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> It's worth noting that Australian taxis are generally terrible. Over here in Western Australia they are generally better than Uber. You know what sets the tr

by Nursie 3y ago

> It's worth noting that Australian taxis are generally terrible. Over here in Western Australia they are generally better than Uber. You know what sets the traditional operators apart from Uber in Perth? They show up That simple. You book a cab, you get a cab, more or less when you want it. You request an Uber and someone might come. They might not. They might accept the ride and then drive in circles for 15 minutes to try to make you cancel (it's not 100% clear what this does, but it's either just cancellation fee farming or to try to trigger a surge). Uber's been pretty fucked over here for a while.

somishere 3y ago
You've nailed it. Uber went south in Cairns in exactly the same way about when Didi and the others came out. Call a cab and it turns up. Reliability is everything.
FireBeyond 3y ago
Huh, Cairns was so much the same. Watched that happen too. Most of the time we had to resort to enduring a cancelation or two before someone would show up. My parents ended up calling a taxi half the time.
smackeyacky 3y ago
It's weird how different cities in Australia have such different Uber experiences. Newcastle (north of Sydney) Uber is near unusable. Cancellations etc. as others have detailed here. Taxis are a bit slow but they do at least pick you up. Sydney - great. Brisbane - great.
werrett 3y ago
You know that is a direct result from competition from rideshare alternatives, right? Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, taxis always added an exciting extra frisson to any airport trip or evening date. Would they turn up at all? Would they turn up, honk their horn, and drive away if you didn't run out the door in under a minute? Were you going to be left stranded at the end of the night with a constantly engaged taxi call line? Leaving you to resort to calling friends and family to pick you up? Perth taxis were some of the most expensive and hardest to book in all of my experiences around Australia, pretty much right up to the late 2010s, which unsurprisingly was a few years after Uber's entrance into the market. If taxis are a better service than Uber now, that's great. We probably want to keep that competitive pressure to keep the bastards honest.

by Nursie 3y ago

somishere 3y ago

You've nailed it. Uber went south in Cairns in exactly the same way about when Didi and the others came out. Call a cab and it turns up. Reliability is everything.

FireBeyond 3y ago

Huh, Cairns was so much the same. Watched that happen too. Most of the time we had to resort to enduring a cancelation or two before someone would show up. My parents ended up calling a taxi half the time.

smackeyacky 3y ago

It's weird how different cities in Australia have such different Uber experiences. Newcastle (north of Sydney) Uber is near unusable. Cancellations etc. as others have detailed here. Taxis are a bit slow but they do at least pick you up. Sydney - great. Brisbane - great.

werrett 3y ago

You know that is a direct result from competition from rideshare alternatives, right? Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, taxis always added an exciting extra frisson to any airport trip or evening date. Would they turn up at all? Would they turn up, honk their horn, and drive away if you didn't run out the door in under a minute? Were you going to be left stranded at the end of the night with a constantly engaged taxi call line? Leaving you to resort to calling friends and family to pick you up? Perth taxis were some of the most expensive and hardest to book in all of my experiences around Australia, pretty much right up to the late 2010s, which unsurprisingly was a few years after Uber's entrance into the market. If taxis are a better service than Uber now, that's great. We probably want to keep that competitive pressure to keep the bastards honest.