• Deceptichum@quokk.au
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    3 months ago

    Fuck off.

    Uber sucks but the Taxi industry were far worse. They lobbied for limited numbers of licenses that cost ridiculous amounts of money, so they kept supply low while offering the worst services possible. You’d be lucky to get one unless it was the most expensive rip-off of a trip they could get out of you, forget going a ‘short’ distance.

    Those arseholes deserved to lose every bit of business that they did as soon as an alternative rocked up, disgusting to see them profit off their decades of horrible public opinion.

    • saltesc@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Once got into a cab at a rank with my mate. Didn’t even close the door before getting a message that we’re meeting somewhere else, so got out but the driver started moving while I was half out of the cab. Then stops, hits the meter and demands $20 because he “drove” us. Guy almost crushed my foot. He then wouldn’t let my friend leave until he got payment. We said we’re complaining, got the details, and left. Lodged a complaint and heard nothing.

      A fairly common experience in Australian taxis. I have a lot of stories like this. Lots involving crashes or being passenger to someone speeding. Or rip-offs that were insane.

      • AeroLemming@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        Wouldn’t let your friend leave? So, false imprisonment, or because it’s in a car, kidnapping?

      • legios
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        3 months ago

        I once got a taxi from Sydney airport when I was there for work. The guy tried to go through the boom gate by tailgating the car in front. Broke the boom gate and just kept driving.

        Lots of taxi drivers here are completely terrible. Try to rip people off and have had a lot of friends file sexual harassment complaints too.

        • saltesc@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          One of my few taxi rides in Sydney; double-lane closing out to single-lane roundabout. Taxi driver wouldn’t be beaten by the only other car on the road. Sped so fast to be in front, he had no time to brake for the roundabout so we just hit it, got airborne, went over it, then stopped a few hundred metres ahead because of at least one puncture.

          I walked away to the hissing sound of deflating tyre while he apologised to get me to stay, then got mad for walking away without payment. Fortunately the next one was really nice and stuck around at my destination to help me with reporting it so the HQ would definitely get the details.

    • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      To this day, I won’t see foot in a taxi. I went to Niagara falls recently and they were like vultures, circling me as soon as I left the train station. And they wanted to charge me double what Uber would, to get me to the same place. Not to mention the cabs are run down, smell, and the cabbies are shady as shit