Melbourne man reveals eye-watering taxi fare he was charged for trip from airport
A Melbourne man has revealed his cab driver demanded he pay a whopping $468 fare for a one-way trip from the airport to a southeastern suburb.
Victoria
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A Melbourne man was charged a whopping $468 one-way cab fare from the airport to Berwick.
TikTok personality Ryan posted the huge fare he was slapped with for the 75km journey, just days after the Herald Sun revealed the government is in discussions with the taxi industry about significant regulatory changes which could force cab drivers to turn on their meters and accept all rides.
The Herald Sun also revealed that 13 cabs has proposed big changes to the way that taxis are hailed from Melbourne Airport in the lead-up to the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Ryan posted the ordeal to TikTok, which appeared to show him arguing with the aggressive taxi driver, who demanded he pay the exorbitant fee.
Ryan later told the Herald Sun that he offered to pay $200 cash for the trip, which the cab driver accepted before quickly speeding off.
“I thought to myself there’s no way this one-way trip was more than my flights,” he said.
“But the driver got a little more aggressive so I told him I had $200 cash (and that) he can take that and we both go our way.
“He growled and just told me to hand it over so I did and he opened the boot I got my bag out and he sped off, hopefully to be never seen again.”
The cab appeared to be unbranded, according to Ryan.
Transport Matters party leader and former MP Rod Barton said the driver was potentially an independent operator that didn’t work under one of the major companies.
Mr Barton said he had been told up to 30 per cent of Victoria’s taxi fleet could now be made up of independent drivers.
“The concern is there is no oversight from the regulator if that is the case,” he said.
“They are not required to be a Booking Service Provider therefore they are missing the statutory oversight that is required.
“(This is) another unintended consequence of the 2017 reforms to de regulate the taxi industry to accommodate Uber.”
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