"I still remember when I first just arrived in Sydney, I took a taxi from the airport to Waterloo and was charged $95..."
What, $95, do t you mean $9.50? (The last time I paid around that amount for taxi fares was from Disneyland to Bel Air along the longest 'carpark' in the world, and from Tokyo to Narita International Airport.)
I've taken taxis from Mascot Airport to my place in the same direction along Botany Rd but further (about double the distance to Waterloo) for at least one third that price. Were you parked in a traffic jam for hours?
I'll grant you the taxi business was already in a bloody shambles before Uber and has needed reform for many years but I've never experienced charges that high.
The root of the problem is that governments have learned to charge hundreds of thousands of dollars and sometimes a half million or more for taxi plates. Such huge amounts put taxi owners in a very difficult financial bind, they can be on the verge of bankruptcy for years paying for them, and or they hang onto them with grim determination fearing they could never afford or obtain another set. Moreover, increasing the number of plates available devalues them—little wonder taxi owners object strongly at any such move.
Thus, it's long been just about impossible to reverse the maddening situation.
What, $95, do t you mean $9.50? (The last time I paid around that amount for taxi fares was from Disneyland to Bel Air along the longest 'carpark' in the world, and from Tokyo to Narita International Airport.)
I've taken taxis from Mascot Airport to my place in the same direction along Botany Rd but further (about double the distance to Waterloo) for at least one third that price. Were you parked in a traffic jam for hours?
I'll grant you the taxi business was already in a bloody shambles before Uber and has needed reform for many years but I've never experienced charges that high.
The root of the problem is that governments have learned to charge hundreds of thousands of dollars and sometimes a half million or more for taxi plates. Such huge amounts put taxi owners in a very difficult financial bind, they can be on the verge of bankruptcy for years paying for them, and or they hang onto them with grim determination fearing they could never afford or obtain another set. Moreover, increasing the number of plates available devalues them—little wonder taxi owners object strongly at any such move.
Thus, it's long been just about impossible to reverse the maddening situation.