The Canberra Times informs us of dire threats and imprecations to the taxi industry coming from John Hargreaves who is promising to keep releasing taxi licences until we finally get a decent service.
The taxi lobby reply with all manner of bollocks about how everyone whinges about taxis wherever they are.
Sadly for them most of us have travelled to other cities and we know that Canberra is the absolute pits for taxis.
Beating up on hated taxi services is popular because the taxis have been taking advantage of us for years and we know it.
Steve Pratt is leaping to their defence in his typically noble habit of taking the wrong side of any issue.
With average fares heading up over $30 it’s hardly unreasonable to ask for some service, and maybe a call on approach?
UPDATED Mr. Hargreaves has now put out a more conciliatory media release suggesting the Canberra Taxi Industry Association should try joining the Taxi Industry Advisory Group.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Steve Pratt’s courageous defence of Canberra’s loathed taxi industry is now available as a media release niggling at consulatation.
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In my old job I had to head out to the Therapeutic Goods Administration on Narrabundah Lane, in Symonston. Cabxpress once took an hour and a half to pull their thumbs out and come get me. Good thing I had nothing better to do than wait around.
The taxi industry is a fantastic example of what happens when the Government strangles an industry with licenses, and the established players use this over regulation to keep out competition.
Before I launch into my potentially Party expulsion worthy public tirade against Steve Pratt. Where did you source his comments johnboy? I can’t find a mention in that article and no press release has come through to my inbox (nor the Canberra Liberals website).
i hate it when taxi drivers think that u dont know the way to where u wanna go, (does that even make sense haha) so they take u a really long way so that the fare is higher.
and u try to argue ‘turn here etc’ and they never listen
Had to pick up an exec from Sydney who was staying at the mantra hotel (used to be saville on northbourne) and take him to an event at the boathouse. Canberra cabs car rocked up on time (I WAS surprised) and then started for our destination. I asked him if he knew where the boathouse was.
“Yes, sir, absolutely.”
As we started driving over commonwealth bridge, I realised that either he didn’t or he thought that we didn’t. I asked him politely, where he was going. the boathouse, he replied.
when he wasn’t going to indicate off comm bridge to go past the nat library, I told him to turn left here, mate. when we got to the end of the road, I had to stop him going towards Kingston and instead turn onto King’s Avenue bridge.
then the big roundabout, then the small roundabout and then down past clare holland hospice.
and we were at the boathouse.
He rang up the fare, wait for it…. $45.00!! not a chance. I advised him that we were going to give him $12.00 after I had to direct him to the destination. he accepted. I also informed him that I was going to call Canberra cabs and make a complaint. I had his driver name and plate number.
I called canberra cabs the next day and discussed the situation with the nice young lady on the phone.
she informed me that he had only been driving the cab for the last 3 weeks.
shame of it is, I was a cab driver for a little while. I remember the memory test – street names between you and the destination. I remember the practical test. I don’t remember not looking at the directory and finding the address.
If he has only been driving for 3 weeks, why didn’t he say so? I would have been fine in directing him.
we use cabexpress exclusively now.
not one problem.
ever.
I have caught a cab exactly twice in the last year or two, only one of those times in Canberra, and as an absolute last resort. Somehow I can’t see the service getting any better any time soon.
Does anyone know how many taxis there are in Canberra? On a recent trip to Cairns the cab driver told us Cairns had about 140 taxis, one per thousand of population. At any rate, the taxis there were plentiful and prompt, no problems being picked up at the airport, and taxis arriving within minutes from booking. Isn’t that the way it should be? Why can’t the nation’s capital manage this?
Crabb, Aerial Transport, which controls the Canberra Cab, Elite Taxi and Silver Service fleets has about 360 vehicles all up. In my driver’s class they told us that, even during peak hour, up to 20% of the flet were off teh road due to a shortage of drivers. How releasing ever more taxi plates will cure this issue is unclear.
peterh I constantly hear of problems getting to the Boathouse by taxi (especially new drivers). Possible reason is that the Boathouse for some reason now lost in time is zoned Barton and everyone knows Barton is on the southside of the lake. Ive always known the area as East Basin.
jakez said :
It was a rare appearance on 666, mostly one suspects, to rebut Chief Ministerial allegations that he’d been gagged.
Does anyone know how many taxis there are in Canberra?
I believe the figure is one.
And he’s usually busy.
My work requires I spend a considerable amount of time in taxis in capitals across the country, and I can certainly confirm John Hargreaves’ claims about the complete lack of service and general inefficiency of Canberra cabs compared to other cities.
The automated phone service is a shambles, talking to the dispatch operator is little better. The taxi fleets here seem older and grubbier than Melb, Syd or Bris. And while we do seem to have a higher proportion of drivers with some english language ability, they do tend to lack the locational & street knowledge that even a three-week-off-the-boat/plane Sudanese driver in Melb seems to have.
And, my final point in my rant, try getting a taxi on a Thursday or Friday afternoon when parliament is sitting; bloody impossible.
I prefer to pay the extra $10 – $15 bucks for a silver service or hire car these days. So, go for it John, more licenses, better competition means better service for the taxi going public.
crabb said :
because the canberra cabs monopoly is hamstringing us. Cabexpress was set up as a competitor, but they based themselves in queanbeyan, so as to be outside the scrutiny of canberra cabs.
oh, and canberra cabs is no more, they are now Canberra Elite, after the merger between canberra cabs and elite service.
aerial owns:
canberra elite
canberra hire cars
silver service
and in 1998, there were two hundred and seventeen taxis and six stretched sedans (“Multis”).
here is the link:
http://www.aerialtransport.com.au/?sales
Never using Aerial again. I’m tired of waiting 40 minutes for them not to show up… the other mob (CabExpress?)seems to have much better service.
LG said :
and real people on the phone, not that blasted automated system…
Used to live in the south of Canberra (okay Tuggeranong) and booking/requesting a taxi normally meant a last minute dash to the Airport or City in my own vehicle.
Now live in the inner south, taxis arrive almost before I hang up the phone.
Cabs have never been good in this town – and now they’re just disgraceful! Shocking drivers with bad attitudes who think it’s fine to charge $40 from Civic to Belconnen Mall. I think it’s part of the whole culture shift in Canberra over the last 5 or so years: Restaurants, shops, clubs & pubs have gotten more expensive – add to this a rip-off cab fare, people don’t go out for a good night out as much. Allow me to give an example:
Cab from Kippax to Civic: $45 – $50 (each way)
2 standard drinks before dinner: $14
Dinner at somewhere standard like Beliucci’s (I’d never go there again): $60
A coffee after dinner $5
That’s about $130 per person (based on 2 people), and this is to very standard restaurants and not allowing for any drinks or wine over dinner (if you were only going to have 2 pre-dinner bevys you’d drive). So it could easily get up to around $200 per person. That’s big money to today’s financial climate.
All this quite likely equals a higher rate of drink driving, or people just not going out as much. Therefore cabs shooting themselves in the foot over their monopoly on Canberra.
I leave cabs as an absolute last resort. Sometimes I’m more than happy to pick-up and drive my sister and husband out to dinner and pick them up and take them home later in the night. When we need to go out, they’re always happy to re-pay the favour. Works well – and avoiding the criminal expense of cabs.
Everyone has a crappy story to tell about Cabs. I am yet to find any service establishment that is complaint free.
However, as a taxi driver here I would like to raise a few points
1) The average fare in Canberra is no where near $30, try $15-$17. Most fares in Canberra are around the city, Barton and Parkes areas. A $30 fare would be city to Queanbeyan, City to Erindale, City to Holt and similar distances. These sorts of fares are not average and rarer than you think.
2) More plates = less income for those who are driving. I now have to work 80 hours a week just to break even. No super, no sick and no holidays. I am working for an average of $9 an hour. For that I have the bonus of picking up drunks who wanna start a fight, spew in my cab, public servants who think their shit don’t stink, people who think its fun to get a ride and then run away without paying, getting doors kicked in, mirrors smashed … the list goes on. Would you put up with that for $9 an hour ?
3) On the flip side, I am sick of Aerial releasing new drivers into the game who can’t speak english and/or have no friggin idea where they are going. They are the ones who are stuffing it up for the rest of us who are trying to make a living and getting a fair go.
4) Mantra over Commonwealth, past Nat Lib, over Kings to Boathouse would not even come close to $45. I think there is some embellishing going on here to make a story worse than it seems. $45 is the equiv of City to Gordon (rate 1) and the previous distance doesn’t quite match.
5) This is why it is so hard to get a taxi on a Thurs or Fri afternoon when Parliament is in town. People call a cab and then head downstairs and hail the first bloody taxi that comes past, get one off a nearby rank or get a ride with someone else. Meanwhile their taxi that they booked duly shows up and is waiting for the 5 mins he is required to wait for the passenger who has already left. At any one time on these afternoons there is quite likely 20+ cabs sitting around the city waiting for people who have already left.
The other issue that generates complaints is people who book cabs and then take a phone call or have a quick meeting before they head down for the cab. When they get there the cab has left. Well,,,5 mins is all the driver is obligated to wait for. If you can’t get there,,,you lose….but don’t complain about it.
6) None of the other cities in Australia have such a marked ebb and flow as Canberra does, esp during sitting weeks. This isn’t something that can be fixed easily. Well..sure..you can put more cabs on the road, but how do we then make a living when parliament is not sitting ?? I’m interested in ideas,,,,really !!
7) Airport. Peak time trip to air from city can take up to half an hour. No cabbie is going to make that trip empty so he can wait 15 mins at the air for a passenger take another 20 mins for a short hop to Barton of Russell for %15. Thats just bullshit and no way to make a living. When the roads are better then perhaps cabbies will be happier to roll out to the airport. Its not the cabbies problem the roads are pathetic. Its the govt’s,,,and yet they want US to pull OUR fingers out.
Rant over (for now)
PS…if you ever find a good cabbie. Get his number, avoid the call centre aka crap ASR system. He/she will be only to happy to arrange your ride.
This industry should be deregulated now. If you want the equivalent of a UK London cab service and want to pay for it, fine. If you want the equivalent of a UK minicab service and want to save money, why the hell shouldn’t you?
Taxis are a public service, not a profit gouging mechanism for the plate owners (who screw both us and the poor dumb sods who work for them).
Issue: Voters are complaining that taxi service in Canberra is crap, and does not meet market demand.
MetaProblem: How can the Government-du-jour solve the problem?
Government Question 0: How did we solve it last time?
Government Answer 0: No idea, we have a look around and someone found this dusty old Economic Report from before Self-Government that makes a mention of Government handing out pieces of paper called “Licences”, where people in running taxi businesses give us ‘cash’ in exchange. It worked back in the 80′s, but we haven’t really come up with a new idea since then.
Government Question 1: Is it a problem with the voters? (As in, is it a demand problem?)
Q1a: What do voters want from the taxi system?
A1a: Affordable taxis, service when asked for, and reliable timeframes for service.
Q1b: Thats a bit rough, isn’t it?
A1b: No, they had a taste of it when outside Canberra, came back with their minds and wallets open, and now want more of what they discovered. They claim its a stumbling block for the local economy too.
Q1c: There’s that ‘e’ word again. What does that mean for me, a Member of the Legislative Assembly?
A1c: For you, it means that if you give the voters a realistic market solution which meets their needs, they’ll keep returning you to the Assembly again and again and again, until you die of a heart-attack in the arms of your nubile mistress.
Q1d: So, why isn’t the market throwing themselves at the customers feet, to take their money from them?
A1d: Good question, maybe you should sit down with the Suppliers.
Government Answer 1: Maybe its a problem with the voters, but lets have a closer look.
Government Question 2: Is it a supply problem?
Q2a: Are there enough on-road taxis in the system to address demand?
A2a: No.
Q2b: Are there enough licenses in the market to support enough on-road taxis to support demand?
A2b: Hell yes, taxi operators say a great many licences from the last release are unused or unbought, and no more are actually wanted, because excess supply of them evalues their previous investment. They are just pieces of paper, afterall.
Q2c: Why are all these taxi licenses going unbought?
A2c: Well, previously the larger existing suppliers snapped up more of them than they needed, in order to keep out competition. Now they just don’t buy them because they’re being continually devalued.
Q2d: So you’re aying a lot of them go unused?
A2d: Indeed. There are vastly more bought taxi licences than active taxis.
Q2e: Problem with the taxis? So why don’t we just buy them more cars?
A2e: Well, the cars aren’t the problem, operators say they don’t have enough drivers.
Q2f: Why are there not enough drivers, when its a system that has cash (or equivalent)payment, high demand, and a large base of regular or frequent Government customers, and an airport located far away from normal travel lanes?
A2f: Possibly its a problem of industry staffing, not something to be solved by Government throwing more money or licences at it.
Q2g: Would introducing another operator into the mix help?
Q2g: Maybe, but in this city it would be hard to source new staff, set up, and remain in business for a number of years.
Q2h: So why don’t any drivers work for the operators that we do have?
Q2h: Thats a good question, but not really one for the government to answer. Maybe you can go and talk to those business types? They -did- show up several years back and help you crush that Carnell woman into a fine powder.
Government Answer 2: Supply of licenses from Government is possibly not the cause, and oversupply could lead to other problems in some other election cycle. But in this current crisis, our hands are tied.
Metanswer: We’ll just go with this Economic Report somebody in the Government found, it has _a_ finding. Is it still relevant?
seekay,,,so that we all know you are acutely aware of what you are talking about…could you tell us exactly what it costs to keep a taxi on the road ?
Can you inform us of rego, insurance, base fees, liability, fuel and plate lease costs please.
Thanks
> The average fare in Canberra is no where near $30, try $15-$17
Errrrr….wow. I’ve NEVER been in a cab in Canberra that has been less than $30. Even from Woden to Duffy is $30!
Devil_n_Disquiz said :
Devil_n_Disquiz,
I was surprised at the fare, It appeared that he had set the meter up, then turned off northbourne onto barry drive at the lights, down moore street, onto london cct, onto northbourne again (effectively avoiding the speed cameras), down to where I asked him to turn off, past the nat library, down towards kingston, I stopped him, we went back up brisbane ave, up national, onto kings ave, over the bridge, on the roundabout, straight through to bugs bunny, back down to the roundabout – why he didn’t go though to the smaller roundabout is anyone’s guess, down to the small roundabout, down to the boathouse.
I was pretty p!ssed off by this stage, I can tell you. The exec was nearly late for his own shindig.
what I didn’t understand was why he didn’t just go to barry drive lights, turn left near james court, down past glebe park, onto parkes way, straight up the guts with tanks, turn right at clare holland house roundabout, down to boathouse.
I used to call gerry vandermey, but I think he has given the game away now.
I will stick to CabExpress and Les.
from canberraelite.com.au farefinder
Rate 1 $14.61
6am – 9pm Mon – Fri excl. public holidays
Rate 2 $ $16.15
all other times
Woden to Duffy.
Guess you got ripped. I’ve never had a fare go to $30 from Woden to Duffy. Stay awake in the cab would be my suggestion
Would you put up with that for $9 an hour ?
I sure as hell would not. It kinda makes me wonder why anyone does. In fact if that is all the profit available, why would anyone buy the licences if the government does want to release them?
peterh
I’d have been pissed too. Like I said, there are some in our game who are screwing it up for the rest of us.
Sorry you had a bad experience. Hope CabX treat you better:)
I heard Pete the Cabbie is finally without any teeth – any tooth to the rumour?
Devil_n_Disquiz said :
are you an owner or just a driver?
Just a driver mate
But I understand both sides of the coin. Looked at ownership, and I didn’t like what I saw.
Check out the blogspot site blanktop.blogspot.com
It’s a side of the industry that many of use would recognise but never admit to being responsible for.
My 2c – get up the guts to buy all plates back (those that aren’t being leased) and then issue new plates to any person or organisation that can meet a decent operators criteria – the use of basic english would be a start.
The market will then decide how many cabs are required in Canberra. I have long thought that it’s not about the number of cabs – it’s about the quality of the drivers. A well driven cab that has keen drivers working 12 hr shifts is a goldmine – and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Getting those good drivers is the hard part at the moment…