Bit harsh for taxi drivers?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Bit harsh for taxi drivers?

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timmmay

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#462859 27-Apr-2011 08:33

billgates: What is the flagfall? Is it not like $2 or $3? So a taxi driver gets $6 for the trip in total as per the NZHerald article, comes back to the back in the taxi queue, waits for so many more miniutes again before he/she gets their turn again and might only end up making another short trip making peantus again. I am with the taxi drivers on this one. If you want short trips and every passenger served then maybe the taxi association should make minimum bill to be $10 no matter what the distance covered is.

I agree. Taxis are a business, with some public responsibility. If they want to raise the flagfall to $10 and include more distance that'd be fine with me. There could be a scheme for the elderly or disabled to perhaps help them get where they need to during off peak times.

Taxis in New Zealand are already quite expensive compared with many of the countries i've been in, including Australia.

valtam: wtf...clearly you're ignorant of the disabled and elderly that frequently are in need of short trips to essential services. Good luck with your fascist state.

Your post comes off as a personal attack, i'm surprised Mauricio or a moderator hasn't already given you some kind of a warning.

freitasm

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#462867 27-Apr-2011 08:45

I didn't read it as that, more like. An attack on a model suggested by another use.

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cr250bromo

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#462900 27-Apr-2011 09:43

Taxis already can set their fares to anything they want, as long as their fare schedule is displayed clearly on the outside of their taxi and notified to Land Transport.

So if these short trips are a problem they could modify their fare schedule accordingly. However I haven't seen any evidence of this happening yet.

valtam

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#462913 27-Apr-2011 10:21

freitasm: I didn't read it as that, more like. An attack on a model suggested by another use.

Correct, I merely opposed the idea of a minimum charging model and compared that as a fascist like implementation.

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floydbloke

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#462931 27-Apr-2011 10:50

rscole86: Land Transport Rule: Operator Licensing 2007 [700kb pdf]

3.3(2) A driver may refuse to accept a hire if:
(a) the hirer has failed to pay the fare due for a previous hire and that fare is not paid before the commencement of the
new hire; or
(b) the driver has sought prepayment of the fare but has been refused; or
(c) the vehicle is being used in a registered service, and the prospective hire is not consistent with that service.

I'm a bit surprised about B above. Also not sure how it would work for metered fares, as most of them are. I guess the passenger could pay the extra or the driver refund the difference if there is a discrepancy once the destination is reached.

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

Geese

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#462968 27-Apr-2011 12:08

To become a taxi driver, they should have to complete a stint doing pizza delivery. Then, as a taxi driver, they would be grateful to receive a minimum fare!

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Dratsab

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#463010 27-Apr-2011 13:34

floydbloke:
rscole86: Land Transport Rule: Operator Licensing 2007 [700kb pdf]

3.3(2) A driver may refuse to accept a hire if:
(a) the hirer has failed to pay the fare due for a previous hire and that fare is not paid before the commencement of the
new hire; or
(b) the driver has sought prepayment of the fare but has been refused; or
(c) the vehicle is being used in a registered service, and the prospective hire is not consistent with that service.

I'm a bit surprised about B above. Also not sure how it would work for metered fares, as most of them are. I guess the passenger could pay the extra or the driver refund the difference if there is a discrepancy once the destination is reached.

It's something taxi drivers can insist on if they think their passenger is dodgy and may try and do runner instead of paying. Nothing new and I can think of at least one occasion where a taxi driver has been attacked for making such a request.

The legislation is in place (as quoted by rscole86) and taxi drivers know it. If they're going to break the existing laws, they face the prospect of receiving a fine. Pure and simple, cut and dried, end of story, black and white: call it what you like...

If they want something done about it, they need their association(s) to lobby parliament. For those who don't like it, tough. It is what it is.

NonprayingMantis

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#463028 27-Apr-2011 14:14

If the problem centres around taxis waiting in a queue and drivers being annoyed about losing their place in the queue for $4, then the solution is simple.
Allow drivers to refuse short fares if they wish, but allow people to take a taxi from the back of the queue of the drivers in front refuse the fare. The drivers at the front might refuse if the fare is too short, but the driver at the back has less to lose from accepting a short fare. He can drive off and because the fare is short he will not lose many (if any) places in the queue.

Handle9

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#463118 27-Apr-2011 18:47

billgates: If you want short trips and every passenger served then maybe the taxi association should make minimum bill to be $10 no matter what the distance covered is.

Unless it's done by regulation (ie the government) that would be price fixing / cartel behaviour and subject to prosecution by the Commerce Commission.

nigelj

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#463141 27-Apr-2011 20:04

floydbloke:
rscole86: Land Transport Rule: Operator Licensing 2007 [700kb pdf]

(b) the driver has sought prepayment of the fare but has been refused; or

I'm a bit surprised about B above. Also not sure how it would work for metered fares, as most of them are. I guess the passenger could pay the extra or the driver refund the difference if there is a discrepancy once the destination is reached.

As I recall, they can do it based on an estimation (ask for a $50 prepayment to cover the typical fare as a prepayment) and then settle the metered balance at the end (i.e. refund the overpaid $10, or ask for the remaining $5.50)

sbiddle

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#463143 27-Apr-2011 20:16

timmmay: Taxis in New Zealand are already quite expensive compared with many of the countries i've been in, including Australia.

It's also interesting to see the big variances in pricing.

In Wellington for example the chapest taxi company is $2.35 per km, with a flag fall of around $2.50

Wellington Combined (the biggest company) charge around $2.75 per km (off the top of my head). Many of the smaller taxi companies in Wellington are charging around $3.30 + per km - some are even more expensive than Corporate who offer an upmarket service and don't drive around in 10yr old second hand cars.

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oxnsox

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#463216 28-Apr-2011 08:36

Soo if there is quite a variation in pricing on 'standard' fares, what is actually stopping the taxi companies (or even individual drivers) putting up a card with a Minimum Fare on it when they don't want small fares....

But isn't this a supply and demand issue. The Cabbies all park in the same hotspot looking for the big fares.... and it simply attracts lots of short fares because folk say 'look at all the taxis, lets just grab one of them for our ride up the road'

It really is a problem of there own making

bazzer

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#463241 28-Apr-2011 09:07

NonprayingMantis: If the problem centres around taxis waiting in a queue and drivers being annoyed about losing their place in the queue for $4, then the solution is simple.
Allow drivers to refuse short fares if they wish, but allow people to take a taxi from the back of the queue of the drivers in front refuse the fare. The drivers at the front might refuse if the fare is too short, but the driver at the back has less to lose from accepting a short fare. He can drive off and because the fare is short he will not lose many (if any) places in the queue.

Can't you take any taxi you like in New Zealand? There aren't any rules about having to take the first taxi on the rank here are there?

timmmay

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#463257 28-Apr-2011 09:39

AFAIK you can take any taxi you like. In Dublin they were strict about making you take the first cab on the rank and not being flagged down while they were moving, but here you do what you like.

rscole86

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#464125 1-May-2011 11:59

timmmay: AFAIK you can take any taxi you like. In Dublin they were strict about making you take the first cab on the rank and not being flagged down while they were moving, but here you do what you like.

Correct, and they must also accept that fare.

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