Cairns taxis and Uber wait times cause delays at airport and Bungalow Hotel
Outrageous taxi and rideshare delays are causing major headaches at bars and restaurants with one of Cairns’ biggest pinchpoints about to roll out urgent measures to fix backlogs.
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WAIT times for a taxi or rideshare have hit “unrecognisable levels” with one of the city’s most impacted destinations about to implement an urgent action plan.
People are being forced to wait for up to two hours for transport across the city as taxi companies and rideshare companies like Uber struggle to keep up with demand and find drivers.
It has prompted calls for transport advocacy groups to address the issue which threatens to undermine the city’s tourism reputation.
Measures are being put in place to alleviate the strain at Cairns Airport which is facing some of the biggest challenges.
Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker said a new agreement between Cairns Airport and Exemplar Coaches and Limousines would come into effect from September 5 to include transfer desks at the international and domestic terminal with Exemplar to increase fleet to manage private and Silver Service limousine transfers.
RELATED: Cairns faces shortage of taxi drivers as tourism bounces back
“One of the key features of this new agreement is a scheduled city transfer service, which will offer regular coach options between the airport and CBD from morning to night,” Mr Barker said.
“These new services will enable faster and more frequent trips into Cairns and give visitors and locals added confidence and peace of mind when they arrive here.
“There will also be more scheduled transfer services to Port Douglas and Palm Cove, with shorter waiting times between aircraft arrival and coach departures.”
There are also efforts being made to increase taxi services to the precinct.
“The Department of Transport and Main Roads has informed us they are working with Cairns Taxis to engage more prospective drivers and provide additional services at the airport where possible,” Mr Barker said.
Mr Barker said staff assisted passengers during peak periods.
“Staff often help to arrange shuttle buses for passengers during peak times and when there is a wait for taxis,” he said.
However, he urged people to pre-book travel arrangements to and from the airport to accommodate for the delays.
Bars and restaurants from the CBD to outer suburbs were also reporting strain.
Bungalow Hotel manager Erin Chalmers said she had taken to warning patrons about the extended wait times to catch a ride home.
“We call taxis daily and we’re normally waiting an hour or two hours,” she said.
“We’re waiting five to 10 minutes for the call to even be answered.
RELATED: Cairns Taxis: Longer delays to impact people with disabilities
“It’s getting worse, it definitely has gotten worse in the past three months. We’ve been told there’s not enough taxi drivers in town and with fuel prices no one even wants to drive.”
Particularly worse for older men and young people, Ms Chalmers said there has been instances where people have missed their cab after heading to the bathroom or getting another drink because they had been waiting so long.
She was worried the hours of waiting would encourage people to drink and drive.
“It’s a struggle for our staff to be on the phone (calling a taxi) when it’s busy,” she said.
“Some of our staff drive them home, at least four times a month, sometimes they do it on shift.”
Car rental companies, where fleets were decimated during Covid, are working hard to capitalise on the situation and offer an alternative to tourists.
Right Price Car Rentals general manager Andre Morgan said they had built their fleet up from two during the pandemic to 60 and had more supply coming to help tourists get around the taxi delays and have “freedom to do what they want when they want”.
“We don’t offer a shuttle service to the airport so sometimes the customer won’t be here for a good hour,” Mr Morgan said.
“We often call taxis from the office to come pick up customers to take to the airport and people have waited 45 minutes.
“It’s embarrassing on our end, we definitely recommend people to rent cars and be prepared.”
Enterprise North executive manager Kevin Byrne said the wait times were at “unrecognisable levels” and may have a negative impact on tourists.
People travelling to outer suburbs away from the Cairns CBD would bear the burden of wait times more heavily as Mr Byrne said it was even more difficult to book taxis in a timely fashion.
“It doesn’t paint the region in an efficient way at all,” he said.
With public transport unreliable and unsafe with a spike in crime, Mr Byrne said residents turned to taxis as a safe way of getting around.
“If taxis aren’t available, there’s an issue,” he said.
“Public transport advocacy groups have to get involved in dealing with this matter.
“Change will be driven by the taxi industry themselves too, their association has to be more involved.”
Cairns Taxi declined to comment but in June told the Cairns Post they were in desperate need of drivers as they struggled to have all 137 taxis in their fleet on the road.
“We need another 70 drivers to reduce the extended wait times,” Cairns Taxis fleet service manager Chris Balsom said.
“With more tourists coming in, we are interested in recruiting more drivers, so if anyone wants to learn more, please get in touch.”
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