Scott Cam explodes at cab drivers refusing to turn on meters instead charging flat fee

Taxi drivers have been criticized for customers reporting a sharp increase in taxi drivers refusing to turn on their meters and instead demanding too high a flat fee.

The Christmas party season is upon us and drivers expect a spike in bookings with 2GB host Ben Fordham raising the issue of hefty flat fees on his Monday morning radio show.

Block host Scott Cam told Fordham of his own experience with a taxi, saying that taxi drivers were “dropping people off” and that it was a safety issue.

Cam said he and his wife went to get a taxi last Friday night when a taxi driver tried to negotiate the price.

“I don’t take taxis very often, so I wasn’t aware of this situation (of not turning on meters),” he said.

“Someone told me to negotiate with taxi drivers when I walked to the taxi with my wife.

‘And I said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous, you don’t negotiate, you just turn on the meter.’

When the Cams got to the taxi and said where they were going, the driver said it would cost $45.

Cam was surprised and said, ‘What do you mean? Turn on the meter.”

But the driver declined, saying there would be a fixed price of $45, asking Cam if he was “satisfied” with the cost.

“So I said, ‘No, I’m not happy about that, turn the meter on. It’s illegal for you not to turn the meter on.'”

The driver refused and told the couple they could get another taxi.

“So we got out, with a few choice words, and walked up the road and got a $27 Uber to the same address,” Cam said.

He said that in addition to the illegality of not turning on the meter, the taxi driver’s requirement became a safety concern if the stated fixed price was higher than the passenger could afford.

“My concern is that my daughter… comes out of a bar or a party at 2 a.m. somewhere out of the way and they tell her it’s $50 to go home, she has no alternative,” he said. cam.

“And she has to endure it… otherwise she’ll get out, wait for an Uber, and be exposed at 2AM.

“They are chasing people. There are advertisements on the radio and television about how good the taxi service is (that says, “Come with us, we’ll take care of you.”

“They don’t take care of us. They don’t care for anyone. They drop us off.’

Cam said this kind of off-meter taxi ride is common abroad.

“We’ve all been abroad and had to negotiate with taxi drivers,” he said.

“Now they’re taking that European taxi ride to Australia. And it’s not for Australia.

‘We have meters, that’s how we run our taxi system and we have to eradicate that.

“They rob children, they rob people.”

Cam said he and Fordham “can afford a cab but not kids trying to get home late at night, and that’s what worries me.”

Fordham agreed, saying that’s why Uber and other rideshare companies were successful — they could say “the service you’re currently getting isn’t up to scratch.”

Cam said he had never encountered the zero gauge exercise in Australia before.

“This is the first time it’s happened to me,” he said.

“(But) in speaking to a lot of people since it happened to me on Friday night, it’s rife. My daughter said that happens with every taxi ride.’

Fordham said it happened to him too, and many callers and commentators supported his and Cam’s stories.

Beller Phillip said he had the same problem and was charged $40 after the races from Randwick to Coogee, the next suburb – a 4km distance.

“We didn’t realize the meter was on until we got to Coogee,” he said.

Terry was asked to pay $100 from Olympic Park to Parramatta – 11.6 km away – after the NRL’s grand final.

Another caller was told it was a $150 flat fee from Barangaroo to Sydney’s Northern Beaches and the meter would not turn on.

Peter said if you don’t turn on the meter, you won’t be covered by insurance in the event of an accident.

Fordham ended by saying he knew this “someday happened, but then the taxis would have cleaned up their act.”

“But you can’t have that, where you get people told it’s $150 if you want to get from the city to the northern beaches,” he added.

In a statement to the Daily Mail Australia, the NSW Taxi Council condemned drivers who refuse to turn on meters.

‘The opinion of the NSW Taxi Council on fare refusals and drivers not using the meter for hail fares is (that it) is unacceptable.

Taxirang and hail rates are regulated and set by the NSW government.

‘This means that taxi drivers must always use the meter when picking up passengers from a hail or taxi rank.

“We are working with the NSW Regulator – The Point to Point Transport Commission – to stop this activity.”