On 2am taxis

Whenever the lads get together to enjoy a few, we always have a plan for how we are getting home. This plan rarely involves taxis.

The thing with night buses is that it takes years of consistent service for them to build as an institution.

(the same can be said of any bus service)

#23 – those costs struck me as very low. I did a bit of googling and found this: http://www.hansard.act.gov.au/hansard/2009/week04/1501.htm

According to that, the non-NYE nights cost ACTION just under $7k each, so 104 of those a year is more like $700k. Not sure if thats gross or net of revenue but even if its gross the revenue is pretty dismal – most nights there were about 150 pax total so about $750 or around 11% of the cost. Even on NYE there were only 1200 pax so even then only about half the cost was covered.

Still, even at $700k it could be argued this is a worthwhile investment and serves at least to get some drunks home safely and conveniently and helps somewhat with the queueing problems at the taxi rank. Would be even better if the buses were full, or even somewhere near half full.

Heres a novel idea. Levy the pubs and clubs in Civic a significant contribution towards the cost of providing adequate transport home. Make it a condition of having a liquor license extending past the end of normal public transport services. They then pass it onto their customers. User pays, simple – and the more you drink the more you pay.

Sorry, sweetcakes, I was born here, I got family here, I’m gonna come back whenever I like 🙂

‘Us Locals’, like me, appreciate better services from the government they pay tax to. An effort like JB suggested would make nights out on the town a lot safer for everyone, as well as making the roads safer with less people thinking ‘screw it, I’ll drive’ after an hour of waiting and saving our cabbies precious time and money.

Deadmandrinking said :

rosebud said :

It’s like Canberra doesn’t really want people to live here at all sometimes. It’s a message: come here and work only. Then go away.

That’s my plan…screw this city for anything other than easy to get employment…

Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Its people like you us locals prefer elsewhere

(Rubs chin wistfully) Some years ago when I first came to Canberra, I remember queuing for cabs outside Academy.

Then one enchanted evening, I met a delightful young lady who walked me to the CopShop. She dialled for a cab and it arrived literally within minutes of the call.

The next Saturday I tried it myself, but the cab radio/telephone dude told me to go to a rank. And some months later (I had met the ball-and-chain by then) I asked LoveBumps to give it a go – magically, the cab arrived.

I think it was the combination of female voice asking for a cab from the Civic Watch House. It must get you on some sort of priority queue. I’m not sure if it still works. Will have to give it a go next SUMMER.

dvaey said :

Considering the difference this would have on drink driving, and violence in the city, surely NRMA or the AFP can sponsor it a little. Probably better value than putting stupid ‘police targeting mobile phone users’ ads on the radio anyway. Dont just tell people drink driving is bad, give them a convenient alternative to driving their car home.

+1 – but surely those figures cannot be right… thousands of people would be jumping on those buses on a Saturday night at $5 a pop…

No-one in their right mind would spend $50 to get a cab over jumping on a bus for $5 which would be more entertaining anyway? Some of the best times I’ve had in the city have been on those night rider buses (sad I know…) but there is always some sort of entertainment.

A quick google, shows this issue (and the lack of a good bus service) has been on the governments mind for many years, even having had at least one RA thread on it in the past. Last year the Liberals released a document ‘Valuing Young People’ where the issue of late night transport was raised. The document suggests that the Night Rider service could be implemented for ‘approximately $120,000 per annum’ with a budgeted revenue of $40,000.

Considering the difference this would have on drink driving, and violence in the city, surely NRMA or the AFP can sponsor it a little. Probably better value than putting stupid ‘police targeting mobile phone users’ ads on the radio anyway. Dont just tell people drink driving is bad, give them a convenient alternative to driving their car home.

It’s nasty! Barely any of my going out crowd will go anywhere near it (specially the gay friends).. But I’ve used it on odd occasion and found the only plus side it ended up being quite a good ‘picking up’ line for me lol or just some interesting conversations or such.

In my times there when the police are attending it, the crowd gets more revved up or they just drive by looking a little smug.

I even had my son’s formerly Melbourne drunk dad when he lived here attack me verbally and then he threw a butter knife above my head in bed (made a lasting hole) all because I had dared to make him go in that taxi line, I should’ve known better than to make him do it (like I knew lol). We didn’t last much longer anyhow.

rosebud said :

It’s like Canberra doesn’t really want people to live here at all sometimes. It’s a message: come here and work only. Then go away.

That’s my plan…screw this city for anything other than easy to get employment…

It’s like Canberra doesn’t really want people to live here at all sometimes. It’s a message: come here and work only. Then go away.

Having been a taxi proprietor for a number of year in a mid north coast tourist type town, I can assure you that this problem is not unique to Canberra. The fault is not with the taxi operators. We had exactly the same problem very Friday and Saturday night. Taxis were never designed to move large lumps of people in a short space of time, that is the job for buses and buses don’t run at night. The bus service where we lived finished at 6pm and I suspect the Canberra buses finish before midnight.
If Canberra had 1,000 taxis on the road at 2am they still wouldn’t cope with the late night demand. For instance take the case of a cab which picks up in Civic to go to Macgregor. It takes probably 15 minutes to get there and another 15 minutes to get back to the rank in Civic empty. That’s half an hour that taxi is not available. In the same time a bus could take 40 people home.
I drove cabs part time in the late 50’s and early 60’s and it was the same then and I can assure you it’s no fun being a cabbie on the end of drunken abuse from irate passengers.

You just described the taxi scene 18 years ago. I’m amazed that nothing has been done.

Post #4 +1

Then the hospitals can reduce there waiting lists, and treat sick people, not drunk morons.

And I should add that when you have 3 or 4 people with you, all off their heads, co-coordinating any kind of walk is going to be a little difficult. Someone is always going to be spilling their guts or passing out, someone else is going to be striking up conversations with random passer-bys about nothing and someone else is going to be getting lost all the time…it’s a massive effort after 4-5am.

i have on more than one occasion walked home (4km+) rather than wait in that bloody awful cab queue. it is a complete disgrace.

But the point is that cabs cost enough that why should you have to walk?

It’s called being completely pissed, vg.

farnarkler said :

You should have gone to the casino cab rank.

x 2

For those that think its a little bit ‘too much of a walk (??)’ I’d hate to see how you’d react to doing any real exercise.

I have never waited in the City Cab rank. Casino cab rank is far quieter and generally a better class of bogan.

Too far to walk to the Casino rank, I don’t think I’ve ever heard lazier. Its about 500m

Remember when we had a late night bus? You could go into Civic for a night out, then catch a bus home for $5, no huge queues, no unknown wait-times (they were all timetabled) and more dispersed travellers rather than all congregating in one location.

Remember who the biggest complainer about this night bus service was? Thats right, the taxi service, complaining that with such a great bus service often going close to your door, people weren’t prepared to spend $50 to catch a cab home.

Surely, encouraging people to catch a bus to/from civic would not only reduce drink driving, but simply reduce the number of cars on the road and in the carparks. Bringing back the Night-Rider service, would help the police, the public, infact, basically it would solve every problem except for the cabbies whinging about lost fares (which they cant even keep pace with on a fri/sat night anyway).

farnarkler said :

Deadmandrinking the time it takes to walk to the casino rank from the Phoenix if comparable to the time taken waiting with the knuckle draggers in the civic rank. I just prefer the to miss out on the circus that is the civic rank.

That’s true, but it depends how drunk and lazy you are…but if the taxi rank could just be quicker…

Deadmandrinking the time it takes to walk to the casino rank from the Phoenix if comparable to the time taken waiting with the knuckle draggers in the civic rank. I just prefer the to miss out on the circus that is the civic rank.

The line last night wasn’t as bad as usual… some nights you wait a good hour or two to get a taxi. Unfortunatley, this is the system the taxi companies have decided to take on. If you call the cab hotline they just tell you to move to the interchange cab rank, and the other cab ranks (outside Academy and the Casino) are usually empty as all the cabs move to the interchange.

The problem doesn’t stem from the system, the problem stems from the fact that authorities think that two old fellas in high-vis jackets can control thousands of drunks wanting to go home. Perhaps some authority needs to be in place instead of two old blokes trying to do the best they can. The police usually inhabit that area of the interchange anyway, is it hard to wander over to the cab rank and stand there instead of on the other side of the road? Maybe that would help reduce the amount of trouble.

farnarkler said :

You should have gone to the casino cab rank.

Yeah, I used to do that when toast was still going, and I still do if I got to the Church/Transit bar or whatever it is now. But when you’re in the main part of the city near the pheonix and ‘those’ places that you only go into when the bars are shut, it’s a bit of a walk.

Stonedwookie, it wouldn’t really be much of an extra hassle to divide up the queue, plus it would save time for both the customers and especially the drivers, who rely on time to make their money…

@stonedwookie…

I believe you will find the vast majority of people in that line are mostly at least mentally young adolescents not the adults that would reflect the body they are inhabiting.

Common sense isnt likely.

You should have gone to the casino cab rank.

*Safety oops.

Then again if the cops simply arrested everyone in civic who are drunk and disorderly. Plus fine them $1000 bucks for the service to cover costs(police not criminal record btw) the taxi line might not be so bad. Hell make it $1500 think of the revenue.

how about adults growing up?
not having a whinge because they couldnt get 2 a taxi first
a line for taxi’s? do they have this in other citys?

That’s a really, really good idea, Johnboy. I like the idea of south north and west sides of the interchange. Perhaps they could just split them up into town centres. Have a platform for belconnen, a platform for north canberra/gunghalin, south canberra/queanbo (if anyone ever taxis back there?), woden/weston and tuggeranong. Just have more taxis directed at the longer queues.

I would love to know how many people decided against waiting in the line in the rain and walked back to their car and drove home drunk? Then add the constant fights..

One would think the police would be pushing for a better system. It would solve alot of problems for them.

I do like the separate rank idea johnboy.

I think a surcharge for civic pickup after hours should be introduced. Introduced by someone other then the taxi companies who cannot organise for the life of them btw. $2 dollars per fare out of that spot after mightnight would surely pay for some security guards, surveillance and basic infastructure/ organisation.

Saftey and convenience will mean more people use the service and more taxis will feel safe to pickup in civic. Most importantly there will be less drunks on the road.