Young woman calls out illegal act by city cabbies in Australia: ‘You have to take me where I need to go – that’s the law’
A woman has slammed taxi drivers in Sydney for “ripping off” passengers after she was told she would have to fork out $95 to get home after a night out on the town.
Carla Efstratiou, a social media commentator who owns the popular website Go Woke Go Broke, decided to hail a taxi from the city to her home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs just after midnight last Sunday.
Ms Efstratiou, who had been at a Christmas party earlier that evening, said she was unable to find an Uber after several drivers canceled her booking.
She took to Instagram to criticize the “insane” price of a taxi ride.
“(It’s) a twenty minute drive tops, about 30 bucks… and he said it would be $95,” she said.
Ms Efstratiou did not believe the cost of the trip and said she tried to argue with the driver about the cost of the trip.
“I was like, ‘Sorry, what?’ and at that moment he seemed to be moving slowly, trying to get away from me, I was like: “What… stop!”
Karla Efstratiou (pictured) has slammed taxi drivers in Sydney after she was told she would have to pay $95 to be driven home after a night out on the town in the eastern suburbs.
— 95 dollars… are you sure?
She said she was confused when the driver asked her where she was going.
“I thought, ‘Why are you even asking, you should just take me wherever I want to go.’
She flagged down another taxi, which she said also had its doors locked and windows open, and said the driver charged $100 for the ride home.
“They are not legally allowed to do this and refuse travel because of the distance,” Ms. Efstratiou said.
The sheer cost of getting around Sydney by taxi stunned her and she said those with no other way to get home would end up paying big bucks.
“Either they didn’t need a short pass, or they were trying to find someone who would pay a crazy amount of money for a short pass,” she said.
“Crazy resourcefulness”
Ms Efstratiou said she had “no sympathy” for taxi drivers who were “jacking up prices” during the cost of living crisis, with many drivers complaining that ride-sharing services were taking business away from them.
Her post was flooded with dozens of comments from users who claimed drivers had also quoted them crazy prices, with some saying they had forked out for taxi rides in the past.
Ms Efstratiou (pictured) said she had little sympathy for taxi drivers who were “gouging prices” during the cost of living crisis.
“The same thing happened to us on Saturday night after the Fooies (Foo Fighters) concert. We needed to get back to Parramatta, Uber offered $65, then we found a taxi line, first one wanted $90, next in line wanted $120!!!,” one user wrote.
“I was paid 80 bucks to drive 15 minutes down the road from Newcastle Airport,” said another.
Some said taxi services were not to blame for exorbitant prices, while others blamed ride-sharing services for raising the cost of taxi fares.
“Taxis operate at a rate set by the government, yes they can rip you off, but they are not taxis run by individual drivers,” one user said.
“If you’re wondering why some drivers can charge the same as Uber, it’s because the government has allowed Uber into the country,” wrote another.
NSW Taxi Council CEO Nick Abraham told The Washington News Australia drivers are prohibited from setting their own fares and must use a meter to charge passengers for the trip.
He said passengers typically pay up to $40 “at good mileage” to travel from the city to the eastern suburbs.
Mr Abraham called on authorities to do more to crack down on price setters.
Customers have detailed their experiences of shelling out big bucks for a taxi ride.
NSW Taxi Council CEO Nick Abraham said taxi drivers were prohibited from setting their own fares and said taxi rides should be charged on a meter.
“We want them (drivers) dealt with and we want them completely removed from the industry,” he said.
“We are calling on the Government to return to a single license for taxi drivers to ensure that when they are sacked… they lose the ability to drive a taxi to a stop.
“Right now, they’re being taken offline, they’re going down the road to another taxi company, applying for a new ID and getting back behind the wheel of a taxi, and we want to prevent that from happening.”
He urged customers to report the taxi vehicle number and driver details to the taxi hotline if the driver offers them a higher fare.
Taxi drivers will be fined $1,000 if they charge customers more than the amount shown on the meter during a ride.