Uber is expanding to where there is demand, Perth and Geelong being recent additions, as for small remote towns, taxis are rarely needed
I didn't know Geelong had Uber... is it simply an "extension" of the existing Uber in Melbourne?
Smaller towns may need a few taxis - I guess the market for Uber there may be limited (or at least Uber may not see predominant demand enough for them to try and get into such places). I guess you never really get the kinds of issues with few taxis in smaller towns that you do in larger cities, which of course highly colours the present viewpoints (not helped that nearly all of us here are from large cities rather than small towns).
Taxi drivers DO pick the best fares, try getting a cab in Melbourne during peak times, if it's not where they want to end up they will say NO and drive off
Can definitely agree with this. Thankfully not a common occurrence in Brisbane, and to some degree not in the other major centres for that matter. Melbourne taxi drivers also have a bad habit of telling you to go jump if your fare is not expensive enough. Reporting the errant drivers and taxis has been a proven waste of time - there is no punitive action, the pattern of behaviour is not reduced and the regulator does not treat any of the reports as a basis for improvement.
A week long training course - Doesn't help at all - No idea what the training is for MEL but deodorant, manners and a basic understanding of road rules doesn't seem to exist.
Frankly I'd be happy if more taxi drivers actually knew where to drive from A to B. No, I am not one of those presumptuous customers who superficially knows a better route than the driver's selection; there are many drivers who are hopeless at knowing even their general bearings. Unfortunately Melbourne is pretty bad for this, too! (What is it with Melbourne taxi drivers compared to the rest of the country?)
In Brisbane, I'd be lucky to get a taxi drivers that knows at least where the city, airport and major shopping centres (on one half of the city) are. There are some admittedly much more experienced ones who know and do their job well. It's unfortunate we broadbrush the industry with bad critique when it is very much unfair on such drivers who are worth their weight in gold (yes, we could try to get them to defect to Uber, but anyway.......)
Oh many reports on TV and the internet about Uber drivers with criminal convictions - Well Google doesn't show too much
Yet taxis..........
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Oh and Taxi's again - You haven't heard of any being taken to Court - How about trying this Google "taxi driver taken to court australia"
I'm not sure about criminal convictions and the like, but I think there have been a few reports in USA of incidents (assault or murder, can't remember) involving either Uber or another similar (ride sharing) company. Actually, it may have been just one. Not sure if it was the passenger or the driver who was the victim. Can't think of what the incidents were for the life of me right now, but it did contribute to the "fear" of "insecurity" in services like Uber (though naturally such an incident was obviously picked up and used thoroughly by the relevant lobbies for the incumbent taxi industries).
Certainly, any such incidents that happen in an Uber vehicle would have a larger impact on the Uber and related market compared to a similar incident having impact with taxis, and that's still if we disregard the special interests and obvious lobbying power that the taxi industry has.
I'm not sure about being taken to court but there have definitely been incidents of fare fraud, theft and sexual assault perpetrated by taxi drivers in Australia. Again, it seems to be quite Melbourne-centric here. That said, there are a fair few incidents of fare evasion (running from cars after arrival is common), assaults (can be quite significant) and even murder of taxi drivers; and similarly it has been difficult to either catch or convict those who have committed such acts against taxi drivers. And I think it would be just a bit callous, even in the spirit of criticising the taxi industry, to say that taxi drivers deserve that kind of treatment due to their "transgressions".
Was Uber really designated as illegal? I thought at the moment maybe the only legally contentious service is UberX (i.e. true ride sharing, cf. the other services which are more like luxury transfers involving vehicles and drivers registered as licensed transportation providers. And then if it is actually illegal why aren't the respective judicial bodies sticking it proper to Uber? I have heard of some fines (and Uber "paid" for these) but that seemed like the extent of it; if it was really illegal and the taxi lobby has as much influence as it does, the respective governments would have surely taken much more serious action by now, e.g. outright ban of Uber, impoundment/significant fining/imprisonment of Uber drivers/vehicles, deregistration of the Uber subsidiary company in Australia / ban on ability to operate in Australia, etc. etc.
In any case, one can't deny that Uber is inherently a disruptive idea; and it is even more difficult to argue that the at least
prima facie concept does not have merit for further development. Australia is not the only jurisdiction where Uber is having problems with the law; certainly not the only jurisdiction where it is facing fervent opposition from a very strong taxi lobby!
jastel does raise an interesting case of disruptive passengers and potential harm to lift drivers. We have seen some cases of how this affects taxi drivers (more often than not they can't do much about it, unfortunately); I wonder how an Uber driver would deal with it. One thing though - barring a fraudulent credit card - fare evasion and fare fraud are significantly reduced by Uber compared to the taxi system!
Finally, I have used Uber Black and UberX in Australia. I have enjoyed both services and always feel safe and in the hands of a competent driver when using Uber. Although the sample sizes do not adequately match, I can't quite say the same for conventional taxi services.