Why your taxi ride home this Christmas could end in CHAOS – and for the most bizarre reason

Christmas revelers are facing chaos as they head home after festive festivities with many taxi drivers refusing to accept the industry’s own Cabcharge payments.

The traditional form of local business travel has been blacklisted by taxi drivers due to the extra costs that eat into their profits.

Now passengers are turned away if they try to pay with Cabcharge, and even returned to their pick-up point if they take out their Cabcharge card mid-journey.

A regular taxi user, who asked to remain anonymous, said Daily Mail Australia taxi drivers were now treating Melbourne Cabcharge customers like ‘poison’.

‘They don’t want it. In fact, they are openly hostile to it,” he said.

The taxi user claimed that a driver turned his car around this week approaching the Westgate Freeway and drove him back into the city when he was told the fare was being paid by Cabcharge.

“He initially claimed his machine was broken, but he did accept credit cards,” the passenger said.

“When I pressed him, he admitted that Cabcharge’s cut in profits didn’t make the ride worth it.”

Dumped back at a taxi stand in the city, the customer was turned away three more times by drivers until someone finally accepted the fare of more than $100.

Another regular taxi user, George, said Daily Mail Australia drivers were rejecting the new credit card-style Cabcharge because they couldn’t process the charges like the old paper vouchers.

“With the old Cabcharges, they would just take a pen and write new totals on the roll, and your unsuspecting employer would just run with it,” said the big corporate wig.

“They’re a bunch of thugs.”

Cabcharge claims that taxis with a sticker stating ‘We proudly accept Cabcharge’ must accept Cabcharge.

“Yes, they don’t,” the taxi user muttered.

Cabcharge states that users should ask the driver if they plan to accept the card before jumping in.

‘If you don’t see the emblem, just ask the driver before getting in the taxi. If the driver does not accept Cabcharge, you can move on to the next taxi in line,” it said.

Cabcharge’s name has long been despised in the taxi industry.

In 2010, Cabcharge admitted that it had abused its market position by refusing competitors’ requests to process Cabcharge cards on their electronic payment systems in 2005 and 2008.

Cabcharge also admitted to “predatory pricing” by installing its fare meters for free or below cost, further squeezing rivals.

A few months ago, Perth radio breakfast host Steve Mills railed against taxi drivers for refusing taxi fares from Cabcharge users at the airport.

“If that’s the kind of greeting people get when they visit our state, that’s not acceptable, that’s not good enough,” he roared into the air.

“You can understand why many cross the line and go to a ride-hailing service.”

In May, Cabcharge announced that it would crack down on unreliable taxi drivers who turn off their meters and increase fares.

It happened via a payment device in the vehicle that was connected directly to the taxi meter.

The move received the thumbs-up from the country’s most extensive taxi networks, including 13cabs, Black & White Cabs, Silver Service, Swan Taxis and SilverTop Taxis.

But rogue drivers determined to avoid Cabcharge’s rate cut have apparently found a very simple way to bypass the special device.

“They just say it’s broken,” said one customer.

‘Don’t use taxis. As great as Uber is, at least the entire fare process is open and transparent, and if there are discrepancies, it’s easy to get a refund,” another wrote on an online forum.

‘I can’t believe that in 2024 taxis still rely on you paying for the journey at the end.’