runner. Just the way the cabbie was making excuses/talking s*** when i questioned him about it made me fairly suss, then when it was 28 bucks i was like woah f*** that I might look into this.

so what race was the cabbie?

Also I'm pretty sure under the sun blocking thingy for the front passenger seat, there's a list of all the costs, similar to what you have linked.

last edited by sif greazy at 05:14:59 27/Jul/08

So basically I get in the cab and the fair starts at $6.5....

Same deal, got in a cab at the casino, started on $6.80 :S

f***ing rip off.

As far as I know cabs went up as of 1 July 2008.

I also live in Annerley and got one home from the city early Friday night, around 7.30. It was sitting at a cab rank and I thing it started at $4.50?

So from basically near QUT to Cnr of Julliette and Ipswich road it came to $13.00. I walked the rest of the way.

When I was a young buck I used to get a cab home from the valley, at god knows what hour, and it was never more than $12 - so they have definately gone up, but that's to be expected.

Still seems to be excessive charging though.

Hi kr0wbar,

The fares you mention there are out of date. New ones are effective as at 7 July, and can be found here. It seems like the yellow cabs site is slightly out of date, but the fare increase became legislation 3 weeks ago and you'll find the new stickers on the dash and rear windows (and the taximeters) will support this change on nearly all cabs.
A few questions:
1. what was the cab number?
2. when you say eftpos, do you mean savings or credit? cos i know credit does attract a 10% surcharge, thats been the case for 20 years in cabs, i cant remember if there's a surcharge on normal cheque/savings eftpos though.

Flagfall: $6.00
Distance: $1.82 per Klm
Time: $0.67 per minute
Booking: $1.30

So does it go up by distance AND time? Got a cab from the paddo to newmarket hotel on the weekend and was wondering why it was just randomly jumping up up up!

So does it go up by distance AND time?

I've been told by many cabbies (although this is years ago) that it's one or the other.

correct, its either one or the other. it automatically changes at 25km/h.

I have AWLAYS paid an extra 10% for paying with EFTPOS (eg savings account). A cabbie once told me that before they take your card they are meant to say "It's an extra 10% to pay with EFTPOS" and make sure you'd rather not pay with cash. I'm pretty sure all of the costs and charges should be listed somewhere in the car for you to read, and every time you get into a cab you're agreeing to those charges.

cabs in brisbane suck. i will only catch a cab in brisbane as a last resort. so many times i've got in a cab , said gday, told the guy where i want to go & how to get there... n the dufus starts going some other way coz it's 'quicker' which naturally turns out to be 50-70% longer with the inappropriate charge.
the drivers usually have this inferiority complex about being a taxi driver & will piss & moan about how everyone treats them bad.

coz that's what i have always been used to, i was so surprised when i caught cabs in singapore. as soon as ya jump in the cab he's off n moving, politely asks where to & then gets busy with the mad singaz traffic... usually only costs about s$2-3 more than a train fare of the same distance.

last edited by demon at 11:39:42 27/Jul/08

The percentage of middle eastern drivers now is insane, the past 10 times the driver couldn't even speak a basic sentence of english.

They can pop in numbers and a few letters on the nav comm but that's about it.

i haven't found cabs in brisbane to be different at all to cabs in melbourne, sunshine coast, townsville, wherever. Just like with any group of workers anywhere you'll get your champions and you'll get your bad apples. Don't blame the cabbie for applying the correct tarrif or surcharge.

I hate using cabs, but always get stuck when I head out and this is where a lot of my money goes :( I seem to always get the cabbie who insists on stopping at every single yellow light, no matter what?! There's nothing worse than driving at 5kms an hour, watching the meter going faster.

why would a cabbie want to stop on yellow lights? you earn a lot less that way. ideally a cabbie will go as fast as possible, ie make the most money in the shortest possible time.

Well you'd think so, wouldn't you? But that's just my experience :)

Mr. Hardware, was a yellow cab, number 296, I definately said savings as it's not a debit card.

:(

lol the fairs are whacked - last night we went out in the city and got a cab both ways and it cost less to come home by about $10 (left at 10ish, came home at around 3am).. bout 10km trip rofl

I definately said savings as it's not a debit card.

doesn't matter what you said, the 10% surcharge is going to cabcharge who put the EFTPOS machines in the cabs, not the cabby. it is how cabcharge make their money.

i only use taxis when work's footing the bill

i only use taxis when there isnt an hour long line and fights

haha yeh you see some cool s*** while waiting for taxis at 3 in the morning

yeah seems dodgy but in amsterdam the cabbies which usualy are middle easterners f***ing rip off as well, i found out the cabs shouldnt cost more than 1.70 euros a kilometre after I paid twenty five euros to travel 9km ...

heh when i was in amsterdam the cabbie tried to sell us some cocaine.

my cabbie in amsterdam managed to get 'lost' despite having a gps that gives you precise directions

cabs in london are awesome... no complaints! costs me £10 to get home from central.

lol best cabbie ive ever been with in the uviverse of our galaxy was in sydney, long story short pakistani cab driver offered me a joint after him dropping me off hone while i was nearly blind drunk heh

i only ride in cabs when im too drunk to give a f*** how much it costs

heh when i was in amsterdam the cabbie tried to sell us some cocaine.

so convenient!

cabs in london are awesome... no complaints! costs me £10 to get home from central.

Thats cause its a career there, they have to study the roads for 3 or so years to become a cabbie.

Last month i've seen some f***ing dumb s*** with cabs.

Start of the month i got to jump in on and the cabbie goes to me "can you sit in the fror please" so hesitantly i jump in the front and he goes "could you hold the door closed for me please".
Turns out the dumb f*** has damaged his door and instead of taking it in to get fixed has oped for the "tie the jumper around the door handle and hold it shut" option. And the dumb f*** wanted ME to hold it closed for him. WHAT THE f***. There was no f***ing way I was getting in that cab


And on Friday night me and the missus are driving into the valley going up the street form the city to Caxton street (Petrie terrace ifinks) and we go around the bend and have to screech to a holt as a cab driver inches up the road in the wrong lane ( oncoming lane had been blocked off for road works) we nearly crashed into him and the person behind us nearly crashes into us. The dumb c*** The proceeds to keep going up the road. What the f***kkkkkk!

I'm not racist but i really cant be f***ed jumping into a cab with an eastern European cab driver. It irritates me beyond belief. If you are working with the public at least learn the f***ing language. I'm getting angry writing this so I'm gunna stop.

last edited by JigZie at 12:52:02 28/Jul/08

ah the comedy
to do with the door jigzie:
Its common practice among cab drivers to when they stop to let someone dodgy-looking out to quietly slip the big falc into reverse, keeping foot on the brake of course. That way, when someone opens the door to do a runner (not pay), the cabbie stabs the accellerator and the runner gets a face full of door.

the number of front passenger doors i've replaced....

No no he was coming up the road the wrong way. it was incredibly f***ing stupid.

uhh wut

i haven't found cabs in brisbane to be different at all to cabs in melbourne, sunshine coast, townsville, wherever.

so they are all pretty s*** huh?

uhh wut

i beleive jigzie is saying he was driving on the wrong side of the road.

the last cab ride i had in brisbane the driver fell asleep at the wheel then had a fkn panic attack when i woke him up & grabbed the wheel so as not to crash into the guard rail. he then tried to blame me for making the car 'swerve' by grabbing the wheel & denied that he had fallen asleep. it was awesome. i got out without paying & walked the last 4-5k's home.

depends on your definition of s*** is
most cabbies can drive well. just like with other road users, there's a too high proportion that can't drive well.

i know what jigzie was saying. he found it necessary to say it twice for some reason, even though i never commented on that part.

Yay for living within walking distance of City (15mins) and Valley (5mins).

Its common practice among cab drivers to when they stop to let someone dodgy-looking out to quietly slip the big falc into reverse, keeping foot on the brake of course. That way, when someone opens the door to do a runner (not pay), the cabbie stabs the accellerator and the runner gets a face full of door.

I'm not a qualified scientition or anything, but wouldn't the door fly open further if you suddenly stabbed the accelerator in reverse?

I'm not a qualified scientition or anything, but wouldn't the door fly open further if you suddenly stabbed the accelerator in reverse?

yeh, but if the cab is moving backwards then you've suddenly got a growing wall of door coming at you

have you never played GTA4?

whats worse is when your mates are supposed to get a cab at the pineapple pizza rank and drive down caxton st to pick you up but never arrive.