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In my city (Melbourne Aus) - There's a surcharge for phone bookings - Taxis generally refuse small fares - Taxis still just use their gps - Taxis are more e

In my city (Melbourne Aus) - There's a surcharge for phone bookings - Taxis generally refuse small fares - Taxis still just use their gps - Taxis are more expensive - Taxis drive more aggressively - The cars aren't as clean And they're wondering why their business is getting eaten alive...

serge2k 10y ago
Here in Seattle they bitch when you want to use a credit card, then pull out the really old mechanical slide things to take payment. Coming from Canada where the card just works I was shocked.
- auxym 10y ago
  Not in Montreal. The law obligating taxis to accept CC just passed a few months ago and many drivers still try to pull the broken machine stunt.
  - Scoundreller 10y ago
    Or when it's "working", it's a scam to copy your PIN and give you the last victim's card back: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taxi-debit-scam-1.3478566 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taxi-debit-scam-1.3478... It's partly a consequence of there being so few banks in Canada, so you only need 5 or 6 fraudulent cards to hand back to the user.
  - developer2 10y ago
    I've had two different taxi drivers in Montreal offer up their cell phone with their personal Square card reader and account instead of the official machine. The first one pulled out the real machine when I called him out on it. I paid and filed a complaint against him. The second refused and acted like nothing was wrong, even though I clearly knew what was up. I refused payment, filed a complaint, and have continued to receive service from the same company without issue. The taxi industry is corrupt as hell. Credit card fraud, drivers who take clueless tourists on an hour trip when it is a 15 minute drive, theft of forgotten items in cars, unlicensed drivers driving others' cars when the legal driver is off-hours, etc. Some of these people belong in jail, but the worst they ever face is a slap on the wrist or possibly losing their job. Any competition to them - legal or not, I don't give a shit anymore - is welcome. Their monopoly is abused by the owners as well as many individual drivers. Their business deserves to fall apart.
    - ohyes 10y ago
      Can you let me in on "what was up" with the square reader? Credit card theft/fraud? I never take taxis.
      - Swizec 10y ago
        Driver gets the money, not the company. The good part is they're ripping the company, not you. Unless they input a "wrong" value into square and you don't notice.
      - developer2 10y ago
        The legitimate credit card machine is provided by the taxi company. At least for Co-Op Taxi in Montreal, the company takes a 7% cut of the fare for all credit card transactions made on such machines. So some drivers buy a Square reader and set up a personal account to fraudulently take payments directly from customers into their pocket to avoid the 7% cut. The driver is not only stealing from their company, but is also opening up customers to suspicious transactions. Do I trust a random criminal - they are criminals, no doubt about it - to swipe my credit card into his cell phone? No.
        stormbrew 10y ago
        I asked an Edmonton co-op driver about the commonness of refusing to use card readers and he told me that one reason it happens, particularly at the end of a month, is because the dispatchers don't pay out credit card payments for something like 6 weeks. I imagine using Square helps get around that as well. Agree on the suspicious transaction (though the opportunity for a cab driver to put a skimmer in their machine is pretty substantial to begin with), but I have a hard time seeing this as stealing from the dispatcher. If the cab takes cash, this is really just the driver acting as middleman and paying cash to the dispatcher. Unless they're also doing it unmetered, I guess, but that's a whole other ballgame. In particular, I expect the dispatcher claims the additional cut is for transaction fees associated with a credit card. The driver is in this case taking the fees on themselves.
- dylz 10y ago
  What are mechanical slide things? Like you swipe instead of use chip?
  - nfriedly 10y ago
    I'm not certain that this is what the OP was referring to, but this is what I thought of: http://www.possupply.com/media/catalog/category/4850-CC-Imprinter.jpg http://www.possupply.com/media/catalog/category/4850-CC-Impr... It's a machine that you use with copy paper and slide it over the card. The name and numbers are raised up on most credit cards and leave an imprint on the paper. The cardholder then signs the paper. I've used them when I worked at a department store for customers who's magnetic strip had worn out to the point that our computers couldn't read the card. I imagine the main reasons for a taxi driver to use one is that 1) it's cheap and reliable, and 2) it works offline.
  - SturgeonsLaw 10y ago
    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bClUYQTPL._SL1000_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bClUYQTPL._SL1000_.j... They take an imprint of the embossed credit card details for later processing
    - dylz 10y ago
      What is there to imprint? Most cards I see dont' seem to have raised lettering; it's just printed numbers on the back. Also, how does this work with chip-required cards?
      - kalleboo 10y ago
        This system was most commonly in the 90's and earlier. Back then all cards had raised letters. Many modern cards are online-only to reduce the rampant fraud possible with this old method.
  - StevePerkins 10y ago
    I can't tell if you're being cheeky or are just really young. Up until the past decade or two, it was very common to process credit cards by placing the card onto a tray with a slip of paper over it, and swipe a pressure bar over the tray. This physically caused the digits on the card to make an impression on the paper: http://cdn.toptenreviews.com/rev/misc/articles/4734/type-or-swipe-4.jpg http://cdn.toptenreviews.com/rev/misc/articles/4734/type-or-... Many credit cards today simply have the digits printed on them in ink, rather than raised lettering, so I don't know how this would even work half the time today.
- stormbrew 10y ago
  Until very recently they tended to do the same thing in Edmonton and Calgary, and they only started uniformly taking debit in the last couple of years at all, so that's definitely not a universally Canadian thing. You should see their faces when you pay through the app they set up recently. Most of them don't know wtf is going on.
  - pyre 10y ago
    > You should see their faces when you pay through the app they set up recently Well, then they can't pull the "credit card machine in the car isn't working, so let me drive you to an ATM so you can take out money to pay me. Sorry that I waited until after driving you to your destination to tell you this, despite the fact that my car advertises credit card payments on the outside. Oops! I also left the meter on while we drove to the ATM! Silly me! You still have to pay me for the extra on the meter, though." (Of course, if you threaten not to pay, the credit card machine magically comes to life.)
  - voltagex_ 10y ago
    I wonder if any drivers will try and claim you haven't paid them when using the app (because witchcraft)
    - stormbrew 10y ago
      I had one radio into dispatch about it. Fortunately I wasn't in a hurry, so it was mostly amusing. I miss being able to just jump out of the vehicle in Uber since they pulled out a couple months back. Hopefully they're back soon.
- eisa01 10y ago
  Try taking a cab in Düsseldorf, there they don't have the slider and type down the CC number with a pen. Payment takes a couple minutes.. They also complain about you paying with CC, even after they had introduced a credit card surcharge last time I was there
endgame 10y ago
I visited Adelaide once and had to get the map book out of the passenger-side pocket. For a destination in the CBD.
- voltagex_ 10y ago
  Same in Canberra - the problem most of the time is driver turnover. Say what you will about London cabs, but The Knowledge is an amazing thing.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
roel_v 10y ago
I waited almost an hour for a cab in Sydney a few months ago, calling 3 times in between being told every time 'it's on its way', with a 3 and a 5 year old waiting outside on the sidewalk - not fun. Had to take the bus to get to my destination at all. Have gotten extremely suspicious of aus cabs since, despite my usual airport service being excellent.
- fphhotchips 10y ago
  Sydney has easily the worst cab service in the country. Half the time the cab doesn't even have A/C. Also, I find that the airport service is made wonderfully redundant by the mostly excellent Airtrain.

serge2k 10y ago

Here in Seattle they bitch when you want to use a credit card, then pull out the really old mechanical slide things to take payment. Coming from Canada where the card just works I was shocked.

auxym 10y ago
Not in Montreal. The law obligating taxis to accept CC just passed a few months ago and many drivers still try to pull the broken machine stunt.
- Scoundreller 10y ago
  Or when it's "working", it's a scam to copy your PIN and give you the last victim's card back: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taxi-debit-scam-1.3478566 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/taxi-debit-scam-1.3478... It's partly a consequence of there being so few banks in Canada, so you only need 5 or 6 fraudulent cards to hand back to the user.
- developer2 10y ago
  I've had two different taxi drivers in Montreal offer up their cell phone with their personal Square card reader and account instead of the official machine. The first one pulled out the real machine when I called him out on it. I paid and filed a complaint against him. The second refused and acted like nothing was wrong, even though I clearly knew what was up. I refused payment, filed a complaint, and have continued to receive service from the same company without issue. The taxi industry is corrupt as hell. Credit card fraud, drivers who take clueless tourists on an hour trip when it is a 15 minute drive, theft of forgotten items in cars, unlicensed drivers driving others' cars when the legal driver is off-hours, etc. Some of these people belong in jail, but the worst they ever face is a slap on the wrist or possibly losing their job. Any competition to them - legal or not, I don't give a shit anymore - is welcome. Their monopoly is abused by the owners as well as many individual drivers. Their business deserves to fall apart.
  - ohyes 10y ago
    Can you let me in on "what was up" with the square reader? Credit card theft/fraud? I never take taxis.
    - Swizec 10y ago
      Driver gets the money, not the company. The good part is they're ripping the company, not you. Unless they input a "wrong" value into square and you don't notice.
    - developer2 10y ago
      The legitimate credit card machine is provided by the taxi company. At least for Co-Op Taxi in Montreal, the company takes a 7% cut of the fare for all credit card transactions made on such machines. So some drivers buy a Square reader and set up a personal account to fraudulently take payments directly from customers into their pocket to avoid the 7% cut. The driver is not only stealing from their company, but is also opening up customers to suspicious transactions. Do I trust a random criminal - they are criminals, no doubt about it - to swipe my credit card into his cell phone? No.
      - stormbrew 10y ago
        I asked an Edmonton co-op driver about the commonness of refusing to use card readers and he told me that one reason it happens, particularly at the end of a month, is because the dispatchers don't pay out credit card payments for something like 6 weeks. I imagine using Square helps get around that as well. Agree on the suspicious transaction (though the opportunity for a cab driver to put a skimmer in their machine is pretty substantial to begin with), but I have a hard time seeing this as stealing from the dispatcher. If the cab takes cash, this is really just the driver acting as middleman and paying cash to the dispatcher. Unless they're also doing it unmetered, I guess, but that's a whole other ballgame. In particular, I expect the dispatcher claims the additional cut is for transaction fees associated with a credit card. The driver is in this case taking the fees on themselves.
dylz 10y ago
What are mechanical slide things? Like you swipe instead of use chip?
- nfriedly 10y ago
  I'm not certain that this is what the OP was referring to, but this is what I thought of: http://www.possupply.com/media/catalog/category/4850-CC-Imprinter.jpg http://www.possupply.com/media/catalog/category/4850-CC-Impr... It's a machine that you use with copy paper and slide it over the card. The name and numbers are raised up on most credit cards and leave an imprint on the paper. The cardholder then signs the paper. I've used them when I worked at a department store for customers who's magnetic strip had worn out to the point that our computers couldn't read the card. I imagine the main reasons for a taxi driver to use one is that 1) it's cheap and reliable, and 2) it works offline.
- SturgeonsLaw 10y ago
  http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bClUYQTPL._SL1000_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bClUYQTPL._SL1000_.j... They take an imprint of the embossed credit card details for later processing
  - dylz 10y ago
    What is there to imprint? Most cards I see dont' seem to have raised lettering; it's just printed numbers on the back. Also, how does this work with chip-required cards?
    - kalleboo 10y ago
      This system was most commonly in the 90's and earlier. Back then all cards had raised letters. Many modern cards are online-only to reduce the rampant fraud possible with this old method.
- StevePerkins 10y ago
  I can't tell if you're being cheeky or are just really young. Up until the past decade or two, it was very common to process credit cards by placing the card onto a tray with a slip of paper over it, and swipe a pressure bar over the tray. This physically caused the digits on the card to make an impression on the paper: http://cdn.toptenreviews.com/rev/misc/articles/4734/type-or-swipe-4.jpg http://cdn.toptenreviews.com/rev/misc/articles/4734/type-or-... Many credit cards today simply have the digits printed on them in ink, rather than raised lettering, so I don't know how this would even work half the time today.
stormbrew 10y ago
Until very recently they tended to do the same thing in Edmonton and Calgary, and they only started uniformly taking debit in the last couple of years at all, so that's definitely not a universally Canadian thing. You should see their faces when you pay through the app they set up recently. Most of them don't know wtf is going on.
- pyre 10y ago
  > You should see their faces when you pay through the app they set up recently Well, then they can't pull the "credit card machine in the car isn't working, so let me drive you to an ATM so you can take out money to pay me. Sorry that I waited until after driving you to your destination to tell you this, despite the fact that my car advertises credit card payments on the outside. Oops! I also left the meter on while we drove to the ATM! Silly me! You still have to pay me for the extra on the meter, though." (Of course, if you threaten not to pay, the credit card machine magically comes to life.)
- voltagex_ 10y ago
  I wonder if any drivers will try and claim you haven't paid them when using the app (because witchcraft)
  - stormbrew 10y ago
    I had one radio into dispatch about it. Fortunately I wasn't in a hurry, so it was mostly amusing. I miss being able to just jump out of the vehicle in Uber since they pulled out a couple months back. Hopefully they're back soon.
eisa01 10y ago
Try taking a cab in Düsseldorf, there they don't have the slider and type down the CC number with a pen. Payment takes a couple minutes.. They also complain about you paying with CC, even after they had introduced a credit card surcharge last time I was there

endgame 10y ago

I visited Adelaide once and had to get the map book out of the passenger-side pocket. For a destination in the CBD.

voltagex_ 10y ago
Same in Canberra - the problem most of the time is driver turnover. Say what you will about London cabs, but The Knowledge is an amazing thing.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

roel_v 10y ago

I waited almost an hour for a cab in Sydney a few months ago, calling 3 times in between being told every time 'it's on its way', with a 3 and a 5 year old waiting outside on the sidewalk - not fun. Had to take the bus to get to my destination at all. Have gotten extremely suspicious of aus cabs since, despite my usual airport service being excellent.

fphhotchips 10y ago
Sydney has easily the worst cab service in the country. Half the time the cab doesn't even have A/C. Also, I find that the airport service is made wonderfully redundant by the mostly excellent Airtrain.