Aussie’s Sydney Airport taxi warning

An Aussie man has warned fellow travellers to keep their eye on taxi meters after claiming he got “scammed” four times.

An Aussie man has warned fellow travellers to keep their eye on taxi meters after claiming he got “scammed” four times.

Dominic Mich, from Waterloo in Sydney, had landed at Sydney Airport after a 36-hour plane journey following a trip to Europe with his partner.

Eager to get home, the pair hailed a cab for the roughly 15-minute ride back to their place.

But, what was initially a $32 fare, ended up jumping to about $57 “with a few taps of a button”, according to Dominic.

“So I just got home from a four week Europe trip and got scammed for the fourth time in a row getting a taxi from Sydney airport … apparently I am a sucker for punishment because I keep going back for more.”

He claims that at some point during your ride, the driver hikes the fare.

“The meter is generally fine then at some point on the trip before you get to your destination they press a button on the meter, and suddenly it jumps by $10, $20, $30, $40.”

“On this recent trip I got all the way home, I was only going about 15 minutes down the road which probably isn’t great for taxi drivers, they never love that and when I got to my place, I was keeping an eye on the meter because of previous experiences.

Dominic Mich is warning fellow travellers about an alleged taxi ‘scam’.

“We got to out destination, the fare was $32. I expected an airport fee to be added, maybe $2 or $3, then suddenly the fare went up to $57 with a few taps of a button.

Dominic said after a 36-hour flight he felt “pretty wrecked” and had no energy to get into an argument with the cab driver, but his partner was “willing to speak up”.

“[She] questioned the taxi driver about it. He claimed it was the airport toll. And she said ‘no, I just you put it up by $20’,” he said.

Dominic said after getting out of the car he noticed they were charged $47.

“It’s like he gave us a $10 discount on the $20 inflation,” he said.

He then recalled another incident where a cabbie allegedly hiked the meter price while getting a lolly from the centre console of the vehicle — blocking the view of the meter from the back seat.

He claims on a recent journey from Sydney Airport to his place in Waterloo, the driver hiked the fare with a ‘few taps of a button’.

“[He] loaded $30 on, tapped it three times. It’s like each tap comes with $10,” Dominic said.

“Because this has always happened after a hell of a long flight, I haven’t done much about it at the time.”

He warned travellers if this happens to them to take a photo of the cab driver’s license and receipt and complain to the taxi company.

“International tourists are going to be landing in Sydney and having this as their welcome. What a shocking way to welcome someone to this country.”

He shared his experience on TikTok with others sharing similar experiences – but many also argued it’s the added fees. Picture: Christian Gilles

Others were quick to jump into the comments section and share similar experiences with a local also from Waterloo claiming the same happened to him after Christmas.

“He charged 66$. I was shook! However jet lag and tiredness prevailed. Will always stick with Uber!” they wrote.

“I was charged $170 for a 35 min trip. Same trip with uber was $51,” another person wrote.

One person claimed a taxi driver tried to charge them an extra $15 for putting luggage into the boot at Sydney Airport.

“I refuse to pay the full fare then he agree on the meter fare,” they added.

One person advised that if you use the taxi app the price is fixed.

“You can prepay the fare so they don’t overcharge you. I usually do it when my friends and I go on a trip in Sydney or in Melbourne,” they said.

However, others said Uber “isn’t that much cheaper”.

“Especially for shorter trips you can show taxis Uber pricing to negotiate,” one person wrote.

The Sydney Airport website lists various approximate one-way taxi fares based on non-peak traffic conditions.

It shows that a trip from the airport to the city is between $45-$55, to North Sydney is $55 – $65, Manly $90 – $100, Parramatta $100 – $120, Liverpool $95 – $110 and Cronulla $75 – $85.

“A $5.45 airport toll is payable by all passengers (per car) taking a taxi from any of Sydney Airport’s taxi ranks,” the site reads.