What's your Uber experience?

[dajop]

I'll keep pushing Uber, using the additional detail and insights from here as I do. Thanks all!

Uber should be able to request the Linkt statement from the driver for that day, which will show any tolls accrued during the specific start and finish period of the ride. I am guessing though someone could falsify that too.

 

[dairyfloss]

Uber should be able to request the Linkt statement from the driver for that day, which will show any tolls accrued during the specific start and finish period of the ride. I am guessing though someone could falsify that too.

Yeah - If they're getting it from the driver directly, it couldn't be trusted.

 

[dairyfloss]

I'll keep pushing Uber, using the additional detail and insights from here as I do. Thanks all!

AI response again tells me to go away... even with some quite serious keywords in the mix! I'll need to go hunting for a human response point via social media or something I guess

 

[dajop]

AI response again tells me to go away... even with some quite serious keywords in the mix! I'll need to go hunting for a human response point via social media or something I guess

Good luck! It's a frustrating challenge dealing either it is AI or UI.

 

[dairyfloss]

Managed to get a hold of someone via Instagram DMs and they are arranging for refund of the difference from the quoted $77. They won’t acknowledge the falsified route concern with me, but I do hope they look into it behind the scenes. Check your receipts people!

 

[VPS]

Managed to get a hold of someone via Instagram DMs and they are arranging for refund of the difference from the quoted $77. They won’t acknowledge the falsified route concern with me, but I do hope they look into it behind the scenes. Check your receipts people!

good on you for being persistent and well done. That sort of thing really p!sses me off

 

[jastel]

Glad you got your refund but sucks that they wont admit or investigate the problem...but that is the modern way that people wanted when they accepted the high tech APP life....rather than quality personalised service.

The Computer/System is never wrong. And when it so often IS wrong nobody takes any blame....give them a partial refund or some points and move on.

 

[Saab34]

I think being quieter than usual the driver was trying to pull back some lost revenue due to the PH. Fare looking at some past trips would normally be around the $100 ish mark sometimes more.

Sucks but I’ve seen this behaviour right around the world.

 

[Quickstatus]

Contrarian view:
IUber automates the toll charges -using GPS in reconciliation with maps are used to trigger a toll charge. The driver does not manually (and is actually unable to) add a toll into the journey.

 

[dairyfloss]

Contrarian view:
IUber automates the toll charges -using GPS in reconciliation with maps are used to trigger a toll charge. The driver does not manually (and is actually unable to) add a toll into the journey.

And this is what the limited research into how it works this last week has suggested it does or at least should work… but, knowing we had eyes on locations that were north and north east of the city ahead of turning right from Spring St into Collins, rather than what we’d have seen heading around town to the west and approaching from the south west, then it leaves me two plausible scenarios.

One, is that some random technical issue caused the trip to be shown using an incomprehensible routing for that day and time, and adding numerous additional tolls which have been discussed as not valid for such a route… or two, is that a driver has determined a way in which to game the system, going offline to alter and falsify a route and add tolls, and does so as he believes the riders are not local and he may get away with it.

I guess there’s also a third possibility, which is that my family and I didn’t see, point to and talk about specific places en route to the hotel, and are lying about the way in which we traveled to the Paris end of Melbourne in order to scam Uber out of a $34 delta from what was quoted when booking to what was charged 31 minutes later… but I assure you I have better things to do with my time.

My vote remains with scenario number 2. Unfortunately, none of us on here will likely ever know.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[flyingfan]

I hope it triggers Uber, even though they won't admit liability, to make use of all their data and crack down on dodgy drivers. My impression (maybe from just a couple of disgruntled 'driver-partners') is Uber the company will quickly throw them under the bus.

 

[Quickstatus]

going offline to alter and falsify a route and add tolls, and does so as he believes the riders are not local and he may get away with it.

I don't think that is possible. AFAIK there is no possible way for a driver to manually change the route and add tolls (ie edit) from an "offline" mode.

Your route appears very similar to the one I posted. I suspect the problem is error not malfeasance.

One other possibility is that the driver spoofed his phone location making Uber think he is somewhere else?

Have you mapped the route using the actual tolls?

 

[dairyfloss]

I don't think that is possible. AFAIK there is no possible way for a driver to manually change the route and add tolls from an "offline" mode.

Your route appears very similar to the one A.I. posted. I suspect the problem is error not malfeasance.

The route was clearly quite different. As I’ve stated numerous times now, the route we took from MEL into the city is the same or a very similar route to the one we took when heading back to the airport, and yet:

Inbound (falsified) route:


Outbound (accurate) route:


Your earlier test booking and route also showed a more direct route like the return trip above; not one that went around the city and approached the destination from the south west:



Uber right now also offers the same suggested direct route and at a slightly lower price than I was quoted on the 1st Jan:

 

[Quickstatus]

Inbound (falsified) route:

Ok, different yes. Do the tolls charges coincide with that route?

 

[dairyfloss]

Ok, different yes. Do the tolls charges coincide with that route?

No, they don’t - folks above have indicated that even if the car did go that way, then it would have topped out at about $10. There are multiple additional toll points added that don’t apply to the journey, even as shown

 

[Quickstatus]

There are multiple additional toll points added that don’t apply to the journey, even as shown

Ok: but falsified is a bit far for me because I don't think it's possible for a driver to edit an invoice, edit tolls edit route.

What would be the route using the tolls as waypoints?.

 

[dairyfloss]

Ok: but falsified is a bit far for me because I don't think it's possible for a driver to edit an invoice, edit tolls edit route.

What would be the route using the tolls as waypoints?.

These two posts from @dajop upthread covered the tolls aspect nicely. $10.73 was the likely cost based on the route as shown.

Toll prices can be found here:

https://www.linkt.com.au/content/dam/linkt/common/qpu/q3-jan-mar-26/citylink-toll-pricing-jan-mar-2026.pdf

If the vehicle did indeed cross the Bolte Bridge, it should be a single fee of $10.73. Three toll points together it should be $3.30 + $3.30 +$4.13.

Only two of those you were charged are valid if you crossed the Bolte Bridge:
1) Citylink: SE Tullamarine Fwy/Bell St - Footscray Rd south bound $6.60
2) Citylink: SE Footscray Rd - Power St $4.13

The rest is double up and driver trying to rip you off.

If you went past Vic market, then at most would be the $6.60 charge, at best it would be $0 if you did Bulla Rd Exit, or it would be $3.30 if you came of Flemington Rd.

Even without the falsification, Uber should automatically refund everything but the two line items for the tolls. And this level of fradulent behaviour should raise red flags about the integrity of the rest of the journey.

Even assuming he took the bridge, when travelling A->B->C->D->E instead of being charged for A->C and C->E, instead you've been charged for:
A-B
A-C
B-C
B-D
C-D
C-E

This guy should be kicked off the platform for taking advantage of unsuspecting tourist.

Also worth noting from the Linkt prices file is that there’s a CityLink trip cap (a maximum toll for a single uninterrupted trip) of $12.38; and so it should never legitimately go over this amount. I was billed $28.89 in tolls for this trip.

 

[Quickstatus]

I was billed $28.89 in tolls for this trip.

Thanks for clarifying
In any case I think this is an Uber error rather than any malfeasance on the part of the driver because AFAIK there is no way for the driver to edit any route, tools, or invoice. Uber controls all of the billing

I wonder though does Uber have a self correcting feature which takes into acount the Citylink trip cap given that Uber does not use the toll operator data?

 

[dairyfloss]

Thanks for clarifying
In any case I think this is an Uber error rather than any malfeasance on the part of the driver because AFAIK there is no way for the driver to edit any route, tools, or invoice. Uber controls all of the billing

I wonder though does Uber have a self correcting feature which takes into acount the Citylink trip cap given that Uber does not use the toll operator data?

Supposedly, Uber drivers can change the destination at a rider’s request (without the need for the rider to confirm anything in the app), after which it will recalculate the route and fare. There are guides for drivers online on how to do this. I do have a message on the receipt saying the destination was changed, but it was to the same address that I booked. The driver can do this in their app and if they have the ability to add way points to it as well (which I’m unsure of); then things start to become clearer.

New theory: It did take him a while to show up to the designated bay at T1, so possibly he was setting this up before coming to get us, changing the address from ‘Sofitel Melbourne’, to simply ‘25 Collins St’, after accepting the trip, and maybe indicating we’d gotten in. He could have entered this and set up the route, then turned off the network and GPS on that device and navigated via in-car navigation or Google maps to get to the hotel. I didn’t notice what he was running while on the journey. Again… just a theory.

 

[Duffa]

Sunday past.
Uber surged to $88 from SYD Qantas domestic to CBD at about 11.40
Saw lots of Gen-non-Bs tapping away, looks of horror and then climbing in.
I walked 50m to taxi rank and took a $60 fixed fare to CBD.
Done